html Job Description

AVI Health & Community Services (AVI) is a multi-disciplinary community-based organization, providing HIV, hepatitis C, and harm reduction services out of 5 locations across Vancouver Island. AVI provides services to people living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and harm reduction clients. We work within a social justice and health promotion framework ensuring equity and access to services for all and from a harm reduction perspective, understanding that clients are the best sources of knowledge regarding the services and supports they need.

AVI provides comprehensive, accessible, and effective education, prevention, care, treatment, and support services to residents of Vancouver Island with offices in Victoria, Nanaimo, the Comox Valley, and Campbell River. For more info, see: www.avi.org.

The AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre (CHC) hosts a variety of program options for community members and service users to access. AVI nurses work across different programs, providing care and support to clients/participants across a range and a continuum of health and wellness. The CHC provides primary care, HIV/HCV, substance use, OAT, STBBI, PrEP/PEP medical services, as well as outreach, supports, and social programming. It provides streamlined access to addiction medicine and substance use services while offering a host of complementary supports under one roof including the Enhanced Harm Reduction Service (EHR) Program.

The EHR is a flexible, community-based, nursing-led, harm reduction program that provides pharmaceutical alternatives to the toxic street drug supply along with wrap-around supports. The EHR program aims to help individuals reduce their risk of dying from a drug poisoning event, and our service users may not have sobriety or abstinence as their goals of care.

AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre also provides educational services for the communities we support and a place for a variety of students and professionals to explore and learn about this important work. Our services are delivered across the traditional territories of the Snuneymuxw, Stz'uminus, and Snaw'naw'as People.

Join our supportive, dedicated, and client-centered team in promoting the health, dignity, and well-being of all people affected by HIV, HCV, and substance use by delivering sex-positive and harm reduction-based education, prevention, and/or health care services.

Job Summary

The Clinical Nurse Leader/Nurse Educator (CNLE) is responsible for collaborating with the Nurse Manager, the Nanaimo Program Managers, and the Leadership team to develop, support, and deliver nursing care throughout the AVI Nanaimo Community Health Centre. This is an advanced dual-functioning nursing role.

The CNLE will act as a clinical leader who provides direct care, coordinates care and clinical outcomes while also serving as an educator; bridging the gap between novice and experienced nurses, providing on-site education, as well as in-clinic mentoring/teaching, and direct clinical nursing care. The CNLE utilizes evidence and learning theory to develop, facilitate, and evaluate educational programs using research-backed, evidence-based practices. They will support nursing staff orientation, training, and continuing education initiatives.

The CNLE provides supervision, leadership, and functions as a role model and coach to all AVI Nanaimo nursing staff. They will act as an accessible, visible clinical resource and mentor for the nurses, providing hands-on clinical nursing care or high-level intervention when the staff or leadership team requires it. The CNLE works in partnership with the Nurse Manager and leadership team to ensure support for the AVI Nanaimo multidisciplinary teams and to continuously develop and ensure quality program nursing practice and protocols.

This position provides person-centered healthcare including assessment, screening, and education to support the clients of AVI. They will use a trauma and violence-informed, client-centered approach and demonstrated clinical skills and experience to independently assess individuals with complex primary care health needs, STBBIs, and active poly-substance use.

This position requires a professional who is experienced with harm reduction and is committed to collaborating with multiple stakeholders, including people with lived/living experience of criminalized drug use. Experience and proficiency with primary care needs and their management are integral to supporting both participants and staff at AVI Nanaimo.





The CNLE believes in and demonstrates advocacy for health equity, supporting client self-determination, informed consent, and individual choices regarding reproductive and sexual health. The CNLE supports clients' diverse gender identities, expressions, and bodily autonomy. This includes efforts to reduce clinical and social barriers to accessible reproductive and gender-diverse services including gender-affirming care, fertility care, menstrual health, miscarriage, pregnancy and maternity care, and menopause care.

This position will collaborate innately with the AVI Clinical Director on a broad organizational level while executing daily operational priorities in close step with the Nurse Manager or their designee.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

- Clinical Expertise:
- Stay up to date on current research and best practices in harm reduction prescribing, treatment of substance use disorder, HIV, HCV, and other primary care and specialty care areas of relevance.
- Determine educational opportunities for nursing staff and develop learning plans in collaboration with the Nurse Manager to ensure the nursing team is working to a standard of best practice.
- Deliver certification courses in topics such as phlebotomy, harm reduction fundamentals, basic counseling skills, wound care, assessment skills, etc., by preparing written materials, facilitating workshops, and overseeing clinical practice sessions.
- Participate in the development of policy and protocol as pertains to clinical practices.
- Use on-site, real-life clinical examples to create new and novel initiatives, policies, and protocols.
- Identify and design site-specific workflows to support clinical practice.
- Orient new nursing staff members to organizational practices, standards of care, and policy and procedure.
- Cultivate an open, judgment-free environment where both novice and experienced nurses feel completely safe asking questions, testing skills, or seeking feedback.

- Clinical Practice:

- Provide direct participant care as a clinic nurse.
- Support reproductive health counseling.
- Ensure the nursing team provides non-judgmental education, counseling, and non-directive options regarding contraception, pregnancy, and abortion care.
- Ensure the nursing team offers a full spectrum of health services to meet the needs of the communities and self-identified GBQ men and gender-diverse people in BC.
- Provide gender-affirming practices by delivering respectful, competent, and evidence-based gender-affirming nursing care.
- Regularly review and support the development and implementation of clinical protocols in collaboration with the leadership team and community partners.
- Serve as a reliable, calming presence in the clinic, ensuring nursing staff always know what to expect from leadership, even on high-intensity days.

- Team Leadership:

- Provide person-centered, trauma-informed, and relational supervision and coaching to all nursing staff to ensure quality clinical care is delivered.
- Collaborate with the Leadership team to ensure open communication and coordination across the multidisciplinary AVI Nanaimo services.
- Work with site leadership to identify and respond to nursing staff support needs, participant concerns, and issues related to clinical practice.
- Support the Nurse Manager in addressing practice improvement with nursing team members.
- Act as the Nurse Manager designate for occasional community meetings, representing AVI Nanaimo.
- Monitor and support nursing staff needs, the work environment, and relevant risks, ensuring appropriate resources are in place.
- Evaluate equipment, products, and supplies in coordination with the leadership team to ensure efficient and effective inventory and purchasing processes.
- Promote and facilitate a safe and therapeutic environment for the provision of care, including addressing and documenting risk management, critical incidents, and emergency-related issues.
- Assist the Nurse Manager with scheduling work assignments and resolving sick/absent calls and requests (during and after work hours).
- Demonstrate intentional self-regulation,



ensuring the ability to remain grounded and emotionally available while managing the complexities of a rapid-paced community health space.
- Model healthy professional boundaries and self-care, balancing deep empathy for clients with the structure required to keep the team emotionally safe.

Qualifications
- Graduation from an approved school of nursing with a baccalaureate in Nursing and current practicing registration as an RN with the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM).
- Certification in reproductive health with BCCNM required.
- The BCCNM Certified Practice for Opioid Use Disorder (CP-OUD) designation is an asset. If the successful candidate does not have this certification at the time of hire, it is expected to be completed within the first six (6) months of hire.
- Minimum 3-5 years of recent full-scope nursing experience working with people with elevated levels of poly-substance use, mental health challenges, screening, assessment, and treatment services to clients at risk and/or living with HIV/AIDS.
- Understanding of and the ability to utilize decision support tools and clinical guidelines as outlined in the BCCNM, BCCDC, and BCCSU to guide autonomous practice.
- Experience working with trans, queer, gender non-conforming, bi, questioning, and GBMSM-identified communities.
- Experience working with structurally vulnerable clients and communities.
- Minimum one year of recent experience in healthcare education, adult education, or program development.
- Leadership experience within a BCNU or other union work site is an asset.
- Previous experience in responding to medical emergencies such as overdose (naloxone administration, airway management, etc.).
- Strong knowledge of substance use disorder and opiate agonist treatment options.
- Experience with phlebotomy, vaccine management, immunizations, STBBI testing and treatment, specimen collection, and HIV point-of-care testing.
- Commitment to harm reduction and social justice principles.
- Understanding of systemic barriers associated with poverty, mental health, substance use, trauma, racism, colonialism, heterosexism, and gender discrimination.
- Respectful engagement and support for Indigenous relationships, with a trauma-informed and decolonial lens.
- Demonstrated understanding of public health and equity-oriented models of social support and healthcare.
- Relevant training/experience in anti-racism and a commitment to anti-colonial learning/unlearning.
- Strong analysis of colonialism and its impact on Indigenous People intergenerationally.
- Knowledge of local Indigenous and non-Indigenous social services.
- Demonstrated commitment to person-centered healthcare service provision.
- Works well under pressure and in stressful situations.
- Capable, independent practitioner and committed team member.
- Excellent communication, conflict resolution, and crisis management skills.
- Current valid BC Driver's License with use of a personal vehicle; Transportation of Dangerous Goods certificate is an asset.
- Valid and current CPR/BLS for Healthcare Providers certification.

Skills and Abilities
- Demonstrated skills, experience, and knowledge in primary care, substance use, harm reduction, HIV, HCV, sexual health, mental health, health promotion, and the impact of systemic poverty.
- Commitment to harm reduction, cultural safety, and trauma-informed practices.
- Ability to establish and maintain respectful rapport with participants.
- Capacity to work under pressure, manage crisis situations, and recognize subtle changes in participants.
- Proven ability to work independently and collaboratively, make sound clinical decisions, take initiative, prioritize workload, and adapt to changing situations.
- Strong advocacy skills for both participants and nursing team members.
- Effective verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to organize and prioritize workload seamlessly between program development and clinical interventions.
- Conflict resolution and non-violent crisis intervention skills.
- Proficiency in computer systems, electronic medical records, medical equipment, and related technologies.
- Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position and operate related equipment.
- Flexibility to accommodate occasional late afternoon, early evening, or weekend community presentations, meetings, or clinic events.

Position Details
- Pay: Per BCNU grid, Level 4 $49.20/hour to $63.47/hour.
- Hours and Schedule: 37.5 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Hours and days of the week may change as per program needs.

📌 Clinical Nurse Leader/Educator- Full Time (Nanaimo)
🏢 CareerBeacon
📍 Nanaimo