Early Years & Child Care Navigator

YMCA of Three Rivers • Kitchener, ON

25d • Hybrid

About The Position

The YMCA of Three Rivers is a charitable organization proudly serving the communities of Guelph-Wellington, Stratford-Perth, and Waterloo Region. We aspire to build connected and resilient communities. Our mission is to make our diverse communities healthier and more vibrant. With dignity and respect, our programs and services inspire individuals to reach their full potential. As an Early Years & Child Care (EYCC) Navigator, you will support families in accessing early years and child care services and help reduce barriers within the EYCC system. Working in partnership with the Region of Waterloo and community partners, you will provide navigation support, advocacy, and outreach, with a strong focus on Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving families. This role combines direct family support, community connection, and system-level awareness to improve equitable access to services.

Requirements

• Registered Early Childhood Educator in good standing with the Ontario College of Early Childhood Educators.
• Excellent knowledge of child development, emergent curriculum, and How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years.
• Experience working with diverse and under-represented populations, including program development and/or project management focused on structural or systemic change.
• Experience in group processes, conflict resolution, team development, community engagement, and mobilizing groups in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Lived experience and a personal understanding of the issues and concerns of equity-deserving groups, along with an awareness of the challenges associated with systemic racism, discrimination, and inequity.
• Demonstrate the ability to influence and build effective teams and partnerships through shared vision and values.
• Highly collaborative working style and a respectful, relationship-focused approach when connecting within and across systems that support children and families.
• Strong analytical, research, and continuous improvement skills, with the ability to contribute to the development of practices and strategies, and to work with outcome-based metrics for evaluation and issue management.
• Strong flexibility, leadership, partnership, communication, facilitation, conflict resolution, and collaboration skills.
• Fluency in English is required.

Nice To Haves

• Lived experience as an Indigenous or racialized individual, a person with a disability, and/or a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community or another under-represented group.
• Experience building partnerships with community and cultural organizations and supporting capacity-building initiatives.
• Knowledge of additional languages is considered an asset (e.g., Spanish, Tigrinya, Rohingya).

Responsibilities

• Support Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving families through targeted community outreach and community-based referrals.
• Build and maintain relationships with Indigenous, ethno-cultural, and community organizations to support coordinated access to services.
• Serve as one of the first points of contact for children, youth, and families attempting to access a variety of early years and child care programs in our community, including licensed child care, OneList, child care subsidy, EarlyON Child and Family Centres, Special Needs Resourcing, and more.
• Come alongside families using an empathetic, supportive, open-minded, and non-judgmental approach.
• Act as an active listener who works with families to effectively assess their needs and co-develop solutions and service plans using anti-racist, trauma-informed, and culturally humble practices to reduce and/or eliminate barriers to access.
• Provide warm referrals and work collaboratively with local community agencies and resources.
• Assist families in finding, applying for, and accessing centralized child care registries and waitlists (i.e., OneList), early identification pathways (i.e., Special Needs Resourcing), and EarlyON Child and Family Centres through KEyON.
• Act as an advocate on behalf of individuals and families who face personal and systemic barriers.
• Recognize and respond appropriately to those who are vulnerable to ensure equitable access to programs, services, and supports.
• Help better understand the current early years, child care, and special needs system and its processes.
• Build an understanding of existing processes and the lived experiences of families accessing early years, child care, and special needs services.
• Demonstrate an optimistic, solution-focused, and strengths-based approach.
• Work in collaboration and partnership with EarlyON Waterloo Region to support families in connecting to the EarlyON Child and Family Centre system and additional community supports.
• Provide intentional outreach to Indigenous, Black, and equity-deserving families to ensure equitable access to information, resources, and services, and to foster a sense of belonging and connection.
• Act as a resource internally within the YMCA to support JAIDE (Justice, Access, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity) initiatives, which may include providing insight and input to senior leadership and participating in JAIDE-related workgroups (e.g., Project Management Circle, Project Advisory Circle).
• Work to reduce and eliminate identified gaps and barriers to equitable access across early years, child care, and special needs programs and services, contributing to a more integrated system in Waterloo Region.
• Support improved outcomes for families through the development of clearer pathways, evidence-informed decision-making, coordinated services and supports, and the strengthening of cross-sector partnerships.

Benefits

• 3 weeks of vacation, with the opportunity to earn more as their length of service increases
• 12 well-being days for sick time or proactive self-care, which can be used as they are earned.
• Bereavement days are also available.
• Group pension plan after two consecutive years of employment (employees contribute 5%, matched by Y).
• Prescription drugs, Basic dental coverage, Paramedical services, Vision care
• Access to an Employee (and Family) Assistance Program offering free and confidential counseling, resources, and services
• A free YMCA membership for you and your family, providing access to our fitness centers
• Discounts on YMCA programs and services, including childcare

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree