Chemsex Support and Outreach Coordinator for Cis and Trans gbMSM – Temporary Position
(32 hours per week)

ACCM offers programming by and for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C and therefore encourages them to apply for this position. We also encourage people who are queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of colour and/or living with a disability to apply, to represent the many communities that we serve and to ensure diverse perspectives and practices.

AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM) is looking for a Chemsex Coordinator to join our team! ACCM is the only English-speaking community organization that offers prevention and support services to people living with or affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C in Quebec. We work in collaboration with our many communities to build a compassionate and caring response to HIV and hepatitis C and do education work that equips people with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions around their sexual health.

The goal of this position is to develop spaces for users who partake in chemsex/PnP, i.e. who use drugs, such as crystal meth and GHB, in order to enhance their sexuality. The KONTAK program and ImpakT drop-ins are providing an array of support services around chemsex, overdose prevention, and PnP from the framework of harm reduction. We offer support to the chemsex community through workshops, support groups, one-on-one peer support and counselling for those using drugs for chemsex (PnP), and harm reduction material deliveries. The team will be available to talk about HIV and STBBI testing, drug use, chemsex, access to health care, risk, mental health, and the maintenance of a healthy sex life. Our ultimate goal is to equip cis and trans gbMSM with knowledge, competencies, and materials to proactively manage their drug use, reduce the risk of STBBI transmission, and prevent overdoses.

The Chemsex Support and Outreach for Cis and Trans gbMSM Coordinator will share the following responsibilities with their co-worker:

• Outreach to the cis and trans gbMSM communities that engage in chemsex, to promote chemsex services and create meaningful relationships with the community.
• Consult with project participants to develop a by-and-for workshop series for cis and trans gbMSM wanting to talk about drug use, overdose, sex, and/or partying through support groups.  
• Co-develop and co-facilitate the workshop series that will include modules on chemsex, overdose prevention, safer drug and safer sex strategies all through the lens of harm reduction. You and your co-facilitator(s) will build the capacity of participants for many elements of the series to be peer-led. 
• Collaborate on developing educational messages for social media 
• Provide one-on-one support counselling to workshop participants and continue to follow up with them throughout and after the workshop series.
• Participate in the development of peer-developed overdose prevention messages to be disseminated in French, English, and Spanish and in social media management.
• Be present for bi-weekly drop-in groups which may have themed topics or simply be a space for participants to hang out and find community.
• Engage with community partners and businesses to provide a presence at sex parties, bars, clubs, and other gbMSM spaces, including online hookup apps and social media.
• Be available to support with harm reduction material management and distribution, as needed.
• Collect evaluation data for reporting purposes and manage the participant database.
• Recruit, train, and support volunteers and peers. 
• Participate in internal and external committees as needed.
• Performs all other related tasks related to the nature of the position.

Our ideal candidate has all or a combination of the skills and experience below:

• Has strong ties with the cis and trans gbMSM and chemsex community and comfortable going to gbMSM sexualized spaces, including saunas, sex parties, as well as the bars in the Village.
• Has demonstrated experience in counselling and intervention; one-on-one support, groups support, and/or workshop facilitation. Experience in building the capacity of peer leaders is an asset.
• Lived, volunteer, or work experience with chemsex and substance use. Comfortable with engaging and working with people who have a variety of drug use habits. 
• Has experience working with communities who are disproportionately affected by HIV, hep C, and other STBBIs such as queer, trans, migrant, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Arab communities, as well as people who use substances.
• Has a fervent belief in harm reduction, and a proven history of practising harm reduction and anti-oppression-based interventions.
• Is knowledgeable about sexual health, HIV, hepatitis C, STBBIs, GIPA/MEPA approaches, and the social drivers of health.
• Believes in the organization’s mission and vision, and will act as an ambassador for ACCM to our partners and external committees.
• Desire to help others and ability to be an empathic listener and sensitive to the needs of others, while setting boundaries.
• Ability to accept people for who they are and to provide supportive, non-judgmental service.
• Is multilingual, at minimum, perfectly fluent in English, both written and spoken; conversational French or Spanish, written and spoken.
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team.
• Experience of using social media platforms, in particular Facebook and Instagram

Specifications

ACCM operates from Monday to Thursday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm, however this position does require working occasional evenings and weekends during group activities or events. The starting pay rate for this position is $21.37 per hour, 32h per week. This job opportunity is a 3-month temporary contract, renewable on condition of continued staffing shortages at ACCM not being resolved (10 annual sick days and 12 annual vacation days proportional to the contract duration).

How to apply? 

Please submit a cover letter, CV, and two references to William Neath (He/Him) at admin@accmontreal.org with “Chemsex Coordinator” in the subject line by Thursday, September 7th, 2023.

The first round of interviews will take place no later than the week of September 11th, 2023. Only successfully screened applicants will be contacted for an interview.