POSITION DETAILS VAW COUNSELLOR

Program:

Violence Against Women

Contract:

Temporary 1 year contract, Full-time; 35 hours/week

Location: 

Hybrid work model, 355 Church Street, 128 A Sterling Rd and a safe home-based office as required

Salary:

$60,156– $74,093 per annum Grade 8 BU, pro-rated to hours worked Application Deadline:

July 10, 2026

File Number:

VAW #17-26 with cover letter and resume

E-Mail:

hrdep@familyservicetoronto.org

Mail:

HR, 355 Church Street, Toronto ON M5B 0B2

Web:

familyservicetoronto.org

GROW WITH US! 

Family Service Toronto (FST) helps people face a wide variety of life challenges. For over 100 years, we have worked with individuals and families destabilized by precarious mental health and/or socioeconomic circumstances, to achieve greater resilience and stability in more just and supportive communities. We achieve this through our direct service work of intervention and prevention which includes case management, counselling, peer support and education; knowledge building; and system-level work including social action, advocacy, community-building and working with partners to strengthen the sector.

We’re proud of our people and culture! We are constantly evolving what we do and how we do it. Our work is grounded in the lived experience of the clients and the community. We celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and excellence. We are agile, learning and always willing to try new things. 

THE OPPORTUNITY! 

The VAW Counsellor is responsible for providing crisis intervention, clinical assessment, safety planning, outreach calls to victims and survivors, counselling and psychotherapy services, referrals and service coordination/case management supports to women-identified individuals who are experiencing gender-based violence in their close personal relationships. This includes physical, emotional/psychological, financial/economic, sexual, spiritual, neglect and/or cyber abuse. The Counsellor also works with women who have recently left an abusive relationship and/or who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Language and interpretation services are provided.

 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide evidence-based, culturally competent individual and group work supports to women who have experienced violence using a strengths-based, trauma-informed, intersectional, feminist framework including:

• leading or co-leading therapeutic/psycho-educational groups 

• facilitating webinars and workshops

• trauma specific counselling

• single session therapy

• Provide clinical assessments, safety planning, outreach calls to victims and survivors and counselling sessions to clients, and completes informed consent, case notes, and reports in a timely manner using an electronic client database

• Provide crisis intervention services to women in need of urgent service because of abuse/assault 

• Provide outreach calls to victim/survivors of clients enrolled in FST’s Partner Assault Response (PAR) program

• Provide service coordination and/or case management supports to clients requiring services outside of FST and/or internal to FST in different programs

• Provide training and educational workshops on topics related to the work of VAW to diverse audiences of various sizes

• Works collaboratively with team members and other staff across the organization. 

• Provide services to clients from diverse ethno-cultural communities, diverse sexual orientation and gender identities, clients with disabilities and to clients who are marginalized by a range of systemic issues

KEY QUALIFICATIONS

• M.S.W., M.A. or M.Ed., Foreign credentials and relevant experience are valued. 

• Applicants must be registered and in good standing with the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers or the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. 

• Demonstrated clinical training, experience, and competence in integrating at least two clinical modalities into practice (e.g. Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, DBT, CBT, EMDR, Sensorimotor psychotherapy). 

• Demonstrated commitment to, and understanding of the principles of social justice, cultural competency and equity and inclusion.

• Current knowledge of best practices in mental health and gender-based violence work (e.g., safety planning, crisis de-escalation, suicide prevention, harm reduction, child abuse etc.).

• Demonstrated experience working with people who have experienced abuse using a trauma-informed, intersectional, feminist, anti-oppression, harm reduction framework.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• A second language is an asset. 

INTERESTED?

Please indicate file number VAW #17-26 on your application and submit cover letter and resume by July 10, 2026, by 5:00 PM to hrdep@familyservicetoronto.org [hrdep@familyservicetoronto.org]. 

Our goal is to attract, develop, and retain highly talented employees from diverse backgrounds allowing us to benefit from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives.

We actively encourage applicants from all equity seeking groups. First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black and People of Colour, people with disabilities, people of diverse gender expression, and people with lived experience of poverty are encouraged to apply. 

In accordance with Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and FST’s Equity and Inclusion policy, accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance. 

Family Service Toronto does not use artificial intelligence (AI) or automated tools to screen, assess, or select applicants during the recruitment process.

We thank all applicants and will contact the individuals selected for an interview.