Manager, Youth and Lived Expert Engagement

Position Title Manager, Youth & Lived Expert Engagement

Type Maternity Leave.13-month contract

Department Communications & Public Affairs

Salary $60,000-$70,000

Reports to VP, Communications & Public Affairs

Updated October 2025

About Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is our country’s leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth involved in the child welfare system. Guided by a bold five-year strategic plan and Impact Framework and working alongside with 99 child-and-youth serving organizations across the country, we are focused on driving meaningful, measurable change through outcomes-based partnerships, philanthropy, and systems-level influence.

Our work is grounded in four key areas of focus that are critical to long-term stability for children and youth in and from care: Education, Employment, Mental Health and Well-being, and Strong Families and Lifelong Connections. Across these areas, we fund and deliver high-impact programs and collaborate with communities, service agencies, and young people on solutions that address the persistent challenges faced by children and youth engaged with the child welfare system.

As we implement our new 2025-2030 strategic plan, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is entering a pivotal implementation phase, realigning its efforts and structuring its team to maximize measurable outcomes and national reach. Joining the Foundation means being part of a passionate, future-focused team driven by impact and equity. It’s an opportunity to be part of a national movement committed to creating a better future for those too often left behind. Together, we are building a future where children and youth have the strength and resilience to create a lifetime of their own unstoppable successes.

To learn more about us, please visit our website.

To better understand our impact, please watch our ‘Investing in the Future, Today’ video.

The Ideal Candidate:

You are a trusted practitioner of youth engagement who combines deep empathy with strong systems-thinking. You understand that engaging young people with lived experience in child welfare requires care and you bring demonstrated experience designing and implementing the policies, practices, and safeguards that make youth and lived expert engagement meaningful and safe.

You understand trauma-informed, anti-oppressive approaches and apply them consistently in your work with young people, colleagues, and partners. You are confident navigating complexity, providing guidance to staff and leaders, and building structures that make ethical engagement possible. You thrive working in collaborative, cross-functional environments and maintain steadiness, clarity, and care when priorities and demands may change.

The Opportunity:

Working under the direction of the Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, the Youth & Lived Expert Engagement Manager leads the coordination and stewardship of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada’s (CFAC) internal youth engagement work, with a focus on CAFC’s Youth Ambassadors, Advisors (including our Young People’s Advisory Council), and Volunteers; former youth in care who share their valuable lived, professional, academic, and child welfare experience and expertise.

This role ensures that youth and lived experts are meaningfully and ethically engaged in advancing key organizational priorities, with a focus on supporting fundraising activities, informing the delivery of our strategic priorities and Impact Framework, raising awareness about the needs of young people from care, and sharing the story of the Foundation’s impact.

Serving as a key liaison between youth with lived experience and CAFC teams, the Manager will respond to and facilitate requests to engage youth with lived experience in fundraising activities, coordinate our Young People’s Advisory Council, advise and train team members on ethical youth engagement, design internal processes, protocols and tools for engagement, and support cross-functional initiatives to include the voices and participation of youth and lived experts in our work.

This posting is publicly available and open to all qualified applicants

Key Responsibilities:

Youth & Lived Expert Engagement Strategy

• In partnership with the VP, lead work to define CAFC’s youth and lived expert engagement philosophy and design and implement an annual youth and lived expert engagement strategy.

• Conduct a comprehensive review, assessment, and update of existing policies, procedures and practices for youth and lived expert engagement at the Foundation, including our partnership process, youth support procedures, and more.

• Build organizational capacity for ethical, trauma-informed youth engagement by training, coaching, and advising staff and senior volunteers to embed best practices across all Foundation activities.

• Where appropriate, build and maintain pathways that connect youth and lived experts to external resources, support, and engagement opportunities that fall outside of the Foundation’s mandate.

• Manage overall stewardship of relationships with members of our youth and lived expert network.

Young People’s Advisory Council (YPAC)

• Schedule, plan, facilitate, and minute YPAC meetings, including pre-meetings and debriefs.

• Maintain an active, representative, and engaged YPAC membership by managing recruitment, onboarding processes, and coordinating alumni engagement.

• Support review of YPAC Terms of Reference, ensuring it remains current, transparent, and aligned with CAFC’s youth engagement philosophy and Impact Framework.

• Use accessible tools, conversations, and capacity-building approaches to identify where YPAC members’ insights can drive change and where transparent dialogue is needed when ideas fall outside CAFC’s mandate.

• Collaborate with CAFC’s Executive Leadership Team and departmental leaders to identify opportunities for YPAC to contribute to the advancement of departmental priorities.

Youth Ambassadors and Volunteers

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all CAFC staff requesting Youth Ambassador and other lived expert volunteer engagement in their work.

• Recruit and coordinate Youth Ambassadors and other lived expert volunteers to share their experiences and insights through Foundation campaigns and attendance at events and donor engagements.

• Prepare, train, and support Youth Ambassadors and other lived expert volunteers for each opportunity, providing guidance and accompaniment (virtual or in-person) to ensure safe, ethical, and empowering participation.

Administration and Reporting

• Develop, track, and analyze key engagement metrics to measure impact and inform continuous learning and improvement.

• Manage the annual youth and lived expert engagement budget and ensure transparent tracking of expenses and honoraria.

• Maintain accurate documentation and provide regular updates to senior leadership on youth engagement outcomes and insights.

Essential Qualifications and Competencies:

• Relevant experience, typically 2+ years, in youth engagement and facilitation, ideally with young people who have experienced the child welfare system and/or faced systemic barriers.

• Relevant post-secondary education (i.e., Social Work, Child and Youth Work) or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing youth engagement policies, practices, and systems.

• Strong knowledge of, and demonstrated ability to apply, strength-based, trauma-informed, and anti-oppressive practices.

• Committed to meaningful, ethical and sustainable youth and lived expert engagement.

• Excellent organizational, communication, time management, and administrative skills.

• Proven ability to work independently and cooperatively within a multi-disciplinary team.

• Familiarity with CRM or data management systems (e.g., BBGM).

• Ability to attend in-person events in the GTA during evenings and weekends as required.

• Committed to upholding the Foundation’s VOICE values: Vital Learning & Innovation, Open Communication, Inclusion & Diversity, Care & Compassion, and Empowering Accountability

Asset (non-essential)

• Lived experience with the child welfare system.

• Experience working in/with the not-for-profit/charitable sector or government.

• Experience working in child welfare, social services, or with Indigenous-led organizations.

• Bilingualism in English and French

CHILDREN’S AID FOUNDATION AS EMPLOYER

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada acknowledge that the Foundation’s main office is in Toronto, which is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississauga's of the, and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The area now known as Toronto is covered by Treaty 13. Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is committed to supporting meaningful reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and others in these lands and across Canada.

WHY WORK WITH US

At the Foundation, we prioritize your well-being and professional fulfillment by offering:

• A 35-hour workweek to support work-life balance

• A hybrid model, with a mixed blend of remote work and 2-3 days in office (Toronto)

• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact on child welfare

• A generous compensation package, including: 4 weeks' vacation package, a comprehensive benefits (including medical, dental, life and disability) package, Employee Assistance Program, a Health Care Spending Account and a competitive salary.

• A welcoming, supportive, and collaborative work culture that embraces the Foundation’s VOICE values.

Our VOICE Values:

− Vital Learning & Innovation

− Open Communication

− Inclusion & Diversity

− Care & Compassion

− Empowering Accountability

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your resume and a cover letter in one single document, to careers@cafdn.org and include “Manager, Youth & Lived Expert Engagement” in the subject line by Friday, November 14, 2025. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted. Early submissions is encouraged. We thanks all candidates for their interest in the work of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted due to high applicant volumes. No telephone inquiries, please.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN OUR INTERVIEW PROCESS

We value transparency and want to ensure you feel prepared and supported throughout our hiring process. Here is what you can expect:

Initial conversation: A 30-minute virtual conversation with one of our team members to discuss your interest in the role and Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and how you can make an impact.

First interview: A 1-hour meeting (in-person or virtual) with the Hiring Manager and relevant team members. We will discuss your skills and how they align with the team’s needs. We will also answer any questions you have about the role, our culture, and the impact we strive to make.

Second interview: A 1-hour in-person meeting with the Hiring Manager and different team members, depending on the role, it can be our CEO! This stage might involve a short preassigned presentation, a case study, or a discussion of role-specific scenarios. A brief behavioural assessment is completed in advance of this meeting.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Foundation does not use artificial intelligence (AI) systems to screen, assess, select applications or inform hiring decisions. All applications are reviewed and evaluated by our human HR and hiring team, and no part of the hiring decision-making uses AI tools.

COMMITMENT TO EQUITABLE RECRUITMENT

The Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to employees regardless of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or marital status. We welcome and strongly encourage applications from equity seeking groups, including members of communities that are overrepresented in the child welfare system. We offer a family-friendly environment that 5 allows for flexible work arrangements in order to support staff diversity and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

The Foundation is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment process as accessible as possible and provide accommodation as required for applicants with disabilities. If you require any accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact careers@cafdn.org

We look forward to getting to know you and sharing what makes the Foundation such a meaningful and inspiring place to work