Housing / Hostels / Homelessness

Approximate Duration: 24 months

Serving a diverse urban and rural population of more than 475,000, Niagara Region is focused on building a strong and prosperous Niagara. Working collaboratively with 12 local area municipalities and numerous community partners, the Region delivers a range of high quality programs and services to support and advance the well-being of individuals, families and communities within its boundaries. Nestled between the great lakes of Erie and Ontario, the Niagara peninsula features some of Canada’s most fertile agricultural land, the majesty of Niagara Falls and communities that are rich in both history and recreational and cultural opportunities. Niagara boasts dynamic modern cities, Canada’s most developed wine industry, a temperate climate, extraordinary theatre, and some of Ontario’s most breathtaking countryside. An international destination with easy access to its binational U.S. neighbour New York State, Niagara attracts over 14 million visitors annually, as well as a steady stream of new residents and businesses.

Please note that the Niagara Region requires that all newly hired employees are to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of being hired and provide proof of full vaccination, or provide proof of a bona fide medical or Human Rights Code exemption on a form issued from and approved by Niagara Region.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Manager, Homelessness, Hostels and Housing, the Program Evaluation & Data Analysis Coordinator is responsible for providing advice and support in the development of data tracking mechanisms for contracted service providers with respect to program outcome reporting to Federal, Provincial and Regional governments. This role includes supporting the Built for Zero Initiative and supporting on-going work of the homelessness enumeration, By-Name list and Coordinated Access program in collaboration with Homelessness Services staff team and the partnering agencies.

Education

• Post-secondary degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Mathematics, Social Sciences, Computer Science), or equivalent.
• University level credits in Research Design, Statistics and Computer science are required.

Knowledge

• Minimum of 3 years experience in a human services environment working with multiple social/community agencies.
• Knowledge of statistical analysis software
• Knowledge of computer programming languages (particularly VBA), advanced knowledge of computer logic and applications e.g. database applications, SQL, PowerBI)
• Understanding of federal, provincial and regional standards and reporting requirements
• Working knowledge of HIFIS or a Homelessness Management Information System is an asset

Responsibilities

Establishes and implements standards and benchmarks for reviewing the effectiveness and integrity of programs delivery for community partners, funded agencies, and relevant service providers connected mainly to homelessness and housing initiatives. (35% of time)

• Develops, monitors and updates reporting tools for the collection and analysis of homelessness and housing programs, including working with multiple stakeholders to implement the tracking tools and utilize the data for decision making.
• Monitors and assesses community homelessness plans in accordance with Federal, Provincial and Regional legislations and community needs. E.g. Supports the work of the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Action Plan
• Provide data support the implementation and on-going work of the homelessness enumeration, By-Name list and Coordinated Access program in collaboration with Homelessness Services staff team and the partnering agencies.
• Assists in the evaluation of third party program delivery, ensuring that program outcomes are in line with funding obligations and making recommendations on increasing efficiency and effectiveness of programs.
• Provides periodic and ad-hoc forecast updates to senior management team.
• Monitors municipal, provincial and national socioeconomic conditions, gathering and maintaining statistical database of labour market and economic indicators through publications, government resources and other research/studies to provide context to forecasts analyses.
• Collects and analyzes service outcome data and drafts summary briefs and reports for Federal, Provincial, Regional departments.
• Ensures timely and accurate work plan, annual service targets and monthly, quarterly and/or annual data submissions to Service Canada, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH), and Regional staff.
• Conducts program reviews to identify, share and incorporate best practices as well as identify and address gaps in Niagara’s service system.

Gathers and assesses qualitative and quantitative data to provide technical expertise with respect to homelessness and housing data and trends to inform progress reports and plan updates. (20% of time)

• Performs trend analyses with the use of statistical software packages and other software instruments.
• Identifies, develops, assesses, tests and modifies statistical models using computing software and forecasting methods to maximize forecasting accuracy.
• Researches alternative methods in forecasting and statistical modeling to identify and maintain robust forecasting models.

Provides training to community partners and service delivery agencies regarding the reporting requirements (their need and purpose) and the usage of the supplied tools. (15% of time)

• Provides coordination, training, and support to all users in the areas of installation, configuration, and end-user problem resolution for data tracking instruments and procedures.
• Works with internal division e.g., IT Services to develop and support learning development and on-line collaboration systems to support homelessness training and other capacity building and system transformation activities.
• Participates in learning development, information sharing, capacity building, and partnership expansion/development opportunities.

Researches, analyses and synthesizes information to provide recommendations for policy development. (15% of time)

• Reviews and updates community plans as needed in accordance with Federal, Provincial and Regional policy as well as any other program requirements to ensure its alignment with legislative mandates and other applicable obligations.
• Defines issues/problems and expected outcomes of the proposed policy in a way that can measure performance of the policy.
• Works with senior staff and management to identify needs in the area of program and policy research and analysis within Niagara’s service system, preparing background research to identify gaps in service with community programs.

Works with colleagues and service providers to identify and pool available data resources to reduce costs and redundancies. (15% of time)

• Acts as community resource with focus of disseminating available data to community organizations/ working groups as requested to assist community with data driven planning.
• Supports translation of data for communities to assist with planning, developing strategies to move data from report format to useful community capacity building tools.
• Acts as a primary liaison for community partners to make effective and efficient use of information systems in order to increase their ability to provide relevant and accurate data in accordance with the principles and requirements of the Federal, Provincial and Regional government.
• Plays an integral role in the data development, management and sharing process for coordinated access and By Name List.
• Provide data and evaluation support for rapid cycle testing and human-centered design to improve homelessness system performance.

Special Requirements

• Must maintain ability to travel in a timely manner to other offices, work locations or sites as authorized by the Corporation for business reasons.
• In accordance with the Corporate Criminal Record Check Policy, the position requires the incumbent to undergo a Criminal Records Check and submit a Canadian Police Clearance Certificate for the vulnerable sector.
• Regional staff strive to enable the strategic priorities of council and the organization through the completion of their work. Staff carry out their work by demonstrating the corporate values.

Uncover the wonder of the Niagara Region and join a team dedicated to meeting tomorrow’s challenges TODAY!

Let us know why you would be an excellent team member by submitting your online application.

We thank all candidates for their interest however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Uncover the wonder of the Niagara Region and join a team dedicated to meeting tomorrow’s challenges TODAY!

Let us know why you would be an excellent team member by submitting your online application.

We thank all candidates for their interest however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.