Indigenous Health and Partnerships Lead - Equity & Social Accountability - Regular Full-Time - 2025-14435

Position Summary

Sunnybrook is committed to Indigenous leadership in driving organizational and system transformation, and to creating space for Indigenous voices to shape care. We will foster a culturally safe and supportive environment for Indigenous staff, patients, families and our community, including access to smudging, land-based practices, and flexible accommodations for cultural and spiritual responsibilities.
The Indigenous Health and Partnerships Lead advances culturally safe, equitable, and community-informed care for Indigenous Peoples at Sunnybrook. This role oversees Indigenous Health and Reconciliation programming and leads patient navigation services that support Indigenous community members across the continuum of care. Grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, the Lead guides organization-wide Indigenous initiatives in partnership with the Department of Equity & Social Accountability, focused on improving access, advocacy, and outcomes.
Recognizing the emotional and spiritual labour of this work, Sunnybrook is committed to providing the Lead with access to Indigenous peer support, mentorship, and culturally grounded wellness resources, including opportunities for ceremony and community connection.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Cultural Safety
•    Provide strategic leadership in the design, co-development, and implementation of Sunnybrook’s Indigenous Health Strategy, ensuring alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action for Health Care and the priorities identified by the Indigenous Health Action Network (IHAN) within the TAHSN Indigenous Anti-Racism Strategic Framework.
•    Collaborate meaningfully with Indigenous communities, Elders, and Knowledge Carriers to embed cultural safety, anti-racism, and accountability throughout organizational structures, policies, and practices.
•    Build and sustain internal capacity for Indigenous cultural safety through training, inclusive policy development and implementation, and staff mentorship and education, with an emphasis on long-term change.
•    Participate actively in IHAN’s Strategic Leadership & Cultural Safety table, contributing to system-wide transformation and shared learning across TAHSN hospitals.

Patient Navigation & Service Integration
•    Design and oversee a Patient Navigation service tailored to the unique needs of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients seen across Sunnybrook campuses, including Bayview, the Holland Centre, St. John’s Rehab, CNIB and RCC. 
•    Assist patients & teams with care coordination, discharge planning, traditional healing, and access to community supports. 
•    Provide support and expert consultation to healthcare providers at Sunnybrook to facilitate access to care, services and resources for Indigenous community members. 
•    Develop culturally grounded care pathways and advocate for patients facing systemic barriers, including racism, language, and jurisdictional gaps.
•    Liaise on behalf of Indigenous patients, support and facilitate communication with clinical teams to support access to primary services, community-based health care services and Indigenous community partner agencies. 
•    Serve as a key point of contact and provide strategic guidance to Sunnybrook staff in roles that support Indigenous patients, families, and communities, through a dotted-line relationship.
•    Interpret philosophy, policies, procedures and services to patients and families.
•    Collaborate with the Spiritual Care and Social Work teams and leverages partnership for seamless transition to community resources, legislation as it relates to Alternative Level of Care (ALC), Substitute Decision Makers Act, Public Guardian and Trustee and Public Hospitals Act to reduce patient’s length of stay and readmission rates.
•    Monitor and evaluate navigation services to improve access, experience, and outcomes for Indigenous patients and their families.
•    Assist in the development and distribution of culturally sensitive patient education materials.
•    Foster strong relationships with Indigenous-led organizations and health service partners, and maintain a regional inventory of Indigenous related programs and services for patients and families. 

Partnership & Community Engagement
•    Establish and sustain strong relationships with Indigenous governments, communities, urban Indigenous organizations, and community and regional health partners (i.e., Cancer Care Ontario, Seventh Generation Midwives, regional/provincial palliative care leads)
•    Lead community engagement initiatives to bring the voices of Indigenous community members to hospital program design, delivery and evaluation 
•    Build trusting relationships across the organization and the network of Toronto East Health Partners.
•    Maintain a strong relationship and alignment with TAHSN Indigenous Health Action Network
Patient Experience
In partnership with the Office of the Patient Experience (OPE):
•    Facilitate the timely resolution of patient feedback, including inquiries, complaints and compliments
•    Support patients, families and teams who have experienced a critical incident and attend a family meeting, where requested by the OPE team or a community member. 
•    Develop and embed a safe reporting patient relations process for Indigenous patients and families.
Governance, Planning and Evaluation
•    Co-chair the Sunnybrook Indigenous Advisory Council, a governing and guidance body composed of Indigenous community members, Knowledge Holders, and organizational leaders that helps shape priorities, provides strategic direction, and ensures accountability to Indigenous Peoples.

•     Work in partnership with the Indigenous Advisory Council to gather and apply data in ways that are respectful, community-informed, and aligned with Indigenous data sovereignty principles, to guide planning and measure progress.

•    Ensure accountability to Indigenous communities by engaging the Indigenous Advisory Council in regular reporting cycles, incorporating community feedback, and supporting transparent evaluation of programs, services, and outcomes.

Qualifications
•    A degree in a related field is preferred, along with clinical experience or direct involvement in healthcare delivery; however, equivalent lived experience and knowledge gained through non-traditional or community-based pathways will also be considered. 
•    Minimum 5–8 years of leadership experience in Indigenous health, patient navigation, or health equity
•    Strong understanding of Indigenous health systems, determinants of health, and cultural safety frameworks
•    Demonstrated ability to lead Indigenous engagement and navigate partnerships with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis organizations
•    Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as a member of an interprofessional team
•    Sunnybrook strongly encourages applications from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis candidates from diverse Nations, communities, and backgrounds.