Ontario Caregiver Organization
Ontario Caregiver Organization, Regional Engagement, Community Engagement – Caregiver Support
Location:
Work from home anywhere in Ontario with regular in-person engagements in the local community
Description of the practicum site and student activities:
The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) exists to improve the lives of Ontario’s estimated 4.2 million caregivers; ordinary people who provide physical and/or emotional support to a family member, partner, friend, or neighbour. OCO provides caregivers with one point of access to information, services, and supports that empower and help enable caregivers to be successful in their role. Where gaps exist in caregiver programs and services, OCO partners with caregivers, health care providers, and other organizations to find new and innovative ways to bridge those gaps so all caregivers, regardless of age, condition, or geographic location have access to the help they need.
About OCO: The Ontario Caregiver Organization (OCO) exists to support Ontario’s 4.2 million caregivers; ordinary people who provide physical and emotional support to a family member, partner, friend or neighbour. We support caregivers by being their one point of access to information, so they have what they need to be successful in their role.
About OCO’s Regional Engagement Team: The main purpose of the Regional Team is to build connections and collaborate with caregivers, health/social service providers, and key stakeholders at the community level in order to: Improve caregiver access to support, Grow the number and diversity of caregivers we serve ; Build organizational partnerships to help address caregiver needs.
Key Responsibilities of this Practicum Placement:
Under the supervision of the Manager–Regional Engagement, the Practicum Student will:
• Assist with targeted outreach to other key organizations and networks identified by the regional team as priority
• Respond to incoming requests for information and collaboration from external parties with direction from the manager, regional engagement
• Facilitate in-person and virtual presentations, workshops, education sessions, and events for caregivers, care/service providers and organizations
• Attend in-person events to support information booth outreach at community events, conferences, and fairs
• Inform future planning to enhance opportunities for students and volunteers on the regional team
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of data and performance indicators, and maintain regional interest-holder information
• Inform the development of OCO’s strategies for inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility
Skills You Will Develop:
• Learning and growth: This placement will offer many opportunities to demonstrate initiative, apply feedback to practice, and tailor practicum opportunities to self-identified areas for growth.
• Behaviour in the organization: This placement will allow you to become familiar with a virtual-first organizational work environment with a small but growing team that emphasizes collaboration and mutual support in everything we do.
• Conceptualizing practice: This placement will support you in conceptualizing social work practice beyond the scope of direct client support, with a strong emphasis on community engagement. Critical reflection about inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and cultural safety will be supported.
• Relationships with service users: In this placement, you will represent the organization in the community and act as a local resource for caregivers seeking support.
• Assessment and intervention: Individual client assessment and intervention is not a component of this placement. However, you will have the opportunity to refine your presentation delivery skills by tailoring your approach to the unique needs of different audience groups.
• Professional communication: In this placement, you will enhance your professional communication skills through delivering virtual and in-person presentations, refining your “elevator pitch” for sharing about the organization events, as well as supporting internal resource development and practice improvements.
Additional Learning Opportunities Available:
• Shadowing opportunities available across the organization including our direct-to-caregiver services, healthcare system engagement, workplace engagement, and local community collaborations.
• Opportunity to participate in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility (IDEA) working group activities to learn as well as contribute.
• If you are fluent in French, community engagement activities in French can be supported in this practicum.
• If you have experience as a caregiver, opportunities can be offered to share your story and enhance your personal story-telling skills for change.
Qualification that make you a great fit:
• Strong communication skills – verbally, in writing and in virtual environments – in English and any additional languages. Learning opportunities in French can be readily offered to students fluent in French.
• Experience with facilitating interactive workshops, presentations, and meetings (online and in-person)
• Compassionate style and good listening skills
• Proficient with Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Self-starter with high degree of initiative, resourcefulness, and productivity
• Knowledge of caregiver needs, the role of caregivers in the health care system, and/or experience as a caregiver is an asset
• Readiness to build a stronger understanding of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility with ability to build relationships with organizations and individuals from diverse communities or those facing barriers to inclusion
Practicum Requirements:
☒ Travel by public transportation between home visits, or satellite offices, or community meetings, etc.
☒ Comfort working with the population being served
Other requirements:
Drivers license or use of own car are NOT requirements, but may be used to support the in-person elements of the role. Travel expenses will be reimbursed by OCO according to our guidelines.
Evening and weekend attendance is NOT a requirement, but optional evening and weekend engagements may be offered when available as a way to work toward practicum hours.
Other languages NOT required, but engagement opportunities in other languages may be facilitated where applicable (in particular, French).
Lived experience as a caregiver is NOT required, but those who do have this experience will be supported with any decision to self-disclose within the role. The majority of our staff team has current or past lived experience as caregivers.
Please select Fields(s) of Study:
☒ Mental Health and Health
☒ Social Work in Gerontology
☒ Human Services Management & Leadership
Is this practicum in-person, remote or hybrid?
Hybrid
Will this practicum involve direct work or a mix of direct and indirect?
Mixed
Field Instructor name and credentials:
Sarah Calvin, MSW
Application deadline:
Monday, April 29, 2026 @ 12:00pm
Do you require a resume? Or resume and cover letter?
Both
Accessibility Considerations:
- Will the student have access to a private space for notes or computer use? The student will work from their home office with the exception of in-person engagements in the community. In these settings, a private space will not be available.
- Are there breaks between clients/patients/meetings? Yes, the student will have a high degree of autonomy to build their calendar in a way that suits their work style.
- Is the practicum considered fast-paced? Medium, OCO is a fast-paced and fast-growing organization. However, the student will have a high degree of autonomy to build their calendar in a way that suits their work style and supports their practicum goal attainment.
- Is there a high noise level in the practicum? The student will work from their home office with the exception of in-person engagements in the community. In these settings, the noise level may not be known in advance.
- Is the site wheelchair accessible? The student will work from their home office with the exception of in-person engagements in the community. In these settings, inquiries into the accessibility of these settings can be made in advance to meet the needs of the student.
- What are the physical demands of the practicum? This practicum will be primarily based out of the student’s home office space, with regular engagements in the community. The specific in-person engagements assigned to the student will be selected collaboratively with the student to ensure their accessibility needs are adequately met.
Typical in-person engagements include:
A) presentations to community groups – physical demands include transporting a laptop and small box of print material to the site, and delivering the presentation or workshop standing or sitting as per the student’s presentation style ;
B) hosting information booths at community fairs – physical demands include transporting a suitcase filled with print material and SWAG, setting up the booth space with retractable banner, tablecloth, print materials, and SWAG, and interacting with participants at the event either sitting or standing depending on individual preference.
- Are there any other accessibility considerations that potential applicants with disabilities should be aware of?
Our organization is virtual-first, so the role will depend on use of your personal device to access team meetings, shared files, and Slack channels.
If you are interested in this practicum, please send a cover letter and resume to samar.hossain@utoronto.ca by Wednesday, April 29, 2026 @ 12:00pm.Applications will be sent to the site.