Faculty/Academic Area: Faculty of Social Work 

Department: N/A 

Campus: Kitchener 

Employee Group: WLUFA 

Requisition ID: 10737 

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

LYLE S. HALLMAN FACULTY OF SOCIAL WORK

Assistant or Associate Professor First Nations, Métis, or Inuit (NNMI) Scholar

(Tenure-Track)

Indigenous Field of Study (IFS)

Location: Kitchener, Ontario

Position Overview

The Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work (FSW) at Wilfrid Laurier University invites applications for one Assistant Professor or Associate Professor tenure-track First Nations, Métis, or Inuit (FNMI) scholar faculty position commencing July 1, 2026, subject to budgetary approval. The position is based at Laurier’s Kitchener site and includes teaching (4 courses per academic year), research, and service responsibilities within the Master of Social Work (MSW) Indigenous Field of Study (IFS). The successful candidate will join a growing community of Indigenous faculty across Laurier’s campuses and within the IFS.

Indigenous Field of Study

The MSW-IFS is the first MSW program in Canada rooted in a wholistic Indigenous worldview and contemporary social work practice. The IFS currently has an entirely Indigenous faculty. The program centres Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, including Indigenous Elders; traditional circle processes; Indigenous ceremonies, and Indigegogy as central to delivery. We offer full-time and part-time programs.

The program is currently delivered in a hybrid format, with in-person culture camp and reflection camp, and select in-person weeklong courses at the Kitchener site or other locations. Other courses are delivered through virtual synchronous delivery using circle pedagogy. Please see Program information and IFS courses for more information. 

During 2018–19 and 2022–23, the FSW piloted an Indigenized PhD in Social Work designed for FNMI learners. Building on this seminal work, the IFS has a vision toward developing an Indigenous PhD program centred on Indigegogy.

Position

The successful candidate will contribute to teaching in the area of Indigenous wholistic social work practice and embrace Indigegogy. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research and practice seek wholistic wellbeing and social justice with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.

The substantive area of the candidate’s research program is open; however, it is expected that their research contributes to the IFS’s commitment to Indigenous research methodologies, community-engaged scholarship, reflexivity, relational accountability, and decolonizing research practices. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research and practice seek social justice with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.

Successful candidates must

• Be Indigenous and complete Laurier’s Indigenous identify verification process for consideration.
• Demonstrate the ability to teach Indigenous wholistic courses and apply contemporary Indigenous approaches to current social work contexts. 
• Have lived experience and demonstrated engagement with Indigenous FNMI communities from a wholistic perspective (i.e., direct wholistic practice, community practice, decolonial and indigenist approaches and relational accountability practices). 
• Be strongly rooted in their FNMI Indigenous identity, culture, and practice. This includes ongoing, lived relationships with Indigenous knowledge systems, teachings, community, ceremony, and cultural responsibilities that inform their teaching, research, and social work practice. Candidates are expected to carry Indigenous knowledge in an embodied way, grounded in their own Nation(s), community relationships, and cultural practices, and to engage in their academic work with relational accountability to Indigenous peoples, lands, and communities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of wholistic practice, including analysis of how lived experiences of Indigenous identity, race, class, culture, gender identity and expression, disability, sexual identity, and other social locations are shaped by colonial, systemic, cultural, and racist inequalities. This includes the ability to bring ceremony, land-based learning, and cultural practices to the students in circle pedagogy.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will: hold a PhD or have a scheduled defense date; hold at least one degree in social work; have a minimum of three years of social work practice with Indigenous communities; an understanding of land-based practices; have teaching experience in social work utilizing Indigegogy with a demonstrated record of excellence appropriate to rank; and have a program of research evidenced by publications and funding appropriate to rank.

Application Materials

Applicants should submit the following materials no later than the deadline posted below:

1. A letter of application highlighting accomplishments and strengths in relation to the position description and requirements, as well as a list of IFS courses the applicant could teach, given their teaching interests and expertise. 
2. Curriculum vitae.
3. Teaching dossier consisting of a teaching philosophy (up to two pages), two samples of course syllabi developed and used by the applicant (please note if developed by the candidate), and evidence of teaching effectiveness which may include peer teaching evaluations, unsolicited student feedback, community feedback, reflections from Elders/Knowledge Keepers, and/or examples of professional teaching development. 
4. A 1–2-page statement of research highlighting current and future research program, noting particularly Indigenous community-based research and Indigenous research methodologies, as well as any works in progress (i.e. community scholarship and engagement, publications, conference presentations etc.).
5. Two samples of scholarly outputs.
6. Two academic letters of reference that should be sent in confidence by the candidate’s referees to fswrecruit@wlu.ca by the application deadline. Candidates can direct their referees to send their letter to the attention of the FSW IFS Search Committee Chair, Dr. Lori Hill (fswrecruit@wlu.ca).

As Indigenous Identity Fraud/Theft has been a significant issue, Laurier will confirm Indigenous identity as part of the recruitment process through procedures developed and implemented by the Indigenous Initiatives Office.

For more information about working at Laurier as well as the Faculty of Social Work, applicants are encouraged to visit the institution’s web pages: Laurier, Faculty of Social Work, and Indigenous Field of Study-MSW.

Further details related to duties and responsibilities of full-time faculty members are outlined in the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) Collective Agreement.

To Apply

Submit the application package through the Wilfrid Laurier University job portal by clicking on the APPLY NOW button (top right, bottom right). The full application package should also be sent to fswrecruit@wlu.ca no later than the deadline.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 pm EST on April 8, 2026.

Anticipated Salary Range: Assistant Professor: $89,919 - $115,000.  Associate Professor:  $110,356 - $135,000. Actual salary to be commensurate with experience.

Diversity and creating a culture of inclusion is a key pillar of Wilfrid Laurier University’s Strategic Academic Plan and is one of Laurier’s core values. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any sexual identities and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programming at Laurier are welcome to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at indigenous@wlu.ca. Candidates from other equity seeking groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programming at Laurier are welcome to contact Equity and Accessibility at equity@wlu.ca.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, as per Canadian immigration laws, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. To comply with the Government of Canada’s reporting requirements, the University is obligated to gather information about applicants’ status as either Permanent Residents of Canada or Canadian citizens. Applicants need not identify their country of origin or current citizenships however, all applicants must include one of the following statements in their cover letter:

Yes, I am a current citizen or permanent resident of Canada

No, I am not a current citizen or permanent resident of Canada

Members of designated groups must self-identify to be considered for employment equity. Candidates may self-identify, in confidence, to Yumna Al-Adeimi, Senior Administrative Officer at the Faculty of Social Work (yaladeimi@wlu.ca). Further information on the equity policy can be found at https://www.wlu.ca/about/governance/assets/resources/8.4-employment-equity.html

Applicants are encouraged to address any career interruptions or special circumstances that may have affected their record of research and teaching, in accordance with SSHRC and NSERC definitions and guidelines. To obtain a copy of this job description in an accessible format, please contact Human Resources (HR@wlu.ca).

The FSW wishes to thank all applicants for their interest. All nominations and applications shall be reviewed and considered under a set of criteria established by the Search Committee, and a short list of candidates shall be interviewed. Only those applicants selected for the short list will be contacted.

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

The FSW is located on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnawbe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The FSW is continuously working to decolonize social work practice and education and expects the successful candidate to support this ongoing growth and development.

The FSW offers professional social work programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, and a research-focused doctoral program. We are devoted to excellence in research, creative and critical thinking, and reflexive practice. The MSW program includes full-time on-campus and part-time online programs. The Indigenous Field of Study in the MSW program embraces Indigenous land-based learning. We encourage students at all levels to become active citizens of an increasingly complex and interconnected world. We fulfill our mission by advancing multi-disciplinary and marginalized forms of knowledge. Our graduates are committed to constructively engaging and working toward transforming oppressive conditions and structures and promoting the well-being of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Wilfrid Laurier University

We acknowledge that Wilfrid Laurier University and its campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe (Anish-nah-bay) and Haudenosaunee (Hoe-den-no- show-nee) peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources and not to engage in conflict. From the Haldimand Proclamation of October 25, 1784 this territory is described as: “six miles deep from each side of the river (Grand River) beginning at Lake Erie and extending in the proportion to the Head of said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy forever.” The proclamation was signed by the British with their allies, the Six Nations, after the American Revolution. Despite being the largest reserve demographically in Canada, those nations now reside on less than five percent of this original territory.

Wilfrid Laurier University is a leading Canadian university renowned for its learning environment and student-focused educational experience. As a comprehensive university with more than 19,000 students, Laurier has grown rapidly in research intensity while at the same time preserving its well-earned reputation for undergraduate and graduate teaching and learning excellence. With a multi-campus and multi-community culture, Laurier offers students an exceptional range and depth of more than 100 academic programs taught by award-winning lecturers across nine faculties.

Wilfrid Laurier University endeavors to fill positions with qualified candidates who have a combination of education, experience, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position while demonstrating Laurier's Employee Success Factors.

Equity, diversity and creating a culture of inclusion are part of Laurier’s core values and central to the Laurier Strategy. Laurier is committed to increasing the diversity of faculty and staff and welcomes applications from candidates who identify as Indigenous, racialized, having disabilities, and from persons of any minority sexual and gender identities. Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Candidates from other equity deserving groups who would like to learn more about equity and inclusive programing at Laurier are welcomed to contact Equity & Accessibility. We have strived to make our application process accessible, however if you require any assistance applying for a position or would like this job posting in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources. Contact information can be found at careers.wlu.ca/content/How-to-apply/

Should you be interested in learning more about this opportunity, please visit www.wlu.ca/careers for additional information and the online application system. All applications must be submitted online. Please note, a CV and letter of introduction will be required in electronic form.