Drop-in Engagement Worker

Job Posting (internal-external)

Drop-In Engagement Worker

Contract Term: 1 Year Contract
Pay Rate: $27.20/hr

Bargaining Unit position

ABOUT THE STOP:

The Stop Community Food Centre’s mission is to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds community, and challenges inequality. From its origins 40+ years ago as one of Canada's first food banks, The Stop has since grown into a vibrant community centre that uses food as a gateway to addressing many issues, including poverty, the environment, social isolation, and health in one of Toronto’s lowest-income neighbourhoods. The Stop is accredited by Imagine Canada for excellence in non-profit accountability, transparency, and governance.

THE OPPORTUNITY:
The Drop-in Engagement worker is part of a cooperative team of people that works to create a safe, welcoming and dynamic space in which community members can have a healthy meal, access essential services and supports and participates in social and food-based programs and activities. Working in the Drop-In may require some physical effort (walking around Drop-In space, lifting, cleaning, and serving meals); the Drop-in engagement worker will be an active presence in the Drop-In space. There may be the risk of exposure to potentially unpredictable behaviours and situations.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Ensure that the Drop-in space is safe, welcoming and inclusive to community members.
• Apply and enforce food handling, sanitation and health and safety guidelines as required by Toronto Public Health
• Assist with conflict prevention / resolution and provide crisis intervention support as necessary.
• Ensure consistent and clear communication to support facilitation and enhance communication throughout the program.
• Assist with cooking/preparing breakfast
• Collaborate with Drop-in Support Worker to organize Drop-in activities and to provide additional support to program participants as necessary.
• Provide direction to volunteers and relief staff to provide respectful and dignified services and to ensure daily tasks are accomplished.
• Maintain daily program logs and assist with on-going program monitoring.
• Work with co-workers to coordinate preparation of food and set-up of program space for services as necessary.
• Ensure community resources and information is in place to refer participants to other community supports as needed.
• Assist in the collection and recording of appropriate statistical information.
• Participate in organizational events as needed.
• Other related duties as assigned.

General:

• Ensure that Drop-in programming reflects The Stop’s policies and procedures (e.g. Anti-Discrimination/Anti-Harassment )
• Attend monthly all-staff meetings, weekly team debriefs and other meetings related to job description, as required
• Participate in agency-wide events, as needed
• Work within the team of Stop staff, board, and volunteers
• Maintain administrative records, as required
• Participate in training opportunities, as requested
• Maintain knowledge of existing agency and program policies and procedures and implement them consistently

Qualifications:

• Educational background in social work/social services/human services work or equivalent education and lived experience.
• Minimum 2yrs working in community services.
• Experience in a commercial kitchen
• Crisis intervention, de-escalation skills essential.
• Highly developed interpersonal / communications skills and ability to build effective relationships with participants, team members and community partners.
• Understanding of and experience working in programs serving participants with complex intersecting needs including homelessness, mental health issues, addictions and histories of trauma - strong understanding of client-centered, trauma-informed and anti-racism, anti-oppression practices.
• Ability to work constructively as a member of a team in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Experience working with marginalized people and people of diverse cultures and abilities.
• Additional languages besides English an asset.