Member Job Opportunity: Bain Community Kitchen Coordinator
Posted: August 28, 2012
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario / Volunteer. Job and Writing Opportunities
Background
‘Food security’ has always been an important issue for people with low or fixed incomes. This year, higher food prices are being predicted, due to a drought in the United States and a hot, dry summer in Ontario. The Bain Housing Co-op is tackling the issue of food security at the household level by implementing a range of community kitchen programs, including bulk purchases of fresh produce at wholesale prices, community meals prepared and eaten together, bulk preparation of meals to be taken home or frozen in smaller quantities, canning of fruit and vegetables, fermenting yogurt and pickles, bread making, children’s after-school cooking classes, and a food gardening program for children and youth. In addition, workshops on nutrition and mental health topics will be provided by the local Community Health Centre, and strategies to enhance the positive determinants of mental health are being woven into all aspects of Community Kitchen Programming. The Bain Housing Coop is able to do this because of a grant recently received from the Ontario Government’s Healthy Communities Fund of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Job Summary
The Bain Community Kitchen Coordinator will lead the implementation of the Bain Community Kitchen Project, in collaboration with Bain co-op members and community partners. The Coordinator is the link between all kitchen programs that engage the Bain community and become part a network of food security programs, including community meals, food production groups, micro food businesses and social enterprise. The Bain Community Kitchen coordinator will strengthen the Bain’s volunteering model and bring it into line with the Community Kitchen’s goals. She or he will search for, encourage and support the emerging leadership skills of community kitchen participants and potential volunteers.
The coordinator will ensure all kitchen users have the required food handlers training and follow public health standards and guidelines. In collaboration with the Steering Committee, the Coordinator will help sustain community kitchen programming through business planning, fund raising, report writing, record keeping, and administrative tasks.
Key Responsibilities
· Develop and maintain excellent relationships with the diverse Bain community, Community Kitchen partners, Community Centre Committee, and Bain office staff
· Be responsible for managing kitchen facilities and equipment, for creating an inventory system for the storage and distribution of food and for developing and monitoring health/safety policies and procedures
· Identify and facilitate the development of new community kitchen initiatives arising from the Bain membership
· Coordinate currently planned and newly emerging Bain Community Kitchen programs
· Seek out and implement creative ways to engage, recruit, train, and sustain volunteer teams
· Maintain consistent and reliable reporting of activities and budget to Bain Community Kitchen Steering Group, Residents’ Council (Bain Co-op’s Board of Directors) Toronto Public Health and The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
· Monitor the community kitchen implementation process and be open to change responsibilities as people and programs grow and change.
Qualifications
· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral)
· Demonstrable interest in food and food security issues
· 3-5 years’ experience working in the non-profit sector
· Post-secondary training in a related discipline (community engagement, health promotion, nutrition, culinary arts, food security, mental health, volunteer management)
· Ability to work with community partners and program participants in a collaborative manner
· Relevant experience recruiting, engaging, and supporting volunteers
· Experience in various fundraising approaches directed at long term sustainability
Salary
$20 per hour plus 4% vacation pay
17.5 hours per week for 10 months (some flexibility in scheduling work may be required)
(Possible extension if the community kitchen is successful in generating income and/or funding)
Expected Start Date: Sept 17, 2012
Reporting To General Manager or Designate
How to Apply
Please send your resume and cover letter to bain.coop@hotmail.com by Friday, August 31st, 2012. All attachments must each be labeled with the applicant’s full name. In your cover letter, please respond to the following questions:
1. What interests you most about this position?
2. Based on our requirements, why are you a strong candidate?
3. Can you please summarize your experience supporting volunteers? What is the most important lesson you learned from volunteers?
4. Briefly tell us about your current/most recent job. Why are you looking for a change?
Our sincere appreciation to all those expressing interest in the position, however, only those applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Thank you for your interest.