Kitchen Lead

We are Sanctuary, and we’re looking for a full time Kitchen Lead to join our team. This job is perfect for someone who has experience working in a medium sized kitchen creating meals for 250-300 people, and has passion for mentoring volunteers; and a love of people and Jesus.

About Sanctuary

At Sanctuary, we are becoming a healthy, welcoming community where people who are poor or excluded are particularly valued. This community is an expression of the good news embodied in Jesus Christ.

Our faith and relationship with God inform us in identifying the following as some of our core values:

• Dignity: We believe that each person is created in the image of God and, as such, has the right to be treated with the utmost dignity.
• Mutuality: We come to our relationships recognizing that each person has gifts to be shared and gifts to be received.
• Inclusivity: We intend that our community at Sanctuary will be as inclusive as Jesus was in his life.

As a member of our community, you will not only care for others but will also experience that same care. There are many beautiful expressions of friendship, care, compassion, gentleness, forgiveness, joy, laughter, and so much more that can be seen on a daily basis.

However, due to the nature of the challenges facing our community regularly, you may encounter traumatic situations and grief. It is essential that you regularly access a personal support network and strive to maintain health, both physically and mentally, through activities and resources that ground and inspire you.

The Role: Kitchen Lead

The Kitchen Lead’s role is primarily facilitating the creation of healthy meals for our community, and working with volunteers.

Each week, we host two community meals, and you will be responsible for menu planning, meal preparation, coordinating volunteers, and cleaning up. To ensure our community meals run well, you will be responsible for ordering consumables, such as takeaway containers, plastic forks, etc. Additionally, you will be required to ensure that we have all necessary cleaning supplies on hand.

As the Kitchen Lead, you will be working with both community based volunteers and those coming to help. You will be responsible for working with the Programmes and Partnership Team Lead on recruiting, and training volunteers for the kitchen.

Specifically, the Kitchen Lead will…

Kitchen Lead

• Menu planning, meal preparation, and ordering of required food and supplies for the kitchen,
• Ensuring that all orders are received and put in the appropriate location,
• Providing day-to-day management and support to the kitchen volunteers to facilitate meals,
• Cleaning the kitchen and storage areas on a regular basis,
• Work with other charities and receive usable food donations, such as Daily Bread, North York Harvest Food Bank, etc.
• Implementing FIFO and other required programs for the kitchen,
• Complete an approved Food Handlers certificate program, and keep up to date,
• Ensure that all government inspections are completely correctly, and implement any required changes or programs,
• Work with your Team Lead and pest control to reduce pests,

Volunteer Support

• Providing support to volunteer program, including scheduling of volunteers, recruiting, and training volunteers,
• Provide coaching and mentoring to the volunteer team and manage them according to their unique skills and needs,
• Getting to know members of the community in order to identify gifts and willingness to be part of the meal creation team
• Cross training staff to be able to cover kitchen activities when you are unavailable or on vacation,

Budget Oversight and Reporting

• Track and manage the kitchen budget in consultation with your Team Lead,
• Submit invoice, receipts, and petty cash documentation in a timely, and accurate manner,
• Flag potential overages or urgent items to your Team Lead,

Maintenance of Equipment

• Ensuring equipment is maintained in safe working condition by scheduling regular maintenance and cleaning, as required. This includes proactively flagging to the Programmes and Partnerships Team Lead when major capital expenditures may be required (e.g. replacing a stove),
• Ensuring all appropriate health & safety standards and requirements are maintained,

Communication and Coordination

• Proactively reach out to your Team Lead regarding additional supports required in the kitchen to ensure the timely delivery of food during our community meals,
• Coordinate the scheduling of repairs or projects regarding the kitchen to ensure that the community meals are not affected,

Community Care and Friendship

• Proactively create friendships within our community, and provide care for those requesting assistance,

Additional expectations for all staff members:

• Bi-weekly staff meetings (currently every other Monday, between 9am-12pm)
• Off-site staff retreats (usually one or two a year, typically running Wednesday to Friday)
• Walking outreach (where kitchen schedule allows)
• Community care (e.g. helping clean someone’s appointment)
• Fundraising activities (e.g. contacting personal donors or participating in collective fundraising)
• Participating in training on anti-racism, anti-oppressive practices, and non-violent de-escalation required
• Participation in training for overdose prevention and response and first aid and BLS required
• Self-care activities (e.g. trauma-informed psychotherapy)
• Professional development (e.g. regularly meeting with mentors)
• Occasional church duty (e.g. provide support to Sunday Team to monitor front-door)
• Planning, participating in and supporting special events (e.g. donor breakfast, Strides for Sanctuary run)

Hours and Compensation

• Full time: Monday to Wednesday (9 to 5), Thursday (1 to 10), Friday (10 to 3), and the odd Sunday shift
• Salary is $59,500 - $70,000
• Benefits package, including LTD (both financial and other benefits)
• 20 days of paid vacation per year

You’ll succeed in this role if you have these characteristics:

• Your Christian faith informs, motivates and inspires all facets of your life.
• You have the desire to become a part of our community, bringing your whole self, and working alongside the members of our community to do all our work.
• You are comfortable with tension and ambiguity. This community includes a wide range of people. We don’t always agree, but we always care for one another. Sanctuary tends towards being a harm-reduction community, and the tension of wanting the best for people while supporting them where they’re at is part of our reality.
• You are a strong communicator. You listen more than you talk, and you want to understand other people’s viewpoints. You are able to convey empathy and conviction.
• You are resourceful. When something goes wrong, you know how to bring together resources on hand to make it right, whether the challenge is logistical or interpersonal.
• You are flexible. Schedules around here are written in pencil, and you will probably be asked to do things you have never done before. You can change plans when the need arises.
• You engage intentionally with self-care. It is essential that you are someone who regularly accesses a personal support network and strives to maintain health through activities and resources that ground and inspire you.

Interview Process

After the initial online application process, the interview process at Sanctuary involves several steps. While we acknowledge that the process is fairly lengthy and involved, we believe it is an important process. If the right candidate is found before the deadline, we will conduct an interview prior to the expected timeline.

1. Those candidates for whom an interview is desired will be contacted by Monday, March 16, 2026, so that an interview time can be set within the following week.
2. Interviews will be conducted with a hiring team the week of March 16, 2026.
3. After the interview, short-listed candidates will be asked to attend at least one Sanctuary drop-in for a minimum of one hour. The drop-in times are Tuesday between 10:30 am – 3:00 pm and Thursday between 4:30 pm – 9:00 pm. Prior to attending the drop-in, the candidate should contact the team to ensure arrangements can be made to provide an orientation to the drop-in setting at Sanctuary. This experience may provide an opportunity for the candidate to talk with some of our team and will offer them a valuable opportunity to get a first-hand sense of the Sanctuary community.
4. After the interview and visits are completed, a successful candidate will be selected and your references will be contacted.
5. Subject to the mutual agreement of yourself and the team, you will be asked to join us. The target start date is early April 2026.