People and Coaching

The Working Centre is a dynamic community-based organization organized under four key hubs

• Work and Livelihood
• St. John’s Kitchen and Outreach
• Housing and Shelter, and
• Community Tools and Enterprise

Projects range from: employment supports and financial problem solving; an integrated response to homelessness and addictions including a community kitchen hub, medical and mental health supports, street and encampment outreach; a growing network of affordable and supportive housing and shelters; community enterprise projects including cafes, a bicycle recycling shop, a computer recycling shop, a housewares and furniture thrift store.

For the past 40+ years, we have been a gathering of people who are working together intentionally and thoughtfully, responding to the work of community building, thinking creatively, involving people in the work, and keeping our work as non-bureaucratic and responsive as we can. As a living systems organization, our practices and approaches have the openness to evolve, depend on cooperation, responsiveness and hospitality, and cultivate the kind of diversity that makes us hold together as a strong web.

JOB SUMMARY

The People and Coaching role works to build our teams, interview and welcome new people, and support people who are working in our many projects. The Working Centre team consists of over 200 people working in more than 30 projects. This role is part of an integrated team working to welcome people to the culture of our organization, to share frameworks that help people to understand how to do this work well, and to design and redesign relevant training and resources as we work dynamically together. As part of a team, the focus of this role is on the more typical HR skills, focusing on the details of hiring and employment, supporting the frameworks and thoughtful tracking of details, to ensure that people feel respected, held and strengthened in their work. We are looking for someone who would enjoy working with us to interpret HR requirements into our living systems model and approach.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

• As part of the team, support the full journey of a person working with us, including recruitment, onboarding, engagement, support and endings
• Ensure that all paperwork, mandatory trainings, and accreditations are completed and tracked
• Bring awareness of legislation, ensuring that practices are compliant and hold respect and care for each person
• Support Health & Safety learning, onboarding and practice.
• Support the building and maintaining of descriptions of roles that that are reviewed annually to ensure we are reflecting the work and the commitments of each worker.
• Co-lead learning sessions on Working Centre philosophy and approach to the work based in relationship building, trauma-informed care, respect, holding the person at the centre, working in non-hierarchical environments.
• Co-Lead learning sessions on the core skills of the work including awareness of community resources, drug poisoning response, de-escalation, knowledge of the housing system, community medical supports, mental health and addiction supports, belongings management, suicide awareness, working with people with psychosis, health and safety, and holding healthy boundaries. We do these sessions across the organization, bringing people together to learn from others, harmonize their work, and build relationships across projects.
• Help us to continuously create new learning that responds to the challenges that emerge in our work.
• Maintain a broad organizational perspective as we explore best fit for each worker and changing project needs across the organization. Responsive work is possible when we create a culture that recognizes how the parts and the whole fit together.
• Join in conversations with Team Leads, Scheduling, and Payroll to shape and support the role for each worker, consistent with our needs and theirs, and holding the balance of these priorities.

• Work to support the learning and exchange in our highly diverse organization, where we have dynamic conversations about ways that equity and belonging for all create many complex learning moments and often complicated conversations.

QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS

• An openness to listen, to ask questions, to see the strengths in each person. Equally, an ability to enunciate ideas that are invitational but also set the frame in which we welcome people to the work.
• Ability to welcome other points of view and ideas, recognizing and embracing different and contrary perspectives with kindness, curiosity, and encouragement; we practice the cultivation of diversity in our spaces, keeping ourselves open to the change and strengths that come with this commitment.
• Strong attention to detail, while holding responsiveness to the changing realities of our work
• Ability to multi-task, deal with multiple demands, and to stay calm under pressure; we know that the details of tending our team members’ journey are an important form of the care.
• Hard worker who is willing to go the extra mile to meet people and project needs.
• At least 5 years experience working in HR work.
• Ability to work well independently as well as to function effectively as a member of a diverse team
• Willingness to bring practical and focused skills to build structures and frameworks that strengthen cooperative organizational infrastructure.
• Willingness to learn with us about how to sustain our living systems model.
• Willing to engage in the thoughtful connecting and ongoing support of team members that help them to bring their best selves into complex work.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

We are looking for someone to join our team full time, working Mondays to Fridays from 9am-5pm.

The Working Centre has always held an equal salary policy across the organization, reducing comparisons and hierarchy. Our leadership has always accepted less money in respect of this ethic. This position is created within this spirit, while also inviting an agile mind to foster both the beauty of the work and the systems and commitments that increasingly challenge the work. This position starts near the top of our salary policy, $66,000-$70,500 annually, recognizing the unique needs of this role. We offer a full benefits package that starts after 3 months of full-time work.

APPLICATION PROCESS

The Working Centre is a dynamic and highly responsive organization. Co-workers come from all walks of life, a variety of cultural backgrounds, and an eclectic mix of age groups. We are constantly learning and are challenged in our work. Our work is flexible, anchored in key ethical principles, always balancing needs of funders as we work hard to serve growing numbers of people. The work environment is meaningful, respectful and we do good work together.

This work is more than a job – it is about committed community work in a collaborative environment. If you think that this role would make you excited to come to work every day, we’d like to hear from you.

Email your application to working@theworkingcentre.org and include:

• A cover letter explaining your interest in this position, our organization and how your experience and skill would be a good fit.
• Your resume

We thank everyone who applies for this position. We will only reach out to people who we will invite to an interview. We do not use AI in screening applications.