Drop-In Centre/Outreach Worker (Casual)

Title: Hospitality Team Member

Department: Hospitality

Reports To: Hospitality Manager

Organizational Overview

Since 1975 The Mustard Seed Street Church has been essential in fighting hunger and restoring faith to our community in Greater Victoria. Our operations are nearly 100 percent community funded and include Vancouver Island's largest and most accessible Food Bank; daily meals, coffee, and snacks; Hospitality programs; and a Food Security Distribution Centre. We offer church services and community building faith-based programming, as well as pastoral care for those seeking a place to belong and grow spiritually. Community is at the heart of everything we do. Through these core programs, we assist over 5,000 people each month with the help of more than 50 daily volunteers and many generous financial supporters!

Position Overview

The Hospitality Team Member plays a frontline role in creating a safe, welcoming, environment for the MSSC’s downtown property and services. This position focuses on building meaningful relationships with community members; supporting daily programming; and maintaining safety for people and property. Hospitality Team Members are often the first point of contact for guests and play a key role in fostering trust, de-escalating conflict, and creating a space where dignity, belonging, and deep care can be experienced. A successful Hospitality Team Member has a strong balance of relational presence, situational awareness, teamwork, and practical service. The Hospitality Team Member works closely with staff and volunteers from diverse backgrounds and experiences across the organization’s many departments. This position supports meal services, internal programming, a clothing room, coffee window service, building and property cleanliness, and support for other drop in services while upholding MSSC values and safety standards.

Key Responsibilities

Safety & Stewardship

• Actively build and nurture a physically, emotionally, and mentally safe environment for community members, volunteers, and staff within the building.
• Maintain situational awareness of shared spaces (including but not exclusive to: washrooms, chapel area, entry points, curbside)
• Respond calmly and professionally to crises, conflicts, overdoses, or emergencies in accordance with training, protocols, and organizational values.
• Provide emergency response support as trained (e.g., First Aid, Naloxone, crisis de-escalation) and engage external emergency services when required.
• Support the stewardship of MSSC property and assets through attentive presence, monitoring of building access, and timely reporting of safety and maintenance concerns to management.
• Follow safe work practices and contribute to a culture of cleanliness, respect, and shared responsibility.

Relationship Building & Community Presence

• Build respectful, trust-based relationships with guests, recognizing that strong community connection contributes directly to the safety, well-being, and conflict prevention.
• Engage community members with dignity, compassion, and consistency including moments of heightened stress or crisis.
• Model inclusive, equitable, anti-oppressive, and strengths-based interactions with guests, volunteers, and staff.
• Collaborate with fellow team members and leadership to maintain a unified, supportive, and values-aligned presence throughout all shared spaces.

Frontline Services Support

• Provide consistent frontline support across hospitality services, including meal service, coffee window operations, clothing access, and internal programming.
• Support the safe, dignified, and welcoming delivery of services to community members, ensuring interactions are respectful, calm, and aligned with MSSC values.

• Offer relational presence in frontline spaces, assisting guests with requests related to food, clothing, or programming in a manner that prioritizes dignity, choice, and care.
• Support and encourage volunteers across frontline services (kitchen, coffee window, clothing room, and programming), helping ensure clarity of roles, safety, and compassionate service delivery.
• Assist with the preparation, delivery, and clean-up of frontline services as needed, contributing to smooth flow, cleanliness, and efficiency.
• Help maintain orderly, accessible, and emotionally safe environments in all service areas by anticipating concerns and responding promptly and respectfully.
• Support internal programming by planning, leading, or participating in activities such as games, art, movie times, Bible study, prayer, and other community-building initiatives.
• Foster an environment where participation in faith-based activities is invitational, respectful, and inclusive.
• Identify and communicate concerns, incidents, or emerging needs within frontline service areas to the Hospitality Manager or appropriate staff.

General

• Leading by example for all Hospitality Team Members in areas of safety, efficiency and professionalism.

• Assist with training, supporting, supervising volunteers with a range of diverse personalities and skills.
• Effective communication with other MSSC departments, donors, vendors, partner agencies, staff, volunteers and general public.
• Attending and participating in all relevant staff/team meetings and training opportunities as available
• Event support for Development team as needed.
• Participate in annual employee and program evaluation process.

Other duties as required.

Key Competencies

• Ability to meet physical demands of position; standing, walking, lifting for entire shift
• Able to receive and follow instructions from supervisors
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent de-escalation skills
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Team player; leads by example and thrives in group dynamics
• Ability to work under pressure
• Strong initiative and demonstrable work ethic
• Responsible and accountable
• Compassionate and kind demeanor

Qualifications

• Required: Experience working with unhoused individuals, those living with addictions, and/or those facing complex social barriers.
• Required: Computer Skills; working knowledge of Microsoft Office suit; competency in data collection, entry, and project management software
• Required: Naloxone training (or willingness to obtain)
• Required: De-Escalation Training-NVCI, ASIST etc (or willingness to obtain)
• Required: Standard First Aid and CPR-C (or willingness to obtain)
• Assets: WHIMIS; Food Safe;
• Assets: Driver’s License and acceptable abstract

Terms of Employment

• Must sign the Staff Code of Conduct
• Must read, agree to follow, and sign The Mustard Seed Street Church Policy & Procedure Manual which is a living, changing document
• This position reports to: Hospitality Manager
• Term: Casual, On Call
• Shift range: Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm

                             Weekend Meals Friday 4-8pm and Saturday 9-5pm

                             Additional seasonal event support as needed (hours will vary)

• Must provide an acceptable Vulnerable Sector Criminal Record Check
• Must provide completed Medical Assessment form from your Medical Practitioner 

As our programs and community continue to grow, this job description may evolve to reflect changing priorities and shared responsibilities.