Job Summary

Are you a culinary leader who believes food is more than just sustenance - that a warm meal can restore dignity, build trust, and transform lives?

Ark Aid Street Mission is looking for an operational powerhouse and compassionate leader to step into the role of Coordinator, Kitchen.

In this high-impact leadership role, you won't just be running a high-volume kitchen; you’ll be building a community hub rooted in warmth, safety, and our mission. While you won't always be behind the line prepping daily meals, your professional culinary expertise, sharp operational eye, and social enterprise mindset will set the gold standard for our entire culinary program. From designing nutritious menus and managing budget P&Ls; to recruiting, mentoring, and leading a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, you will shape the heart of our food security services.

If you are an experienced kitchen leader who pairs business acumen with deep empathy (and who wants to use your culinary gifts to foster hope and connection for marginalized individuals) we want to hear from you.

Duties

Planning, Menu Design & Supervision

- Staff & Volunteer Leadership: Direct, mentor, and recruit kitchen staff and volunteers; manage onboarding, scheduling, performance feedback, and disciplinary processes.
- Kitchen & Program Operations: Oversee daily meal production, cleanup, and service workflows, ensuring alignment with organizational schedules, outreach, and social enterprise initiatives.
- Menu Design & Dignity: Develop cost-effective, culturally inclusive, and nutritionally dense menus using donated goods; maintain trauma-informed, respectful service standards.
- Crisis Response: Formulate and execute rapid food and hydration response plans during extreme weather or community emergencies.

Food Logistics, Budget & Supply Chain Management





- Financial Accountability: Oversee purchasing, manage P&L; statements, track operational costs, and apply social enterprise strategies to drive efficiency.
- Inventory & Donation Control: Direct supply chain logistics, FIFO storage rotation, and outreach food allocation; serve as primary liaison for food recovery partners and donors.
- Operational Reporting: Track and report key metrics (meals served, food waste diverted, donation value, P&L; variances) to support grants and organizational KPIs.

Regulatory Compliance, Safety & Volunteer Strategy

- Health & Safety Compliance: Serve as the primary contact for public health inspections, enforcing provincial sanitation codes, WHMIS standards, and equipment maintenance schedules.
- SOPs & Skills Training: Maintain visual kitchen SOPs, recipes, and checklists while conducting ongoing safety, equipment, and culinary training for staff and volunteers.
- Inclusive Volunteer Management: Build structured volunteer programs and deliver trauma-informed, low-barrier mentorship for individuals with lived experience to foster transferable skills.

Required Qualifications

- 3+ years of progressive leadership experience in high-volume, commercial, institutional, or non-profit kitchen settings. Prior experience supervising staff (specifically a Team Lead or Sous Chef role) and volunteers is highly preferred.
- Post-secondary education in Culinary Arts, Hospitality/Food Service Management, Food Security,



or Social Services.
- Strong, demonstrable culinary skills and a comprehensive understanding of high-volume kitchen operations, equipment, scaling recipes, and professional culinary techniques.
- Strong budget-tracking experience, including processing expense reports, managing petty cash, and optimizing food costs.
- Current Safe Food Handler Certification (provincially recognized in Ontario).
- CPR and First Aid Certification.
- Vulnerable Sector Check.
- A strong, demonstrable commitment to the Christian values, faith-based mission, and community-led vision of Ark Aid.

Preferred Qualifications

- Certification/education in Nutrition, Dietary Management, or Non-Profit Management are highly valued.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating, training, and managing large groups of diverse volunteers, including corporate volunteers, community members, and individuals with lived experience.
- Experience working with regional food-recovery networks (e.g., local food banks) and managing high-volume, donated inventory with unpredictable supply chains.
- Familiarity with waste-diversion systems, composting programs, and sustainable kitchen practices.
- A deep understanding of the systemic factors contributing to food insecurity, poverty, and homelessness.
- Red Seal or equivalent certification/training

Pay: From $52,650.00 per year

Benefits:

- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Extended health care
- Life insurance
- In office parking
- Paid time off
- Vision care
- Wellness program

Ability to commute/relocate:

- London, ON N5W 2Z4: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Education:

- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)

Experience:

- Culinary: 3 years (required)

Work Location: In person

📌 Kitchen Coordinator (Canada)
🏢 Ark Aid Street Mission
📍 Canada