CICS is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower newcomers in settling and integrating as contributing members of Canadian society through diverse, professional and innovative program and services. We work to enable newcomers to fully integrate, participate and contribute to all spheres of Canadian society. Our success stems from our workforce culture bound by three core values: Compassion, Inclusivity and Collaboration.
Ref No: 20A-19 / Worker
Job Title: Community Food Program Facilitator (Worker)
Term: One year contract, renewable until December 2021
Location: CICS Head Office – 2330 Midland Avenue
Work Hours: 35 hours per week, may require to work irregular hours including evenings, weekends and some holidays
Hourly Rate: $22.82 per hour
Position Summary
CICS is currently implementing the ENRICH project (Enabled, Nourished, Resilient, Involved, Connected and Healthy Communities), a three-year (2019-2021) community gardening and healthy eating project, supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. ENRICH aims to build on achievements, lessons learned and promising practices in urban food security and agriculture, enabling increasing numbers of newcomers, immigrants and refugees to gain new skills and knowledge, connect with others and contribute to the vibrancy and wellbeing of their communities. As a year-round field-to-table program, it includes gardening, outdoor and environmental stewardship activities in the Spring/Summer and a harvest celebration, food preservation, healthy cooking, nutrition education, and community meals in the Fall/Winter, providing an intercultural space to bring people together and make connections through food.
The Community Food Program Facilitator will be responsible for planning and facilitating food-focused community engagement, education and relationship building activities that meet the needs of newcomer clients. This includes working with all age groups, from early years, children, youth, adults and seniors as well as individuals with mental health challenges and/or limited English language skills. The Community Food Program Facilitator will work directly with newcomer clients and program partners on a day-to-day basis, with the aim of contributing to increasingly positive settlement, integration and wellbeing outcomes among newcomers in the GTA.
Essential duties and responsibilities
• Plan and facilitate community garden, cooking and healthy living training and workshops for program clients, including preparing culturally-sensitive learning and engagement material;
• Participate in the planning, execution and follow-up of community and other program related events (e.g. CICS’s Annual Harvest Festival, etc.);
• Support overall program planning, implementation, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation of community garden, kitchen and other food focussed program activities;
• Provide instructions and work collaboratively with clients/program participants and volunteers to complete garden and kitchen tasks as a part of community garden and kitchen programming;
• Provide an environment that facilitates building positive social connections and relationships with diverse clients;
• Plan, plant, irrigate and maintain the community garden, including preparing beds and paths, planting, weeding, non-toxic/organic pest control, watering, harvesting and winterizing, etc.
• Plan garden, kitchen and related program purchases within available budget, purchase materials and prepare garden and kitchen space for program activities;
• Lift, move and work with gardening and cooking tools and supplies, up to 50 lbs;
• Work with internal and external groups, including volunteers and instructors, to prepare material and maintain the CICS community garden and kitchen;
• Maintain accurate data, including data collection/entry, and provide timely and accurate status updates to program supervisor as required, this includes tracking client and volunteer participation, food produced, etc.;
• Support other program administration tasks as required, such as researching and planning material purchases, data entry/records maintenance, photocopying/filing documents, organizing gardening tools and/or cooking program supplies, maintaining storage and warehouse space, etc.);
• Support opportunities to promote CICS programs internally and externally;
• Remain informed on information, resources, and policies relevant to project mission.
Qualifications (Education/Knowledge/Skills/Experience)
• Minimum college diploma in a related field (e.g. culinary skills, food and farming, horticulture, etc.). Undergraduate degree in sustainable agriculture, food security, social services, community development or a related field an asset;
• Work experience demonstrating gardening, urban agriculture/farming and cooking knowledge, techniques and skills;
• Experience planning and delivering group training and workshops;
• Ability to perform physical labour required to maintain a garden and work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions as well as work in a commercial kitchen setting;
• Ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with diverse communities, including newcomer/refugee/ at-risk/low-income individuals and families;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently as a self-starter;
• Proficient written and verbal communication skills in English; additional language(s) a strong asset (particularly Mandarin and/or Cantonese);
• Computer skills, including word processing, spreadsheet and data management.
Other Requirements
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends throughout the year;
• Vulnerable Sector Screening required.
Resumes and cover letters are to be sent to CICS by email: hr@cicscanada.com by 5:00 pm on Thursday, August 8, 2019.
Application should quote # Job 20A-19 / Community Food Program Facilitator (Worker) and address the covering letter to: Hiring Committee - Centre for Immigrant and Community Services (CICS), 2330 Midland Avenue, Toronto, ON M1S 5G5
CICS is an equal opportunity employer. We provide accommodations during the recruitment process for persons with disabilities if required. This will be in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarians Disability Act and Ontario Human Rights Code. We thank all those who respond to this posting. Only those selected for further screening will be contacted. No telephone call inquiries
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