Hospitality (Outreach) Team Member

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 our 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 in order to contribute to a culture of shared responsibility for the cleanliness of the interior of the shared spaces as well as the exterior of the building.

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, internal programming, and the safety and cleanliness of the interior of the building and exterior property.
• 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

• Assist with training, supporting, supervising volunteers with a range of diverse personalities and skills.
• Being proactive in completing janitorial tasks to the interior of the building as well as the exterior as needed, following training and health and safety protocols.
• Leading by example for all Hospitality Team Members in areas of safety, efficiency and professionalism.
• 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

• This position reports to: Hospitality Manager
• Term: Casual/On call
• Must read, agree to follow, and sign The Mustard Seed Street Church HR Manual which is a living, changing document
• The expected starting wage for this position is $20.00-21.50/hour, depending on qualifications and relevant experience. The full wage range for this position is $20.00–$25.00/hour. Employees progress through the wage range based on performance, experience and organizational wage progression practices. The wage ranges are revisited annually.
• Must sign the Staff Code of Conduct
• Shift range: Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, Friday 12-8pm, Saturday 9-5, Sunday 11-4

Additional seasonal event support as needed (hours will vary)

• Must provide an acceptable Vulnerable Sector Criminal Record Check
  

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

MSSC Commitment to Inclusion

The Mustard Seed Street Church is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a welcoming, respectful and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, experiences and walks of life. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates who are legally entitled to work in Canada.

MSSC Benefits

Permanent employees are eligible for our generous benefits package, which includes extended health, dental and vision coverage, prescription medication coverage, paramedical services, mental health supports and other wellness benefits. Our benefits package is designed to support the health and well-being of our employees and their families.