Job Purpose
The Program & Administrative Assistant is a pivotal operational role that serves as the central administrative hub and front-facing anchor for Ark Aid Street Mission.
This role is primarily focused on executing cross-functional administrative duties, managing communications, and tracking critical organizational metrics while maintaining a standardized, safe, and respectful reception environment. By fostering safety, dignity, and connection at our main point of entry, the Program & Administrative Assistant directly advances the Christian mission of Ark Aid Street Mission Inc. - facilitating opportunities for marginalized individuals and those experiencing homelessness to experience love, healing, and liberation.
Key Responsibilities
Responsibility Area 1: Core Administration & Inter-Departmental Support
- General Administration: Coordinate scheduling, manage administrative calendars, book meetings, prepare agendas, and record accurate meeting minutes across multiple teams. Maintain a centralized digital filing system.
- Kitchen Logistics: Assist the kitchen department by preparing drivers' manifests, scheduling donation pick-ups, tracking food donations, ordering food/kitchen supplies, and taking minutes for kitchen meetings.
- Program Support: Provide comprehensive administrative backing to the programming team by recording objective, action-oriented Team Lead meeting minutes; coordinating and calling in staff coverage for weekend and holiday shifts every Friday; and managing program inventory by sorting paperwork, stocking front-desk resource materials, and submitting weekly supply orders.
- Volunteer Support: Support the intake process for potential volunteers, scheduling interviews, and booking informational tours; actively tracking volunteer service hours within organizational databases; and dynamically calling in volunteers or executing Dinner Team Lead check-ins to ensure proper operational coverage.
- Process Improvement: Collaborate with the Administrative and Executive team on team projects, including standard operating procedure (SOP) development, writing, and process flow documentation.
Responsibility Area 2: Front Desk Operations & Reception
- Welcoming Environment: Greet and support all visitors (including staff, volunteers, guests, donors, dignitaries, and community members) with warmth, respect, and dignity.
- Inbound Communication: Act as the primary point of contact; answer, filter, and direct phone calls professionally, transfer calls, take accurate messages, and manage external and internal email or social media inquiries.
- Front Desk Maintenance: Maintain a safe, clean, and organized front desk environment; bring building signage in and out daily, and monitor all facility deliveries.
- Safety Coordination: Address unusual concerns or situational escalations at the front door; coordinate directly with security or emergency services if a critical incident occurs.
Responsibility Area 3: Donation Processing & Donor Relations
- Donation Processing: Safely receive, categorize, and process in-person donations according to established procedures; accurately fill in the front donation log and utilize other tracking tools.
- Donor Communications: Facilitate the donor in-person experience, communicate specific material needs at the Ark to donors upon request, and assist with backend Donor Management Systems (including sending thank-you letters and cards).
- Financial Hand-offs: Securely receive and log incoming community member emails and Ark Aid cheques, working closely with the bookkeeper to ensure financial compliance.
Qualifications & Skills
Required Qualifications:
- Minimum 2 years of progressive experience in executive administration, office management, or a data-heavy administrative role, ideally within a non-profit, faith-based, or community services environment.
- Proven track record of maintaining strict analytical accuracy, data integrity, and attention to detail while simultaneously managing a busy front-facing desk and navigating frequent public interruptions
- Post-secondary diploma or degree in Office Administration, Business Administration, Social Services, or a related field.
- Prior experience utilizing non-profit Donor Management System software (e.g., Raiser's Edge, CanadaHelps, Salesforce, Keela, DonorPerfect).
- 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:
- Prior experience working or volunteering within a non-profit, community health, housing, or social services sector is considered an asset.
- Experience managing vendor relationships, office supply tracking, or ordering systems.
- Safe Food Handling Certification.
- Experience
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Digital Literacy: Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel), Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive), and shared communication platforms. Experience with Donor Management Systems or scheduling software is considered an asset.
- Organizational Capabilities: Exceptional time management, multitasking skills, and data entry accuracy; capability to handle sensitive documents and maintain a high standard of confidentiality.
- Minutes & Records Standards: Demonstrable ability to take concise, objective, and action-oriented meeting minutes.
- Logistics & Schedule Coordination: Proficiency in coordinate-heavy tasks, such as managing shared calendars, routing driver manifests, and optimizing multi-tier volunteer schedules.
Organizational Requirements
- Health & Safety Compliance: Strict adherence to all Ark Aid Occupational Health and Safety policies and protocols, including the correct and consistent use of provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safe handling practices for biohazards or sharp objects.
- Organizational Policies: Commitment to upholding all internal policies, codes of conduct, confidentiality agreements, and privacy regulations regarding community member, volunteer, and donor data.
- Collaborative Accountability: Ability to take constructive direction from supervisors regarding administration needs, safety concerns, and fluid operational priorities.
- Incident Reporting: Responsibility for completing clear, objective, and timely documentation, including incident reports, donation logs, shift logs, and maintenance requests as required.
- Team Participation: Active participation in mandatory administrative team meetings, staff debriefs, and ongoing professional development or training sessions (e.g., non-violent crisis intervention, trauma-informed care).
Core Competencies
- Trauma-Informed Engagement: A deep understanding of harm reduction and trauma-informed care principles, with a willingness to actively participate in ongoing organizational training when interacting with community members at the front door.
- Interpersonal Excellence: Proven ability to interact with community members, donors, and the general public with a high level of respect, emotional intelligence, empathy, and patience.
- Cultural Sensitivity: An inclusive, non-judgmental approach to service delivery that honors and respects diverse cultural, racialized, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds.
- Psychological Resilience & Self-Awareness: Demonstrates the emotional and psychological stamina required to navigate frontline social services from an administrative and reception hub. Ability to maintain strong professional boundaries, practice self-awareness, and utilize healthy coping strategies when processing challenging community dynamics.
AI Screening Notice
Ark Aid Street Mission values a thoughtful and personal hiring process. All applications are reviewed directly by our hiring team, and we do not use artificial intelligence (AI) or automated systems to screen or filter candidates.
Pay: $22.00 per hour
Flexible language requirement:
Work Location: In person
