Warehouse and Program Helper (EFHP) Kitchener, ON, Canada

House of Friendship of Kitchener; Kitchener; Hybrid; CAD 30,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

3 weeks vacation and personal days

Employee and Family Assistance program

Group RRSP and TFSA options

Job summary

House of Friendship in Kitchener is seeking a Warehouse and Program Helper to support weekly food distribution and community programs. The role involves assisting staff, volunteers, and participants, coordinating food donations, and helping manage program spaces and supplies.

The position requires a valid G class driver’s license, ability to travel within Waterloo Region, and pre-employment Police Records Check. Forklift experience is an asset and timely, professional work is essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum high school education required.
• Experience in a warehouse environment is an asset.
• Knowledge of shipping and receiving is an asset.
• Forklift operation training is an asset.
• Food Handler Certification is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Assist CDW and program leaders to facilitate food distribution.
• Interact with participants and support crowd management.
• Support de-escalation with trauma-informed approach.
• Coordinate pickups of donations for food programs.
• Maintain safety checks, mileage logs, and reporting for vehicle repairs.
• Assist with setup and maintenance of program spaces.
• Receive, sort, store food and non-food items.
• Operate forklift for loading/unloading and warehouse flow.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Conflict management

Team player

Diversity awareness

Trauma-informed

Logistics

Education

High School Diploma

Tools

Forklift

Job description

At House of Friendship, we believe in what we are doing. We get out of bed each day to make a difference in our community; to walk with and to serve. We are not happy with the status quo. We get energy from ongoing learning and growth. We lead with passion and believe without a doubt that everyone deserves to belong and thrive. We live and breathe our values of Compassion, Inclusion, Justice, Dignity and Hope. And we have fun!

Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? It is!

House of Friendship’s Emergency Food Hamper & Neighbourhood Food Programs walk with our community to prevent and reduce the impacts of poverty, food insecurity and isolation in Waterloo Region. Through these programs we contribute to a healthy, resilient community where all can belong and thrive. This position involves interacting with the public in a friendly manner while supporting food programs through helping to lead weekly food distribution, assisting with food ordering, shipping and receiving of food supplies and picking up and delivering food donations.

This is a contract position, from approximately November 19, 2026, to December 24, 2026. We are hiring for both part-time (15 hours/week) and full-time (37.5 hours/week) schedules; please indicate your preference during your application. Both schedules are within Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Valid G class driver’s license required; frequent travel throughout Waterloo Region and other townships. Successful completion of a Police Records Check (Vulnerable Sector) required pre-employment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist Community Development Worker (CDW), Program Leaders, teammates and volunteers to facilitate food distribution programs at various sites
• Interact with participants and support CDW with crowd management
• Work as a team to support de-escalation of participants experiencing heightened emotions with a trauma informed approach
• Responsible for pick-ups of donations for House of Friendship food programs from various donors and community partners
• Maintain consistent communication and safety check-ins with supervisor while out in the community
• Responsible for safety checks, mileage log, and reporting needs for repair of HOF vehicles
• Assist with the set up and maintenance of program space and program supplies
• Assist with general cleaning and organizing of program spaces
• Receive, sort, organize and store food and non-food items
• Load & unload food trucks operating the forklift
• Maintain warehouse flow in an efficient and safe manner through guiding volunteers, maintaining a clear and safe work area and regularly checking warehouse equipment
• Carry out regular tasks associated with food safety
• Assist with duties related to Christmas Program as well as other program related projects throughout the year

Job Specific Knowledge/Skills:

• Ability to work independently in a busy environment
• Interest in food issues and knowledge of community resources
• Strong ability to receive and follow instructions
• Knowledge of food products and food safety issues is an asset
• Knowledge of social work principles and/or food security issues would be an asset
• Basic Computer and Microsoft office knowledge and experience is required

Education/Experience:

• Minimum high school education is required
• Experience in a warehouse environment would be an asset
• Knowledge and experience in shipping and receiving is an asset
• Previous experience in pick-ups and deliveries is an asset
• Experience and training in operating a forklift is an asset
• Food Handler Certification an asset

Critical Skills:

• Commitment to understand and uphold the mission and values of House of Friendship is expected
• Exemplary emotional intelligence, resilience, communication, conflict management and problem-solving skills required
• Ability to work professionally as a team member with staff, participants and community members
• Experience or strong interest in working with diverse populations including people from various cultural backgrounds, income levels, and sensitivity to their needs
• Experience with and commitment to using an anti-racism, anti-oppressive and trauma informed approach to consultation, program design, evaluations of processes and service delivery
• Must be dependable, professional, flexible, a team player, and have a positive attitude
• Respectful, supportive and engaging approach to persons with physical and/or cognitive disabilities, addictions, mental illness and other life challenges
• Excellent project, timeline and deadline management skills including skills in logistics, planning and detailed record keeping

Compensation:

At House of Friendship, we know that our team members are the key to the success of our organization and our ability to provide essential services to the community. In support of our mission and in alignment with our values, House of Friendship is committed to ensuring fair, market competitive, and rewarding compensation practices for all of our team members. We aspire to support our team members to create a great work environment where our team is able to thrive, succeed, and have a positive work experience.

House of Friendship compensation practices including our pay grid, have been developed using documented leading pay practices in the not-for-profit sector including Pathways to Decent Work (Ontario Nonprofit Network) and Ontario Living Wage Network. We value the experience that new team members bring to the organization and have a process in place to review previous related experience for placement on our pay grid.

We value the work that you do with fair pay and benefits:

• 3weeks vacation, pay on each pay with opportunity to have vacation pay deposited into a separate account to save for when vacation time is taken, 2 paid personal days annually
• Employee and Family Assistance program
• We help you save for the future by providing access to Group RRSP and Group TFSA options

Rate of Pay:

At House of Friendship all compensation ranges are categorized under a series of “grades” and we base our payment structure on internal equity. When determining rate of pay, a candidate’s past related experience will be taken into consideration.

Grade: 3

Min: $22.08

Mid: $22.52

Max: $23.98

Working Conditions:

• Must be able to lift between 20-40 pounds and stand for 3-4 hours at a time
• Programs are facilitated at community centres throughout the Region of Waterloo and House of Friendship Emergency Food Hampers
• Travel throughout the Region of Waterloo and surrounding areas
• Time off/vacation is not permitted during the Christmas season (during the months of November and December)
• May encounter participants at program sites who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and/or experiencing symptoms of mental illness

This role is being posted to fill a current vacancy.

House of Friendship is open and inviting to qualified candidates with lived experience.

House of Friendship supports justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. We strive to be a workplace free of harassment and discrimination and we are committed to removing barriers and being an inclusive, work environment. House of Friendship is a place where each person can bring their true selves and feel that they belong. We aspire to be an organization that is anti-racist and anti-oppressive so that our team, and therefore our community, can truly belong and thrive.

We invite applications from all qualified candidates and actively encourage applications from members of groups with historical and/or current barriers to accessing employment including, but not limited to Indigenous Peoples, members of racialized groups, persons with disabilities, women, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

If you require accommodations to be able to participate fully at any stage in the recruitment process, including applying for this position, please let us know so that we can discuss accommodation options. Accommodations will be provided upon request.

If you are as passionate as we are about serving the community, let’s talk.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter here:

https://house-of-friendship.hirehive.com/warehouse-and-program-helper-efhp-kitchener-on-w6Afvn

By end of day October 16, 2026.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not being used in the screening of applications.