About this role
Wellness Manager
What We Do
YESS is a not-for-profit agency working with youth facing difficult realities. Based in Edmonton, our Youth Support Centre provides immediate and low-barrier 24/7 sleep support and individualized wrap-around supports for young people aged 15 -24.
We work collaboratively within a network of care, focused on the prevention of youth homelessness by providing youth with the necessary supports to stabilize their housing, improve their wellbeing, build life skills, connect with community, and avoid re-entry into homelessness.
We are committed to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion, and to cultivating an environment where all individuals feel respected, valued, and supported. YESS is an equal opportunity employer and always strives to ensure all employment decisions are grounded in equity, fairness, and merit.
What You Will Do
Reporting to the Chief Programs Officer, the Food & Life Skills Manager leads YESS' food services and practical life-skills programming. The role ensures safe, reliable, nutritious, and culturally responsive meals while using cooking, budgeting, cleaning, hospitality, and shared responsibilities to build youth confidence, capability, and readiness for adulthood.
Hours of Work: Full-Time, onsite, 40 hours per week as assigned, with flexibility for operational needs.
Key Responsibilities
Program Leadership & Service Excellence
• Provide leadership, direction, and accountability for YESS' Food & Life Skills programming across approved service locations
• Develop operating plans, schedules, budgets, service standards, and measurable outcomes aligned with organizational priorities
• Ensure programming is trauma-informed, youth-centered, culturally responsive, accessible, and developmentally appropriate
Food Services, Safety & Resource Stewardship
• Ensure reliable access to safe, nutritious, high-quality, and culturally responsive meals, including dietary and allergy accommodations
• Oversee menus, food production, service, hospitality, sanitation, receiving, storage, inventory, procurement, equipment, and continuity planning
• Maintain compliance, required records, inspection readiness, corrective actions, facilities coordination, and escalation under AHS, food-safety, OHS, WHMIS, privacy, and agency requirements
• Manage the approved budget, purchasing, vendors, inventory, donations, cost per meal, waste, spoilage, and sustainability opportunities
Life Skills, Youth Development & Employment Pathways
• Develop structured learning in cooking, nutrition, grocery budgeting, food safety, cleaning, household routines, hospitality, and shared responsibility
• Use supported practice to assess and document demonstrated capability, not attendance alone
• Coordinate culturally responsive cooking, certifications, and work-preparation activities with staff, volunteers, cultural knowledge holders, and partners
• Connect demonstrated skills and youth interests to career exploration, placements, internships, references, and employment opportunities
Staff, Volunteer & Partnership Leadership
• Recruit, onboard, schedule, supervise, coach, and evaluate Kitchen Staff and other assigned team members
• Set expectations for safety, daily kitchen leadership, youth engagement, documentation, teamwork, boundaries, hospitality, and resource stewardship
• Develop a coordinated volunteer and partnership model with clear orientation, safeguards, supervision, recognition, and mission-aligned relationships
Integration, Data & Continuous Improvement
• Coordinate with Safety & Stabilization, Wellness, and Transition & Follow-Up so food, household skills, certifications, and employment activities support one youth-owned plan
• Ensure accurate, timely documentation of programs, services, competencies, certifications, volunteer contributions, inventory, incidents, and corrective actions
• Use data, youth feedback, staff observations, and accessibility information to improve quality and report to leadership, funders, auditors, and accreditors
Key Outcomes
• Reliable, safe, nutritious, culturally responsive food service with consistent safety, sanitation, and dietary-accommodation standards
• Increased youth capability in cooking, budgeting, household routines, hospitality, certifications, and employment readiness
• Strong staff capability, operational continuity, responsible resource stewardship, accurate documentation, and youth-informed improvement
Core Competencies & Expectations
Demonstrates integrity and confidentiality; communicates clearly and respectfully; delivers results; provides compassionate service; applies sound judgment; and fosters teamwork while valuing diverse perspectives.
Qualifications & Experience
• Diploma, degree, or recognized credential in Culinary Arts, Food Service Management, Nutrition, Hospitality, or a related field; an equivalent combination of education and substantial relevant experience may be considered.
• 2+ years of progressively responsible food-service, community-food, or hospitality experience, including staff leadership in a commercial, community, or high-volume kitchen
• Experience with practical training, menu planning, food production, food safety, inventory, procurement, cost control, budgets, vendors, records, and operational reporting.
• Knowledge of food insecurity, youth homelessness, trauma-informed practice, cultural responsiveness, accessibility, and barriers to adulthood; youth-service, volunteer, CARF, or Red Seal experience is an asset
What You Bring
• Current recognized Food Safety certification and strong knowledge of Alberta public-health requirements, Occupational Health and Safety legislation, and WHMIS
• Valid Alberta Class 5 driver's licence, driver's abstract, proof of vehicle insurance, and clear PIC and CIRC checks obtained within the last six months
• Ability to safely lift up to 50 pounds and work around common kitchen hazards; First Aid, ASIST, NVCI or TCI, and trauma-informed-care training are assets
YESS is an equal opportunity employer, committed to an inclusive and safe work environment for people of all backgrounds.
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those shortlisted will be contacted.