Community Health and Safety Manager

Community Manager

Employer: St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Ballard - Edible Hope Kitchen

Worksite: 6512 12th Ave NW Seattle, WA 98117

30 hours/week | $25-28/hour | Healthcare and 403(b) benefits

Edible Hope Kitchen is looking for a Community Manager: a person who will help keep our dining room, kitchen, and campus safe, clean, and welcoming for the neighbors we serve. You will be a core member of our small staff team, helping power a volunteer-driven meals program that has served Seattle's Ballard neighborhood for 40 years.

You’ll report to the Program Director, who will provide regular support. If you have some but not all of the attributes listed under "What we’re looking for," we still encourage you to apply.

To apply: Send Resume and Cover Letter to meals@stlukesseattle.org. Accepting applications until the position is filled, but preference given to applications received by November 20.

Why You May Want to Apply

• Meaningful daily impact: You'll help ensure that hundreds of neighbors can eat a hearty breakfast every weekday morning in a space that feels safe and welcoming.
• Real responsibility: You will be trusted with essential operations, including campus safety and emergency response.
• Community: Work alongside passionate staff and volunteers to do good work.
• Strong compensation and benefits: $25-28/hour, healthcare benefits, and a generous retirement contribution (details below).

About Edible Hope Kitchen

Edible Hope Kitchen provides abundant, nutritious breakfast Monday–Friday to anyone who comes through our doors. Almost all of the food we serve is recovered from local grocers and distributors and would otherwise be discarded.

Guests may stay as long as they like and eat as much as they like. This year, we’re on track to serve more than 50,000 hot meals to neighbors experiencing hunger. Beyond food, EHK is a lively and welcoming community hub where guests, volunteers, and staff connect and feel at home. When possible, we also connect people experiencing hardship with broader resources such as housing and healthcare.

EHK is almost entirely volunteer-driven, with close to two hundred annual volunteers and more than two dozen highly committed weekly or twice-weekly volunteers.

Founded as a small prayer group in a church basement 40 years ago, EHK has grown into a fixture of Ballard Hunger relief. We share a tax ID with St. Luke's Episcopal Church and benefit from its institutional support; however, EHK is a separate organization with a separate location. All guests are welcome to eat at Edible Hope Kitchen regardless of faith. Current staff have varied faith backgrounds, and applicants are encouraged to apply regardless of faith background.

Logistics

• Location: 6512 12th Ave NW Seattle, WA 98117
• Schedule: 30 hours/week. 7:00 AM–1:00 PM Monday through Friday
• Start date: ASAP
• Compensation: $25-28/hour, depending on experience. Compensation includes automatic Cost of Living Adjustment, with opportunity for merit-based raises.
• Benefits:
  • Healthcare coverage (including dental)
  • 5% baseline employer 403(b) contribution
  • Up to an additional 4% employer match on your own contributions
  • Accumulate 10 paid sick days and 10 paid vacation days each year.

Role Overview

The Community Manager keeps Edible Hope Kitchen's campus safe, clean, and welcoming before, during, and after meal service. You will monitor the building and grounds, de-escalate conflict, reinforce our standards of conduct, and work alongside staff and volunteers to set up and close down the dining space. This is ideal for someone who enjoys being on their feet in a busy community setting, can stay calm under pressure, and treats every person with dignity. De-escalation skills matter here, but most days are calm and friendly: serious conflict is the exception, and the day-to-day is mostly setting up, tidying, and making sure everyone feels at home.

Core Responsibilities

Campus Cleanliness & Waste Management

• Monitor the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, campus, and surrounding neighborhood for debris and trash, removing and properly disposing of items.
• Empty trash cans daily.
• Manage the dumpsters, recycling, and compost bins to ensure proper disposal.
• Monitor stairwells, entrances, ramps, and smoking areas for cleanliness and safety.

Safety & Security

• Perform regular security checks of the campus.
• Employ de-escalation techniques to safely resolve conflict and interrupt use of illegal substances.
• Monitor doors before and during service, and handle any emergencies that arise.
• Reinforce Edible Hope standards of conduct on campus; contact emergency responders as necessary; and report any critical incidents.

Guest & Community Engagement

• Interact with guests respectfully, build rapport, and handle relationships with care and confidentiality.
• Ensure guests move along after service is completed.

Kitchen & Dining Room Support

• Be the staff person primarily responsible for setting up the cafeteria, working alongside Kitchen Manager and volunteers.
• Be the staff person primarily responsible for kitchen, cafeteria, and pantry clean-up, working alongside Kitchen Manager and volunteers.

Meetings & Team Participation

• Attend monthly Health and Safety Team meetings (which may take place off-site), and other regular meetings as the need arises.
• Communicating with St. Paul’s Church (EHK’s landlord), local neighbors and businesses as appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned.

What we’re looking for

Someone who:

• Is reliable, and works well alongside others
• Has experience de-escalating conflict
• Can keep their personal peace in a busy environment
• Treats all people with dignity and compassion, including people in crisis
• Is observant, proactive, and comfortable noticing what needs to be done without being asked
• Is comfortable balancing routine responsibilities with independent judgment
• Cares about food access, hunger relief, and the dignity of people experiencing hardship
• Has humility and a willingness to learn
• Experience in security, community safety, de-escalation, or crisis response (in a shelter, drop-in center, library, clinic, or similar setting) is a plus
• Experience working with people experiencing homelessness is a plus

Requirements

• Ability to climb stairs and lift up to 30 lbs
• Ability to be on your feet for extended periods and to work both indoors and outdoors in all weather
• Successful completion of a background check
• Washington State Food Handler's Certification (assistance provided; can be obtained after employment begins)
• De-escalation training (assistance provided; can be obtained after employment begins)
• Safe-Church, Safe-Communities Training (online modules; can be obtained after employment begins)

How to Apply

Send Resume and Cover Letter to meals@stlukesseattle.org. Accepting applications until the position is filled, but preference given to applications received by November 20.

Edible Hope Kitchen welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

• Healthcare coverage (including dental)
• 5% baseline employer 403(b) contribution
• Up to an additional 4% employer match on your own contributions
• Accumulate 10 paid sick days and 10 paid vacation days each year.

English. Spanish beneficial but not required.