Guest Services Representative

Job Description

Job DescriptionDescription:

Hunger, poverty, and homelessness hurt everyone.

As a charitable social services organization, St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County’s (SVdP) mission is to work daily to help individuals and families with food, housing, and crisis assistance to restore dignity and a chance for a better life. We are affiliated with one of the oldest and most effective charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization of nearly 700,000 people headquartered in Paris, France that helps people living in poverty in 142 countries on five continents. In the US, membership totals 172,000 in 4,600 local communities. However, we are an independent, nonprofit organization that is governed by its own Board of Directors and is solely responsible for its own fundraising and program operations. All of the donations we receive serve the people of Marin.

We believe that everyone needs food, housing, dignity and a chance for a better life – no one can do it alone. Our goal is to provide compassionate care and critical services to residents of Marin County who are struggling to make ends meet but are not receiving the help they need. Here in Marin, since 1946, our key crisis assistance programs support over 8,000 people annually and have grown to include a free dining room, a homeless outreach team, and housing and crisis assistance.

If you seek work that is more than just a job but the opportunity to give back to your community, then SVdP may be the place for you. We are looking for staff who are ready for a career with a mission-driven organization, want to be valued, have diverse experience and skills, and want to join a committed and excited community. If this sounds like you, we would love to have you join our team!

This part-time, non-exempt position reports to the Kitchen and Guest Services Manager and works a schedule of four days per week, or approximately 28 hours weekly. The workdays are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and daily hours are 6:30am to 1:30pm. This position is based in St. Vincent de Paul’s Dining Room in downtown San Rafael. Our Dining Room is open 365 days a year and has served over three million meals since 1981, including during COVID, as we continued to safely distribute hot “to go” breakfasts and lunches to more than 500 people seeking nourishment who came to our doors every day, seven days a week. The Guest Services staff members are critical to our success. Overall, this role is responsible for maintaining a calm, comfortable safe and clean environment in the SVDP Dining Room, as well as ensuring the safety and security of guests, staff, and volunteers.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Monitor and enforce the Dining Room guidelines and compliance with policies.
• Receive and greet clients, donors, and visitors in a friendly and respectful manner.
• Ensure a safe and secure environment for clients, staff, and volunteers (with respect to security, health, and safety hazards).
• Responsible for set-up at the beginning of the shift, and clean-up at the end of shift and for abiding by designated opening, prep, closing and departure tasks.
• Assist in receiving, sorting, and stocking various donations and storing them appropriately.
• Orient, train, and supervise volunteers assigned to the Dining Room.
• Maintain a clean environment in the Dining Room. Ensure that floors are kept dry and clean.
• Interact with security and the management team to ensure everyone is up to date on the status of guests.
• De-escalate and defuse threatening, loud, and disruptive situations with a calm, firm manner.
• Respond to threatening situations calmly and rationally, including calling 911 or contacting the police, when appropriate.
• Ensure that guests who are currently denied access (DNA) do not enter the Dining Room, and involve the security guard to help alleviate above as necessary.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIRED SKILLS:

• Ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal, listening, oral, and conflict resolution skills.
• Prior experience working with or familiarity of the needs of low-income working people and people who are homeless.
• Ability to work non-traditional hours (some weekends and holidays).
• Ability to move cases and bulk bags of food and to perform the physical labor demanded by lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs. repetitively.
• Must be comfortable sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, reaching, pushing, and pulling.
• Commitment to the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s goals and a desire to work for a social service agency serving the poor.

SVdP is a proud equal opportunity employer supporting workforce diversity; candidates representing a variety of backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PACKAGE:

This role will start at $18.00- $20.00 per hour. Lunch breaks are paid.

In general, benefit eligibility begins at 30 hours weekly. As this role will not be working 30 hours weekly, this position will not be eligible for the majority of the SVdP health and wellness benefits aside from paid sick leave as required by law.

Equal Opportunity Employer

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Requirements: