Support Worker - Production

Tailor Your Resume for this Job

Support Worker – Production

What's Cooking? Commercial Kitchen | The Flower Cart Group

Full-Time | Monday–Friday, generally 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | New Minas, Nova Scotia
Salary: $55,839/year

Good at production. Great with people. Looking for work that means something?

What if your next job let you put your production experience to work while helping other people discover what they are capable of?

At The Flower Cart Group, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to do meaningful work, build skills, contribute, and belong. For more than 50 years, we have been creating inclusive opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities and complex barriers to employment.

What's Cooking? Commercial Kitchen is where that commitment meets the demands of a professional food production business.

We are a social enterprise co-packing kitchen that partners with businesses to produce and package food products to exacting quality and food safety standards. At the same time, we provide meaningful, paid employment for people who may face barriers to finding work elsewhere.

We are looking for a Support Worker with hands-on production experience, an understanding of food safety and CFIA requirements, and a genuine belief in the value of inclusive employment.

This is a role for someone who takes pride in getting the details right, enjoys the pace and practical demands of production, and finds real satisfaction in helping others succeed at work.

What the work really looks like

Your days will be varied, practical, and purposeful. You will work alongside the people employed in our commercial kitchen, supporting them to take part in production, build their skills, and contribute to the team's success.

You will also have products to make, standards to uphold, deadlines to meet, equipment and workspaces to maintain, and records to complete. Food safety and quality are not optional, and supporting people effectively takes patience, planning, and consistency.

Some days will flow smoothly. Others will require you to adjust a production plan, find a different way to explain a task, respond to an unexpected challenge, or balance competing priorities without losing sight of either the people or the product.

Your job is to help make both happen: quality production and meaningful employment.

That means knowing when to step in and when to give someone the time and space to do a task independently. It means finding ways to make work accessible without compromising safety or quality. And it means recognizing that a person's contribution matters, even when helping them succeed takes more time or a different approach.

You won't be choosing between supporting people and getting the work done. You'll be learning how to make the work successful for everyone.

What you'll do

Lead by example on the production floor

• Work alongside kitchen employees to prepare, portion, package, label, and handle food products according to customer specifications and established production procedures.
• Help maintain consistent product quality, accurate weights, packaging integrity, labelling accuracy, and production efficiency.
• Operate and assist with equipment such as scales, bag sealers, mixers, ovens, and labelers, as applicable to production needs.
• Follow and reinforce standard operating procedures, food safety requirements, sanitation practices, and applicable CFIA regulations and inspection requirements.
• Support production planning, inventory management, shipping and handling, and the accurate completion of production and quality records.
• Maintain a clean, organized, safe, and inspection-ready kitchen, including routine cleaning, equipment care, and opening and shutdown procedures.
• Identify production challenges, troubleshoot issues, and contribute ideas that improve processes, quality, efficiency, and accessibility.

Help people succeed at work

• Work side by side with employees with disabilities, helping them participate meaningfully in production and develop their skills, confidence, and independence.
• Provide individualized job coaching using clear communication, encouragement, demonstrations, visual supports, adaptive tools, and other strategies that respond to each person's strengths and needs.
• Break down tasks into manageable steps and find practical ways to make work understandable, accessible, and achievable.
• Support employees to take on appropriate responsibilities, build competence, solve problems, and experience the satisfaction of a job well done.
• Adapt your approach when someone needs additional time, reassurance, a different explanation, or support navigating a difficult moment.
• Uphold each person's dignity, privacy, choices, and right to participate in meaningful work.
• Support personal care needs when required, respectfully and in accordance with individual needs and organizational practices.

Be part of a team that keeps growing

• Collaborate with the Department Head and colleagues to balance production requirements with individual support needs.
• Communicate effectively with co-workers, families, residential supports, and other relevant partners when appropriate.
• Maintain accurate documentation, follow organizational policies, report safety concerns and incidents, and protect confidential information.
• Participate in team meetings, professional development, and training, including required disability-support competencies.
• Be flexible and willing to assist across departments when organizational needs require it.

What we're looking for

We want someone who brings practical skills and sound judgment to the kitchen, and who understands that how we work with people is just as important as what we produce.

Production and food safety experience

• Hands-on experience in food production, commercial kitchens, food processing, co-packing, packaging, or a similar production environment.
• Familiarity with CFIA requirements and federally inspected food production environments, including sanitation, traceability, documentation, product handling, and quality control.
• An appreciation for consistency, accuracy, cleanliness, and following established procedures.
• The ability to use production equipment safely, learn new processes, and identify potential quality or safety issues.
• Strong organization and attention to detail, particularly when managing production tasks, records, inventory, and deadlines.

A genuine commitment to inclusive employment

• Respect for adults with intellectual disabilities and complex barriers to employment, and a belief in their ability to learn, contribute, and grow.
• Patience, empathy, and the ability to communicate clearly with people who have different learning styles, communication needs, and levels of independence.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach to coaching, problem-solving, and adapting work processes.
• The ability to encourage independence without taking over, while maintaining appropriate expectations for quality, safety, and participation.
• The emotional maturity to remain calm, respectful, and consistent when a task or situation doesn't go as planned.
• An understanding that supported employment is about meaningful work, dignity, choice, and belonging—not simply keeping people occupied.

Qualifications

• Experience in food production and CFIA environments
• DCS 7 Core Competencies, or a willingness to obtain them.
• A valid Class 5 driver's licence.
• Post-secondary diploma or certificate in Disability Support Services, Human Services, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience is an asset.
• Ability to meet applicable screening and hiring requirements, including a Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, as required.

Experience in both food production and disability support would be an asset. We recognize that the right candidate may bring strong production experience and a commitment to inclusive employment while continuing to develop their disability-support skills.

The realities of the job

We want you to have a clear picture of this opportunity before you apply.

• Production standards are real. Our business partners depend on us to deliver products that meet their specifications. Food safety, quality, accuracy, and documentation must remain priorities.
• The work is hands-on. Expect food handling, packaging, repetitive tasks, cleaning, equipment use, and periods of sustained activity—not just coaching and conversation.
• Supporting people takes time and thought. You will need to balance production demands with individualized instruction, accommodations, and opportunities for employees to work as independently as possible.
• Flexibility is essential. Production schedules, individual support needs, and day-to-day challenges can change. You must be comfortable reassessing priorities and finding workable solutions.
• The environment is a working kitchen. You may be exposed to flour dust, heat, cold, noise, and other typical kitchen or production conditions.
• The physical demands matter. The role requires the ability to lift up to 20 pounds unassisted and perform tasks involving bending, kneeling, reaching, prolonged sitting or standing, and repetitive movements, with reasonable accommodations as applicable.

The regular schedule is generally Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with occasional work outside standard hours to meet deadlines or support organizational activities.

This work can be demanding. It calls for someone who can maintain professional standards while remaining patient, observant, and responsive to the people around them.

What makes this work rewarding?

At The Flower Cart Group, the impact of your work is visible in more than the products that leave the kitchen.

It is also visible when someone masters a task they once found difficult, takes on a new responsibility, becomes more confident in their abilities, or recognizes that their work makes a real contribution to a team.

Our business partners receive professional co-packing services. The people we support gain opportunities to earn wages, develop skills, build relationships, and experience the pride of meaningful employment. Both outcomes matter, and your work helps make them possible.

You will bring your production knowledge to an organization that values it. You will have opportunities to contribute ideas, improve processes, and find better ways to make work accessible. And you will be part of a team working toward something larger than any one production run.

If you find satisfaction in doing a job well and even greater satisfaction in helping someone else succeed at theirs, you may find a real sense of purpose here.

About The Flower Cart Group

The Flower Cart Group is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating inclusive opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities and complex barriers to employment. Through supported employment, day programming, and social enterprises, we help people develop skills, participate in their communities, and pursue meaningful goals.

What's Cooking? Commercial Kitchen is one of our social enterprises, combining professional food production and co-packing services with our commitment to inclusive, paid employment.

Learn more about us at www.flowercart.ca.

Inclusion and accessibility

The Flower Cart Group is committed to human rights, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. We believe meaningful employment is an important part of dignity, independence, and belonging, and we expect all employees to reflect these values in their daily work.

Workplace accommodations are available in accordance with applicable legislation. Candidates are encouraged to discuss accommodation needs during the hiring process.

Interested in bringing your production experience and people-first approach to The Flower Cart Group?

We welcome applications from people who want to do excellent work, support others to do the same, and help build a more inclusive workforce.

Pay: $55,839.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental care
• Employee assistance program
• Extended health care
• Life insurance
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• Vision care

Work Location: In person