Eli's Place is opening Canada's first long-term residential therapeutic community for young adults living with serious mental illness, on a 600-acre working farm north of Guelph. We're building a founding team, and the Work Teams Manager leads the people who make meaningful work part of how Guests recover.
The Work Teams Manager leads the Work Team Leads who work side by side with Guests across the property's fields, gardens and conservation lands, and indoors on food production, facility care and other practical work. This is where meaningful work becomes therapeutic, and you're responsible for making sure it happens safely, consistently and to the standard the model requires, across every kind of work and every season.
You'll own the day-to-day operation of the work program, providing scheduling, supervision and leadership to the Work Team Leads and stepping into that work directly when needed. As one of our first hires in this area, you'll help establish the safety protocols, documentation and incident-reporting standards that define the work program from day one.
The role reports to the Executive Director and is accountable to the Clinical Director for making sure the work program supports each Guest's therapeutic goals and care plan. You'll coordinate closely with the contracted farm team on planning and logistics. It's full-time and on site, and the schedule follows the work program, so it includes some hours outside the regular workday.
What you'll do
- Provide scheduling, supervision and day-to-day leadership to the Work Team Leads, and support their onboarding
- Step into the Work Team Lead role directly when needed
- Coordinate with the IJC farm team on work planning, stream development and logistics across annual, quarterly and weekly cycles
- Oversee Guest equipment and make sure work environments are safe, well prepared and covered by emergency response protocols
- Ensure the work program reflects each Guest's therapeutic goals and care plan, in accountability to the Clinical Director
- Uphold work program documentation, safety and incident-reporting standards, and help establish them through pre-launch and early operations
What we're looking for
- A degree or diploma in social work, psychology, education or a related human services field, or equivalent experience
- Experience in a community-based, recovery-oriented or residential setting
- Demonstrated supervisory or team leadership experience
- Familiarity with occupational health and safety requirements across indoor and outdoor work environments
- Organizational and planning capability across multiple work streams
- Confident coordination with external contractors and service relationships
- Warm, consistent and boundaried relationships with Guests
- Emotional resilience in a complex care environment
- Interest in or aptitude for hands-on, practical work, indoors and outdoors, is an asset
Compensation and benefits
The salary range is $72,000 to $87,000, based on experience and qualifications. Eli's Place offers a competitive health and wellness benefits package, three weeks of vacation and a dedicated professional development fund.
This is a small founding team building something that has never existed in Canada, on a working farm where the daily environment is unlike anything an institutional or urban setting can offer. For the right person, that context is as much a part of the offer as the salary.
How to apply
You can submit your resume and cover letter to [email protected]. Please read the full job profile and instructions on how to apply at https://elisplace.org/careers/.
Review of applications begins September 14, 2026 and the posting stays open until filled, so we encourage early submission. We're looking for someone who can start before November 7, 2026.
Eli's Place is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. In accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Pay: $72,000.00-$87,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
