Careers
We hire slow, and we hire for who you are.
Sanctuary is a small team doing complex work. The thing we ask for most is steadiness, under pressure, across years, in the parts of the job no one sees.
Who we hire
Seven things we look for.
Qualifications matter, but they're not the first thing we check. The right person is shaped more by temperament than by tenure.
01
Calm under pressure
When a participant destabilises, we slow down, not speed up. The right reaction is steady, not reactive.
02
Show up, week after week
The work is the consistency. The participants need to know you, the team needs to count on you, and you stay long enough for both to happen.
03
Honest with everyone
With us, with the families, with the participants, with each other. We don't varnish things. The job runs on the truth.
04
Emotionally mature
Boundaries that hold. Reactions that don't. The capacity to sit with someone in a hard moment without making it about you.
05
Curious about the work
Not just doing a shift. Asking why this person is having a hard day, what was different last week, what the team has tried.
06
Steady with routine
Routine is the therapy. The cook from scratch, the same time for dinner, the walk after lunch, week in, week out.
07
Resilience
The capacity to keep showing up through the hard stretches, recovering steadily when a day or a shift tests you, without it spilling into the work.
What working here looks like
A smaller model, a consistent team, a steady routine.
The structure is built to let the team do good work without burning out. That's the trade-off we hold for everyone: slower hiring, fewer surprises, more consistency.
- A smaller, more personalised model. A maximum of three participants per home. You'll know every person by name.
- You're based in one home, not pulled across the roster to plug a gap somewhere else.
- Leadership onsite. Program Managers visit regularly and Team Leaders work onsite four days a week.
- New team members are supported through buddy shifts until they feel confident and capable in their role. Team Leaders are available during business hours, with after-hours on-call support also available when needed.
What we don't do
The things you'll notice are missing.
Some of what makes the work sustainable is what we've chosen not to do. The trade-offs are deliberate.
- We don't fill shifts overnight with someone we haven't met.
- We don't promote on tenure. We promote on what someone is actually doing in the home.
- We don't pull people between homes to plug rosters. Continuity is the work.
- We don't hire fast. The process can take weeks. It's slower for a reason.
How to apply
Reach out and tell us a bit about yourself.
We hire for support workers, team leaders, and program manager roles across our homes. If you don't see a role advertised, reach out anyway. We keep a list and come back to people when a fit comes up.
The process is slower than most. There's a phone call, an interview, shadow shifts, and reference checks. It can take a few weeks.