Brand Activation & Operations Lead​/Part-Time

Location and Commitment

Toronto-based. Must be located in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with regular warehouse visits and in-person retail, event, or inventory drop-offs/pickups as needed.

Type:
Independent contractor / freelance

Time commitment:
Approximately 15 to 20 hours per week, up to 25 hours during peak periods

Compensation: CA $25 per hour, invoiced monthly

Start:
February 23 2026

Reports to:

Founders (CEO, CFO)

Please include:

• Why you want to work with TOON specifically
• What excites you about food, community, or mission-driven brands
• Your availability (days/times per week)

Please note that a short cover letter is required. Applications without one will not be considered.

TOON is a premium, community focused food brand bringing premium olive oil and artisanal pantry staples from the Levant (Lebanon, Palestine) to Canada. Since launching in April 2025, TOON has grown organically across direct to consumer, pop ups, and specialty retail, with a focus on quality, transparency, and cultural storytelling. We sell premium extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate molasses, stuffed eggplants and olive oil soap with a growing product list in 2026.

We are looking for someone passionate about mission driven business, food, culture, and storytelling. This role is for you if:

• You like being on the ground and working with a small ecommerce brand that is growing in Toronto and across Canada.
• You are independent, a self-starter, capable of thinking outside the box, and comfortable engaging with customers and partners in person.
• You are detail oriented, conscientious, and reliable.
• You are based in the GTA and able to travel locally for warehouse visits, retail support, and events when required.
• This is a hands-on, execution focused contract role supporting TOON's day-to-day operations and growth execution. You will work closely with the founders to keep systems running smoothly across fulfillment coordination, retail logistics, and community activations.

• Support order fulfillment end to end, including packing orders when required or coordinating with TOON's 3PL partner.
• Coordinate with the warehouse, couriers, and 3PL service provider on pick and pack instructions and shipping timelines.
• Monitor packaging and shipping supplies and flag reorders before stockouts.
• Help maintain simple SOPs for packing, bundles, inserts, and quality checks.
• Track order issues, damaged shipments, and returns and help implement fixes.
• Support inbound inventory intake, counts, and basic organization (using Shopify).

• Maintain a tracker for retail (stores, restaurants, independent shops) outreach and follow ups.
• Visit prospective specialty retailers in the GTA to support outreach and onboarding, and coordinate remote outreach and follow ups with retailers in other Canadian cities.
• Support communication with existing and prospective specialty retail partners.
• Help coordinate retail orders, deliveries, inventory checks, and merchandising readiness.

• Research and apply to pop ups, markets, and brand activation events.
• Coordinate event logistics including inventory, samples, signage, and POS readiness.
• Help maintain a monthly activation calendar.
• Support in person markets and pop ups, including booth set up, running the booth (customer engagement and checkout), and takedown 1 to 2 times per month, up to 3 per month during peak periods.

• Maintain a simple weekly tracker covering orders, fulfillment status, retail updates, and upcoming activations.
• Participate in weekly planning and check-in calls with the founders to align on priorities and next steps.
• Prepare a monthly recap for the founders: key wins, issues, lessons learned, and proposed fixes.
• Track a short set of KPIs in a basic dashboard (ex: orders, AOV, returns, retail doors, event revenue) and flag trends early.

• 1-3 years of experience in operations, ecommerce, retail, events, or a fast-paced small business.
• Experience with Middle Eastern, Lebanese, or Palestinian…