Job Posting

Kitchen Lead

  • Full Time, Exempt 

  • Salary $47,500 - $58,000 Annual

  • Reports to: Hospitality Manager

  • Direct reports: Cafe Associates (PTE) 

Our Kitchen Lead is responsible for overseeing the front and back-of-house daily operations of Water Bar Cafe + Provisions, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum’s (MMAM) latest social enterprise aimed at driving new revenue streams for the museum. The Kitchen Lead is responsible for driving the food and beverage operations of Water Bar (set to open early summer 2025 with mid-day cafe service offered Thursdays through Sundays). The Lead will also run food and beverage initiatives for internal (public programs), and external (facility rental) events. Our Kitchen Lead is a seasoned kitchen professional with front of house and back of house operations experience and will largely be responsible for managing the Cafe’s food and beverage sales, menu planning, inventory, operating procedures, performance standards, licenses, staff scheduling, and daily sales reporting. 

This service-oriented role is primarily meant to support MMAM’s growing and dynamic advancement services, including expanded private events, hospitality team engagement, rentals, on-site programming and workshops. Our Kitchen Lead is an enterprising culinary creative driven to provide radical hospitality of the highest caliber, who can take the organization's mission - creating meaningful art experiences that explore our relationship with water - and draw connections to the way our audiences engage with Water Bar Cafe & Provisions.   

Responsibilities include: 

  • Develop operational food and beverage program, and operational processes to meet and exceed daily sales goals

  • Daily preparation of food and beverage for service

  • Daily management of food and beverage inventory 

  • Accurately forecast revenue/expenses for Water Bar operations

  • Ensure kitchen staff is trained in operational procedures and day-to-day processes

  • Understand how all kitchen machinery and equipment works and be able to train staff on execution of all dishes

  • Menu conception and execution

  • In-house specialty event menu management and execution

  • Vendor management

  • Food preparation, service, quality control

  • Manage, create and distribute team member schedules in a timely manner

  • Manage and maintain food and beverage areas and equipment 

  • Ensure food and beverage offerings, staff, and environment are highest quality and meet MMAM standards

Responsibilities may include: 

  • Following instructions from the Hospitality Manager on any pre-event, day-of, and post event details and duties

  • Setting up venues for private and special events, including unloading equipment, chairs, tables, staging, lighting, AV equipment, and tearing down as instructed

  • Seating, ushering, and ensuring clients are comfortable, feeling inspired, and having a lasting and memorable experience

  • Operating cash registers, point of sale, and monitoring food and beverage inventory

  • Ensuring the event location is prepared, clean, organized, and exceeds client expectations

  • Proactively and warmly welcoming guests, responding to questions, and offering assistance–always showing the highest quality of customer service

  • Ensuring a safe and secure environment for all

  • Proactively promoting MMAM’s mission, vision, and values, while also sharing information about the Museum’s other services

  • Inspecting equipment for damage after use and checking it against an inventory list

  • Monitoring and assisting with facility upkeep (tidying visitor and work areas, outdoor visitor areas - seasonal - and cafe areas)

  • Helping craft a welcoming, accessible, and audience-focused experience for a diverse population of visitors

  • Creating and supporting a culture of hospitality and memorable client experiences

  • Serving food and beverage 

Position Specifics:

  • Hours: Full-time (2080 hours a year), Salary Exempt, salary dependent on level of experience.  Required to work a varied schedule including evenings and weekends.

  • Work location: Onsite

  • Salary: $47,000 - $58,000

  • Benefits: eligible for our full benefits package including medical, dental, life insurance and short term disability, SIMPLE IRA plan with employer match, retail store discount, PTO, paid family and medical leave, paid holidays.

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often only apply to jobs if they meet 100% of the qualifications. As no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply if you feel that much of the following matches your experience:

You’ll likely demonstrate: 

  • Experience with retail, sales, service, hospitality, or event coordination

  • Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, Toast/Hospitality Software, Google Suite

  • Excellent written and verbal, interpersonal, and organizational skills

  • Experience working with diverse populations, and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion

  • Excellent customer service and communication skills 

  • Flexible to work evenings and weekends as needed

  • Ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time; able to lift at least 20 lbs during event set-up

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is committed to being an inclusive workplace. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities and audiences we serve. We are dedicated to fair and inclusive employment practices for all individuals. The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer and will consider requests for reasonable accommodations based on disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs possible without undue hardship.

Values - You are a champion of:

  • Centering your work in Community and Collaboration.  

  • Stewarding Sustainability, Equity and Hospitality.

  • Operating with Honesty, Transparency and Trust.

  • Being Bold and Brave.

  • Always Enterprising, Always Outstanding.

Mission

To create meaningful art experiences that explore our relationship with water.

Vision 

To spark wonder and create a more compassionate and connected world for all. 

About

Before there ever was a Minnesota Marine Art Museum, there was a Maritime Heritage Society, a community group dedicated to preserving and sharing stories about life on the river. Their commitment set in motion the creation of a museum to showcase art inspired by water. MMAM opened in 2006 with the vision of creating a nationally recognized center for arts and culture in Southeast Minnesota. The initial collections consisted of traditional marine paintings and regional folk art. After expanding the quality and diversity of its collections, evolving the exhibition program, adding an annual roster of educational programs and temporary exhibitions, and enlarging its facility, today’s MMAM is a dynamic and surprising experience for tens of thousands of visitors a year.

MMAM operates from Mni Sota Makoce (Land Where the Waters Reflect The Clouds), the traditional homeland of the Dakota people. Residing here since time immemorial, Dakota still call Mni Sota Makoce home, with four federally recognized Dakota nations and many more Dakota people residing in what is now the state of Minnesota. Due to continued legacies of colonization, genocide and forced removal, generations of Dakota people remain disenfranchised from their traditional homeland.  Presently, Mni Sota Makoce has become a refuge and home for many Indigenous nations and peoples, including seven federally recognized Ojibwe nations.  We humbly encourage our audiences to reflect upon the historical legacies held in the lands they occupy.  

MMAM is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to make our communities—social, cultural, and natural— better off than we found them. Built on a former industrial site, the museum’s five-acre gardens—our 7th Gallery—are not only a source of natural beauty, they are the base of MMAM’s sustainability goals. The land has transformed to become a biodiverse ecosystem that sequesters carbon and improves climate sustainability. From the roots of the plants to the roof of the museum, MMAM is working to achieve Net Zero by 2040.

To Apply

Please submit your resume, two professional references, and a cover letter outlining why you are interested in this position and how your specific skills and experiences align with the responsibilities outlined in the position description to MMAM by email at hello@mmam.org. 

Applications will be accepted through 8am CST on Monday, April 14, 2025. 

Hiring manager(s): MMAM Hospitality Manager, Stephanie Bork.