Base camp Cook

Reports to: Logistics Manager
Location: Mazama, Washington
Status: Exempt, per diem
Salary: $130-150 per diem, commensurate with experience
Anticipated Start Date: May 1, 2024

This is a seasonal position and exact contract length will be determined once schedules are created after training. Summer season ends 8/23 and our fall season runs until early November.  All staff have the opportunity to work into the fall season.

To Apply

We are committed to reflecting the diverse communities with whom we work and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ identifying folks, and women to apply. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. Review of applications will be on a rolling basis and the positions will remain open until filled with a desired start date of May 1, 2024. 

Please have your resume and three professional references ready to upload or enter. If you have any questions or encounter any issues, please email us at [email protected].

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Compensation and Benefits

• $130 - $150 per diem 
• Full room and board; amenities include communal lodge, river access; washer and dryer available
• NWOBS training & professional development opportunities 
• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) -- valued at ~$1,000 per case
• Comprehensive resource & referral center, including financial, legal, well-being coaching, child-, and eldercare
• Free counseling (therapy), 5 sessions per occurrence
• 24/7 Crisis line
• Industry Pro-Deals, discounts from partner brands and other top outdoor gear providers.
• 50% course tuition discounts for staff and their family members.
• Opportunity to apply for discounted technical training, such as Swiftwater rescue, Single Pitch Instructor, and Wilderness First Responder certifications.

Position Summary

The Cook is responsible for food planning; including inventory, preparing orders and food preparation for the Northwest Outward Bound School program staff. A successful Base camp cook will enjoy creating nutritious, delicious, and balanced lunches and dinners for base camp staff. The cook must be enthusiastically able to accommodate special diets and food preferences with reasonable alternatives. At times, the cook may be asked to plan meals for special events of up to 55+ people. In addition to meal preparation, the cook will ensure an ample supply of healthy and hearty snacks, breakfast items, and ingredients for cooking on days off. The cook must set a tone of inclusion and welcome at mealtimes, and be able and willing to work productively with others.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities

Food Inventory, Ordering, and Stocking

• Regularly inventory, order, and restock Base camp food.
• Collaborate with the Logistics Manager (LM) to ensure coverage of food deliveries.
• Purchase food locally as needed in coordination with the LM.
• Work within budgetary guidelines when purchasing food, and submit all receipts and/or invoices to the LM.
• Develop relationships with local food producers in order to integrate more local and sustainably-grown foods into our food program.
• Maintain an organized and tidy kitchen, walk-in fridge, and freezer.

Kitchen Sanitation

• Supervise and maintain the dining hall and kitchen cleanliness and sanitation.
• Deep clean kitchen once per week.
• Maintain clean stocks of kitchen rags and aprons.
• Ensure clean sinks, dish washer, and refrigerators.
• Conduct a thorough season-end deep clean over the course of several days.
  

Uphold NWOBS values and expectations on course and at base:

We commit to personal growth in areas of equity, and inclusion; to act with integrity, role modeling excellence and craftsmanship while demonstrating compassion and respect for the diverse lived experiences of peers, students and families.

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Required Skills and Competencies

• Must be 21 years of age or older.
• Possess a current Food Handler's Permit, or willing to obtain one before start date.
• Basic First-Aid and CPR required.
• 1-3 years of comparable experience including knowledge of cooking for large groups, food handling, meal planning, kitchen and food sanitation, nutrition, and special diets.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups of people, to create an environment of inclusion and cooperation on course and at Base camp.
• Ability to take ownership and practice humility in your personal journey toward building a more inclusive and safe workspace. 
• Ability to have open, honest, and difficult conversations, including the ability to give and receive feedback.
• Must be sufficiently fit to participate in all duties as assigned and maintain ample energy and focus.
• Strong personal motivation, initiative, commitment, follow through, and passion for NWOBS’ mission.

Preferred Skills

• Wilderness First Aid preferred
• Prior supervisory experience preferred

About NW Outward Bound School

With over 50 years of innovation in experiential and outdoor education in the Pacific Northwest, Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS) continues to change lives through challenge and discovery. 

Our transformative and educational wilderness courses are set in some of the most dramatic and stunning parts of the United States. NWOBS facilitates wilderness-based programs in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and also serves urban youth and schools in the Portland metropolitan area. As an Outward Bound School, we are committed to the core values of compassion, integrity, excellence, equity, and inclusion, and strive to achieve the following outcomes: building character, developing leadership skills, and creating an ethic of social and environmental responsibility. 

NWOBS recognizes that there are barriers precluding people with marginalized identities (e.g., black, indigenous, and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, genderqueer, trans, people from low income communities, rural communities, people with disabilities, and more) from being able to access transformative and inclusive educational experiences. These barriers also prevent people from accessing and having inclusive and culturally relevant experiences in the outdoors. NWOBS believes it has the responsibility, as an educational institution, to dismantle these barriers so that it can fulfill its mission of changing the lives of all who desire a quality outdoor education experience, and not just the lives of those with the privilege of being able to access NWOBS today. 

As such, NWOBS aspires to be more reflective of and relevant to the communities in the Pacific Northwest, both within its staff and leadership body as well as its student body.

NWOBS is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of NWOBS to provide equal employment opportunity in accordance with applicable law to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental or physical disability, source of income, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law, in all personnel actions.

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