Kitchen Assistant - Bronx Outpost

THE OPPORTUNITY

Hot Bread Kitchen is seeking a Kitchen Assistant to support our Culinary Training program, which prepares members for entry-level jobs in the food industry. This entails working with the Lead Culinary Instructor in all aspects of our hands-on culinary training program, including the setup, execution, and clean up of the kitchen and other spaces during training. The Kitchen Assistant will be responsible for setting up each training activity or task for members and may co-lead portions of the culinary program and professional readiness training in alignment with the Hot Bread Kitchen curricula. The Kitchen Assistant will assess members’ performance and meet with participants to deliver constructive feedback.

The Kitchen Assistant will help facilitate the cohort in the Community Outpost kitchen (currently planned to be based in the Bronx), and will be responsible for the use and upkeep of the kitchen space. The pace of this role is fast-moving and requires the ability to effectively engage with diverse groups of program stakeholders, including the women and gender-expansive individuals we serve, our training partners and our employment partners.

Hours, Cohort Size, Location and Schedule

The Kitchen Assistant position will be a part-time, temporary role that requires in-person availability. This position will require up to 30 hours per week for one 9-week period. There is the potential to work at future cohorts as they are planned throughout the year. Details as follows:

Hours, Cohort Size, Location and Schedule

• Cohort Size: 25
• Location: Mott Haven, the Bronx (2417 Third Ave #300, Bronx, NY 10451)
• Cohort Dates:
  • Prep Days: April 24th-April 25th, April 28th
  • Cohort Days: April 29th-June 13th, Monday-Friday (excluding Monday, May 26th)
  • Close Out Days: June 16th
• Class Schedule:
  • 4:00-5:00 pm: Set-up
  • 5:00-8:00 pm: Training
  • 8:00-9:00 pm: Break Down

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Program Support and Education:
  • Provide hands-on, in-person kitchen support to the Lead Culinary Instructor during the program.
  • Act as primary contact for member communications about issues including attendance and activities.
  • Record daily attendance and monitor uniform compliance.
  • Facilitate kitchen set up and clean up.
  • Track inventory of ingredients and supplies for training.
  • Assess performance through observation and interaction; provide regular feedback and guidance to program members.
  • Work 1:1 with members to provide educational and technical support with program content.
  • Assist with culinary interviews to assess program eligibility.
  • Organize food for packing at the end of training.
  • Provide educational and administrative support during training and events.
• Program Management and Administration:
  • Print daily lesson plans, attendance sheets, and other materials for training.
  • Set up and breakdown classroom for Food Protection Certificate Training.
  • Record member attendance, performance, and other relevant metrics; maintain accurate records and manage reports using Google Workspace.
  • Support culinary program needs, including efforts related to potential program expansion.

Reporting Lines

This position reports directly to the Culinary Fundamentals Program Manager and is supervised by the Lead Culinary Instructor (Outposts) during training hours.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Passion for Hot Bread Kitchen’s mission.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with people of diverse socioeconomic, cultural and economic backgrounds.
• Must have a minimum of 1 year experience in professional kitchens/production environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate and counsel people.
• Must be extremely organized and attentive to detail.
• Must have excellent communication skills, including verbal and interpersonal skills.
• General computer proficiency in Google platforms, and productivity software.

COMPETENCIES

• Detail oriented verifies important details, ensures there are no surprises or gaps in needed information, has the ability to think a few steps ahead to answer potential questions about the data or project.
• Aims to leave things better than you found them. Checks work with others, plans time to review for errors and probes one’s own thinking. Addresses errors quickly and learns from them. Looks for ways to prevent similar errors.
• Conflict resolution Works to resolve differences and maintain work relationships. Works through discomfort of challenging conversations with the goal of resolving issues constructively and reaching the highest objective.
• Supportive Seeks ways to support team efforts while contributing to overall organizational success.

OUR VALUES

We are driven by a feeling of commitment to support our members, teammates, and partners as best as we can. Our culture of equity comes from the many cooks in our kitchen and the diversity of perspectives we each bring. We believe that respect goes a long way in making people feel welcome, accepted, and celebrated. We seek out opportunities for connection and become a stronger team by being in community and prioritizing candor over consensus. The pace of our work and velocity of change can be quick; our entrepreneurialism helps us take optimistic risks and pursue inventive solutions.