The Kitchen Manager plays a key role in supporting the NOLS Alaska mission to educate and inspire through wilderness expeditions. The NOLS Alaska Kitchen Manager supervises the kitchen team whose goal is to provide nutritious meals and foster a welcoming environment for students, staff, and faculty. This position helps ensure that students and instructors are well fed for safe, efficient, and meaningful field experiences and well-nourished upon their return. This role includes ordering and preparing food, supporting dietary needs, supervising a team, and maintaining a clean, welcoming, organized kitchen and dining space. Success in this role requires attention to detail, initiative, creativity, strong communication skills, and a commitment to teamwork and community—reflecting the NOLS values of leadership, excellence, and stewardship.

Key Information:

• Upload your cover letter and resume as one PDF document when you are prompted to upload your CV/resume.

• Location: NOLS Alaska campus in Palmer, Alaska

• Contract Type: Seasonal (April to August 2026)

• Start Date: April 20, 2026 

• Perks & Benefits: On-site housing is available for a modest fee, which includes internet, food staples, lunch, and dinner when the kitchen is open, and access to a shared staff car. Living areas are communal, and everyone pitches in with daily chores

Questions? please contact peopleteam@nols.edu

What does a Kitchen Manager do?

• Working with an assistant manager and a team of kitchen assistants to cook timely, healthy, budget-conscious meals that accommodate dietary restrictions. 

• Creating a pleasant and fun environment where people feel comfortable and welcomed. 

• Ensuring a high standard of sanitation, cleanliness and organization in the kitchen and eating areas.

• Sharing responsibility in ordering and budgeting and scheduling for the kitchen with the assistant manager while also maintaining ultimate responsibility. Making sure that credit card bills and invoices are paid in a timely fashion.

• Training and providing timely, growth-oriented feedback to kitchen staff.

• Planning of weekly menu and road meals for campus.

• Ensuring that faculty teams have the appropriate meals and dietary information for student groups

• Working with the operations team to manage kitchen waste and compost. Helping to cut and wash garden greens if available. 

• Plan all equipment maintenance and purchases with assistance from Alaska Operations Manager.

• Winterize and “deep clean” the kitchen at the end of the operating season.

• Actively contribute to a positive and healthy community living environment while striving to maintain balance between work and life.

What makes a great Kitchen Manager at NOLS?

For this position, we are seeking a person who is passionate about working as a team, adapting to challenges, and most importantly, cooking healthy food!

• Enthusiastic to learn about management of a kitchen team and excited to cook meals for large, diverse groups

• Experience and/or education in food service and kitchen management is preferred. 

• Experience serving multiple meals per day to upwards of 150+ people per day is preferred.

• Ability to be self-directed, take initiative, and make decisions independently while being equally happy to work alongside the team

• Able to lift and carry 50+ lbs (items such as bags of flour, full pots, and boxes of produce)

• Patience and Problem-solving due to the unreliability of vendor scheduling and product availability in Alaska

• Committed to smart meal planning that is budget-conscious and creative. Dedicated to maintaining cleanliness and organization

• Enjoys training and providing direction to others in the kitchen and teaching basic cooking prep skills. Able to appear friendly and welcoming to staff and students at all times. 

• Willing to accommodate flexible work hours/schedules including early mornings and holidays/weekends

• Eager to live and work in a small community that shares responsibility for maintaining common areas.

• Be 21 years of age - NOLS Insurance requires drivers to be at least 21 years old

How to Apply

Upload your cover letter and resume as one PDF document when you are prompted to upload your CV/resume.

At NOLS we use the Applied platform for our recruitment. The Applied platform will ask you some demographic questions before you start your application. We at NOLS never see the responses to these demographic questions with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.

Who is NOLS?

NOLS is a nonprofit global wilderness school that strives to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. Our community—staff, students, trustees, and alumni—shares a commitment to wilderness, education, leadership, safety, community, and excellence. 

We believe that anyone can be a leader; it is our role to provide the environment and training to help people discover their full potential. We do that in classrooms close to home and in remote wilderness areas around the world. We are an organization with heart, expertise, and wildness, and these qualities help us support powerful, authentic experiences.

Why is NOLS a great place to work?

• Global Reach: With locations across the U.S. operations in six countries, and courses running in all 50 states and more than 10 countries, you’ll be part of an organization with a truly worldwide impact.

• Course Discounts: Receive special pricing on NOLS courses for yourself and your family.

• Comprehensive Benefits: Full-time employees are eligible for a robust benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision coverage.

• Flexible Time Off: We offer a flexible time off policy that empowers employees to take the time they need for rest, adventure, and personal priorities without the constraints of traditional accrual systems.

• Employee Assistance Program: Access confidential, 24/7 counseling and support services to help you maintain balance and well-being.

Additional Information

To support pay transparency and equity, the posted salary range is fixed. We encourage you to explore our opportunities that fit your pay expectations. 

• A criminal background check is required from all NOLS employees.

• NOLS participates in e-verify for U.S. employees, Certificado de Antecedentes for Chilean or Mexican employees, and other relevant employment verification systems based on location.

• Current NOLS employees please note it is NOLS policy to conduct an internal reference check with People Team and/or your current supervisor as part of the reference check process. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact peopleteam@nols.edu.

NOLS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetics information, disability unrelated to job or admission requirements, or status as a protected veteran. The school’s nondiscrimination policy applies to all phases of its employment process.

Reasonable accommodations may be requested for disability; limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; religion; and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment by emailing peopleteam@nols.edu with your request.