Kitchen Lead

Mission: The Children’s Museum of South Dakota sparks imagination and learning for all children and their grown-ups through play, creativity, and discovery.   

Vision: CMSD seeks to transform the world by inspiring generations to love learning and to believe that life is full of possibilities.   

Job Summary: 

Our Kitchen Lead helps create a welcoming Café Coteau experience that provides high-quality food and beverage and customer hospitality to support guests as they play, learn, and explore at the Museum.  This position supports the day-to-day operations of the Café through food preparation and maintaining clean, organized, and efficient kitchen and dining spaces.   This role uses a hands-on and flexible approach to help ensure the Café remains a dependable, family-friendly part of the overall Museum experience. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Prepare and serve food and beverage items while maintaining quality, consistency, food safety, and presentation standards. 

• Support the Museum’s mission by creating a warm, welcoming, family-friendly environment that enhances our guests’ experiences. 

• Support daily kitchen operations including food prep, stocking, dishwashing, cleaning, and organization of kitchen and dining spaces. 

• Maintain cleanliness, sanitation, and food safety standards, processes, and records. 

• Monitor product levels and communicate inventory, prep, supply, and maintenance needs to Café Manager. 

• Help maintain organized storage areas, prep stations, grab and go displays, and kitchen systems to support efficient daily operations. 

• Assist with front-of-house service when needed, including point of sale, hospitality, and dining room care to create a welcoming experience for our guests.  

• Contribute to a positive, team-oriented work environment by supporting coworkers, adapting to changing operational needs, and helping where needed across café functions. 

• Support event and catering operations through food preparation, setup, service, cleanup, and flexible evening and weekend coverage as needed. 

• Other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications: 

• Prior related professional experience, such as food and beverage preparation, cooking, or hospitality industry customer service, is required. 

• Shows a passion for and commitment to the Museum’s mission, vision, and values. 

• Ability to guide and follow established systems, processes, and procedures with consistency and accuracy. 

• Commitment to maintaining high standards of cleanliness and organization. 

• Strong organization and ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines. 

• Team player with ability to collaborate and cooperate.  

• Great attention to detail.  

• Strong organization and ability to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.  

What We Offer: 

• Starting salary range of at least $18.00 per hour plus tips and will be evaluated commensurate with experience and qualifications.   

• This is a non-exempt role. 

• Benefits include an Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) Reciprocal Membership, discount onsite at Café Coteau and Play Central Toys and Books, professional and career development, and a playful environment. 

Work Environment: 

• This role is an active, hands-on service role, which requires standing for extended periods, engaging with guests throughout the kitchen and dining areas, and performing tasks that involve lifting, bending, and safe handling of materials, to ensure a positive dining experience for our visitors. 
• The standard schedule for this role is Tuesday-Saturday from approximately 9:45-3:45pm.
• With advanced notice, additional scheduling needs may include Tuesday evenings, Sundays, Mondays, holidays, and special events based on the Museum and Cafe Coteau operational needs.
• This role must be completed onsite and some flexible scheduling options may be available.  

• Part-time commitment for this role is scheduled at approximately 25-30 hours per week.   

• This position reports to our Café Manager. 

How to Apply: 

Please complete our online application which will require a resume of past work experience. 

The Children’s Museum of South Dakota celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment where employees of all race, color, religion, marital status, age, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, and veteran status feel welcome.