Food and Hospitality Support Specialist

Job Summary:

The Cathedral Center is a social service agency, with years of dedicated service in support of women and families with children who are homeless or experiencing a housing crisis. Services are offered at two locations (4 blocks apart) in downtown Milwaukee: the emergency shelter at the Cathedral Center and the Friendship House, which is a program of Cathedral Center. The Food and Hospitality Support Specialist (FHSS) plays a key role in maintaining a safe, welcoming, and dignified environment for our emergency shelter guests. This position is responsible for planning meals, assisting with meal preparation and service, ensuring cleanliness and sanitation in food service areas, and supporting the overall hospitality experience within the shelter. Working closely with Shelter Program Director and Volunteer and In-Kind Donation Coordinator, the FHSS will coordinate volunteers and ensure that food services meet health and safety standards while also promoting respect, compassion, and dignity for all guests. This role may also assist in other needs at the shelter including, but not limited to inventory, donations, and client-facing hospitality needs such as bedding, laundry, and general cleanliness in communal areas. This position is part-time, primarily later afternoon- early evening shifts at the Emergency Shelter, with potential advancement to full-time status through additional responsibilities as Guest Support Staff. 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assist with meal planning, preparation, serving, and cleanup in accordance with health and safety standards
2. Ensure professional and respectful partnership with hospitality meal volunteers.
3. Follow and implement sanitation and safety standards for food handling/preparation.
4. Prepare and maintain inventory of food service supplies, rotation of food supplies.
5. Maintain cleanliness of kitchen, lounge areas, and other shared spaces
6. Distribute food, hygiene items, linens, and other supplies to guests
7. Support donation intake, inventory tracking, and stock rotation
8. Ensure a respectful, trauma-informed and welcoming environment
9. Communicate effectively with staff, residents, and volunteers
10. Ensure adherence to agency and partner ethics, client confidentiality, and professional boundaries.
11. Other duties as may be assigned by the Program Director and/or Executive Director.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Prior experience in food service, hospitality, or shelter work preferred
• Serve-Safe Certification preferred; willingness to complete certification
• Attention to detail and ability to work effectively with the public and diverse, vulnerable populations in a respectful and dignified manner are critical qualities
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Candidates must be able to use stairs, sit, stand, stop and walk for extended periods of time unaided, and be able to lift 30 lbs.
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, or holidays if needed
• Reliability and professionalism are key attributes
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team environment, and to become familiar with and utilize a trauma-informed approach

Candidates for all paid and volunteer positions at The Cathedral Center must have been separated from Cathedral Center services for at least one year. All candidates for paid and volunteer positions at The Cathedral Center must be willing to have a background check conducted.

This position is open to all qualified internal and external candidates. Internal candidates will have ideally reached six months of continuous employment at the time of application, and their application will be prioritized accordingly.

Cathedral Center is a mission focused organization, seeking individuals who are excited to grow with us.  We offer competitive pay with wages ranges of $16-$18 per hour, as well as overtime and holiday pay for hourly staff. Cathedral Center offers a supportive working environment and training opportunities.

Cathedral Center is a mission focused agency. As such, we will continue to search for compassionate candidates to fill positions until all vacancies are filled with individuals who demonstrate their own commitment to ending homelessness. This part-time position offers Holiday and overtime pay, supported training opportunities (internal/external), tuition reimbursement after one year, 18 hours of paid personal time annually, and availability of free mental health services for all employees including EAP and Teledoc Health.