WE’RE HIRING!

COMMUNITY KITCHEN COORDINATOR

Status: Part-Time, Hourly (15 hours/week)Compensation: $20/hourStart Date: July 27, 2026

About Bembé

Bembé Drum & Dance is a Milwaukee-based cultural arts organization that strengthens community through Afro-Latino music, dance, cultural education, and intergenerational gathering. Through our year-round programs, young people and families build cultural identity, leadership, belonging, and well-being.

At Bembé, community meals are much more than food. Sharing a meal creates space for conversation, celebration, relationship-building, and care. Every dinner served is an opportunity to help someone feel welcomed, connected, and at home.

We are seeking a warm, organized, and community-minded Kitchen Coordinator who enjoys cooking, planning, and creating welcoming spaces for youth, families, artists, and community members.

Position Summary

The Kitchen Coordinator oversees all aspects of Bembé's community meal program, ensuring that nutritious, culturally rooted meals are thoughtfully planned, prepared, and served throughout the year. This position combines meal planning, purchasing, food preparation, kitchen organization, and light youth supervision while helping cultivate a welcoming community environment.

Primary Responsibilities

Community Meal Coordination

Plan and coordinate meals for:

  • Academia Bembé programming (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays)

  • Community Celebrations at Casa Bembé (approximately 3–4 annually)

  • Occasional off-site community events (1–2 annually)

Responsibilities include:

  • Plan weekly menus in advance

  • Purchase groceries and kitchen supplies

  • Prepare and cook community meals

  • Coordinate catering for larger events when appropriate

  • Maintain kitchen inventory and organize food storage

  • Process purchases and maintain basic expense tracking

  • Track the number of meals served

  • Maintain a clean, organized, and food-safe kitchen and dining area

  • Help celebrate staff and student birthdays through special treats or desserts

Youth & Community Programming

  • Supervise youth participating in community service-learning through meal preparation, serving, and cleanup

  • Foster responsibility, teamwork, and pride in caring for shared community spaces

  • Oversee the Saturday Teen Space (approximately 1:30–3:30 p.m.), providing a calm and welcoming environment for conversation, games, baking activities, and positive relationship-building

Weekly Schedule (15 Hours)

Monday: 4:30–8:30 p.m. (4 hours)

Wednesday: 4:30–8:30 p.m. (4 hours)

Saturday: 10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (5 hours)

Flexible Administrative Hours (2 hours/week)

  • Grocery shopping, Ordering supplies, Meal planning, Email communication, Administrative tasks related to the meal program

*Additional paid hours may occasionally be available for special events.

Benefits

  • $20/hour

  • 20 hours Paid Time Off annually

  • Free Bembé classes for employee and their immediate family

  • Community meals provided during scheduled program shifts

  • A collaborative, joyful, and culturally rich work environment where relationships and community matter

Preferred Qualifications

We're looking for someone who is:

  • Passionate about cooking and bringing people together through food

  • Warm, welcoming, and enjoys working with youth and families

  • Organized and enjoys planning ahead

  • Dependable, self-directed, and flexible

  • Comfortable balancing kitchen responsibilities with community engagement

  • A strong communicator 

Experience preferred:

  • Food preparation, catering, or community meal coordination

  • Nonprofit, school, community center, or youth program experience

  • Experience supervising youth, volunteers, or community members

  • Multilingual (English, Spanish, and/or Spanglish)

  • Familiarity with Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American cuisine

  • Commitment to cooking with fresh ingredients and natural seasonings

Additional Requirements

  • Valid driver's license and reliable transportation for grocery shopping and supply pick-up preferred

  • Current Food Handler or ServSafe Certification preferred, or willingness to obtain certification within the first 90 days of employment (Bembé may assist with certification costs)

  • Employment is contingent upon successfully passing a criminal background check due to regular work with youth

  • Ability to lift up to 30 pounds and stand for extended periods while preparing and serving meals

  • Willingness to occasionally adjust schedule or work additional hours for special events with advance notice whenever possible

Join Our Team

At Bembé, food is more than nourishment. It is an expression of culture, care,  and community. Every meal helps create a space where young people and families experience belonging, celebrate culture, and build meaningful relationships.

If you believe that preparing and sharing a meal is one of the most powerful ways to care for a community, we'd love to meet you.

How to Apply: 

APPLY HERE

Equal Opportunity Employment

Bembé Drum & Dance is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming workplace. We celebrate the richness of our community and believe that a variety of lived experiences, cultures, identities, and perspectives strengthens our organization.

We welcome applicants of all races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, genders, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and to creating a workplace where everyone is treated with dignity, respect, and belonging.

Because our work is rooted in Afro-Latino and African diasporic cultural traditions, we particularly encourage individuals with lived experience and cultural knowledge reflective of the communities we serve to apply. However, all qualified candidates who share our commitment to community, cultural humility, and equity are warmly encouraged to submit an application.