Part-Time Café Baristas and Cashiers Hotel and Cafe

Part‑Time Café Baristas and Cashiers – (Hotel and Café Job)

Job Goal To advance the college’s mission, vision, principles, values and strategic initiatives through continuous improvement decisions.

The Café at Kirkwood (Iowa Hall, Main Campus at Kirkwood Community College) is part of the same team that operates The Hotel  Café and its two on‑campus satellite locations provide meals, snacks and beverages with fresh, high‑quality ingredients and tasty gourmet menus to the students, employees and guests on Kirkwood’s main campus. Cashiers and Baristas are critical to a positive and efficient delivery of service and are the main point of interaction with all of our customers.

• Advocate for continual improvement – empowering each other to identify opportunities for excellence.
• Collaborate with mutual accountability – working together with a willingness to take ownership and account for our actions.
• Champion service – anticipating needs and creating a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive environment.
• Perseverance – commitment to excellence even in the face of adversity or delay in achieving success.
• Lead – regardless of title, through positive influence.

• Greeting customers in a friendly manner and taking food and drink orders.
• Answering customers’ questions about menu choices.
• Promoting and recommending menu options to customers.
• Preparing and serving hot or cold beverages (coffee, espresso drinks, blended coffees, teas or smoothies) and ice‑cream desserts.
• Facilitating a seamless, efficient and positive interaction at the point of sale while ensuring all customer needs are met.
• Handling cash, checks and credit card transactions and following proper cash‑handling procedures.
• Suggesting appropriate items to complete the transaction.
• Serving prepared foods such as muffins, pastries and cakes; slicing fruits, vegetables or desserts for use in food service.
• Wrapping, labeling and dating food items and ensuring compliance with food‑safety guidelines.
• Inspecting food preparation and serving areas to ensure observance of safe sanitary food‑handling practices.
• Being knowledgeable about food storage and handling techniques.
• Cleaning or sanitizing work areas, utensils or equipment.
• Maintaining regular and consistent attendance at work.
• Following instructions (menus/recipes) and properly using kitchen equipment such as blenders, coffee makers, soft‑serve machine, dishwashers and registers.
• Performing other related work duties as assigned, including supporting other roles such as prep cooks, catering and dishwashers.
• Managing effective time, organization and memory to handle multiple orders simultaneously and to recall faces, names and preferences of frequent patrons.
• Having a true excitement for helping people and positively engaging with customers and coworkers.
• Desiring to be part of an enthusiastic, fast‑paced and fun team.
• Welcoming, valuing and nurturing people of all backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, and supporting an environment that accepts differences.

Seeing, hearing, speaking, reaching, lifting up to 50 pounds, sitting, standing for 4 to 8 hours, bending, twisting, climbing and moving intermittently during working hours. Monitoring food quality and quantity, serving students, ordering supplies, collecting money, etc. Hearing and speaking abilities are required to exchange information.

The employee regularly works in an indoor kitchen environment with exposure to heat from ovens, hot foods and steamers, cleaning chemicals, fumes, equipment and metal objects. Work surfaces may be slippery. The noise level is usually moderate but may be loud depending on the specific work site and equipment operation.

• High school diploma or equivalent.

• Customer‑service background.
• Experience with computers, hardware and software.
• Cash handling experience.
• Preference for candidates with a minimum of two years full‑time experience in a related hospitality setting or the equivalent education and related work experience.

The policy of Kirkwood Community College is not to discriminate in its programs, activities or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, and actual or potential family, parental or marital status. For questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy, contact the Vice President, Human Resources and Institutional Effectiveness, 6301 Kirkwood Blvd.

SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404, 319‑398‑5572, equity.