Overview
Location: Alexandria, VA
Pay: $15.90 – $22.89/hour
Position Type: Full-Time
Are you passionate about cooking and looking for meaningful work where you can truly impact lives?
At Embark Behavioral Health, you’ll play a vital role in creating healing, connection, and joy for adolescents in a residential setting. Join us in our mission to bring adolescent depression, anxiety, and suicide to all-time lows by 2028.
Our program offers a supportive, family-style environment where community and relationships are key and nourishing meals are at the heart of that experience.
The Cook/Chef at our Alexandria campus will take the lead in planning, preparing, and managing daily meals for students and staff. This role is essential in creating healthy, comforting, and nourishing dining experiences that support overall wellness.
Responsibilities
- Oversees a 7-day Food Service program, including menu planning, food preparation, sanitation, safety, and delivery
- Plans menus aligned with nutritional standards and prepares high-quality meals
- Manages food purchasing and budget using approved vendors
- Maintains kitchen equipment, coordinating repairs as needed
- Ensures food quality, portioning, and timely preparation
- Upholds sanitation, safety, and hygiene standards at all times
- Coordinates efficiently for meal prep, snacks, and special events
- Demonstrates professionalism, teamwork, and sound judgment
- Supports a safe, clean, and therapeutic environment
- Responds appropriately to emergencies
- Maintains reliable attendance, punctuality, and flexibility, including schedule changes and additional duties as needed
Qualifications
Knowledge, Abilities and Skills
- Considerable knowledge of food service operation including large quantity food preparation.
- Menu planning; general nutrition; purchasing, receiving and food storage; food service sanitation and safety.
- Skill in operating various institutional/commercial kitchen equipment.
- Demonstrated interpersonal skills necessary to establish healthy relationships with clients.
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with co-workers.
- Must be able to work independently and maintain a professional attitude.
- Effective communication skills, judgment and tact required.
- Must be able to prioritize workload to meet ongoing deadlines.
- Forward thinking with a positive attitude and the ability to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Has a strong attendance record and is punctual with deliverables required.
Qualifications
- Commercial and/or institutional cooking/chef experience.
- ServSafe Food Handler Certification.
- Ability to pass a background check.
- CPR/First Aid Certificate.
- Valid driver’s license with clean driving record.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance – Multiple plan options including PPO and HDHPs with HSA eligibility and company contributions.
- Paid Parental Leave – Up to 6 weeks fully paid for exempt employees and 4 weeks for non-exempt.
- Life & Disability Coverage – Company-paid life, AD&D, and long-term disability; voluntary life and optional short-term disability available.
- 401(k) with Company Match – Retirement savings with matching contributions after eligibility period.
- PTO & Holidays – Competitive PTO accrual plans and paid holidays throughout the year.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Free, confidential support for life’s challenges.
- Proven Positive Outcomes: You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that your work is making a tangible difference in young adults and adolescents lives.
- Opportunity to foster relationships with young adults and their families, create joy in their lives, and heal generations.
- Work alongside Embark team members who embrace the core values of empathy, trusting relationships, service, growth, and results.
Embark is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. Embark is committed to enriching the therapeutic and healing experience it offers through the diversity of its employees and community. Embark seeks to recruit and support a broadly diverse staff who will contribute to the organization's excellence, diversity of viewpoints and experiences, and relevance in a global society.
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