Working at SSCC

Kitchen Staff

Stanford Sierra Conference Center prides itself on our food. Serving in the dining room is a great way to interact with our guests.  Depending on the conference, we serve meals both buffet-style and plated.  While serving in the dining room, dress standards are an important part of the dining experience, i.e. a collared shirt and nice pair of hemmed pants, shorts, or skirt.  Closed-toed shoes are mandatory in the dining room and kitchen.  During fancier conferences, there are times when more formal dress is required; on these occasions you will be informed by our Dining Room Manager as to the appropriate dress.  Often times more formal dress is Black and White: a white button down shirt (ironed), black slacks, and appropriate footwear, so come prepared.

As a member of our kitchen staff you’ll be in charge of preparing and cooking all of the amazing food that we serve our guests.  Kitchen staff schedules are typically set at the beginning of the season.  You may work a straight 8 hour shift or you may work a split.  Our kitchen management staff is extremely talented and great teachers.  We hope that you get to learn new techniques and cook with new foods while you’re here.

All Purpose Staff

Your typical day at Stanford Sierra Conference Center is far from typical.  Throughout the day you will generally have a variety of shifts based on the needs of the current conference.  At 9:00 am you could be making the rounds on Housekeeping, 11:30am might have you serving up a delicious lunch and then at 4:00pm you might be helping serve up refreshments in the Old Lodge during a social hour.  Each day’s schedule is unique. All Purpose Staffers (and that’s everyone, regardless of assignment) keep the place running by doing shifts that include Housekeeping, Dining Room Service,Hobart, watching over the Boat Dock, Campfires, Social Hours, Wine Service, Fountain, and Special Projects (anything else that needs to get done).  A list of our Specialty Shifts, which you will sign up for after arriving at camp, can be found here.

Housekeeping is a big part of our conference season.  We provide daily room cleaning while the conference participants are in their meetings and when they leave, we have to prepare the rooms for the next occupants.  Everybody will have the opportunity to be part of our housekeeping crew at some point.  Housekeeping is a necessity and it can be a great time to get to know your other staff members.

And then there’s Hobart!  Hobart is doing the dishes, though it can be a lot more than that because the staffers assigned to a Hobart shift have fun with it. They dress in crazy outfits, they pick the music and they work as a team to clean dishes; this is many staffers’ favorite shift.

Work at SSCC is not just another job.  We have a unique culture that blends work, nature, and community living all in the same environment.  You will find that your daily shifts are just a small part to your experience as a whole working and living here at Stanford Sierra Conference Center.