Position: Café Lead

Reports to: Café Manager

Status: Full-Time / Non-Exempt

Hours: Minimum of 30 hours/week / Maximum of 40 hours/week

Hours of Operations: Monday-Friday / 7am-4pm, Saturday / 8am-2pm; opening & closing shifts up to 1 hour before/after hours of operations

Organizational Description. North Lawndale Employment Network is a comprehensive workforce development agency on Chicago’s West Side dedicated to advancing the economic outcomes of the community’s residents through innovative employment initiatives, including our social enterprises. In August 2021, North Lawndale Employment Network transitioned to a new campus which features a premier community café for residents and stakeholders.

Our Mission. To improve the earnings potential of the North Lawndale community through innovative employment initiatives that lead to economic advancement and an improved quality of life for residents.

Opportunity. We are seeking a dynamic Café Lead to take on a shift leadership role as we grow our newest social enterprise, the beelove® café. This includes our flagship location at our Homan Ave campus as well as future pop-up or permanent locations.

Key Responsibilities.

· Exemplify great guest service, barista skills, and professionalism as outlined in the café handbook and success guides.

· Promote a culture that celebrates wins and consistently provides constructive feedback.

· Plan and support community engagement events.

· Train new hires and barista apprentices.

· Provide coaching and supportive feedback to baristas regarding customer service, drink making, and other operational expectations.

· Provide suggestions for and testing operational changes, in the spirit of continuous improvement.

· Lead monthly inventory counts.

· Maintain equipment and store cleanliness.

· Manage labor at the shift level, including managing break time, and adjusting schedules in consultation with Café Manager.

· Ensure compliance with cash handling processes on the shift level, including performing daily safe and till count, documenting payouts, and reporting tips.

· Manage inbound communication received during the shift, including email and phone call inquiries.

· Manage the delivery of catering orders during assigned shifts, including prep, setup, and clean up.

· Escalate and incorporate guest feedback on menu items and overall café experience.

· Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications.

· 12 months of experience as a successful supervisor; preferably in the food & beverage industry.

· An understanding that their success is based on the success of the mission to develop people for job opportunities and build the business to create more jobs.

· Exemplary attendance.

· Digital literacy in point-of-sale software and MS Office, including Microsoft Excel.

· Continuous improvement approach to operations and training procedures.

· Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

· Time management, organizational, and planning skills.

· Attention to cleanliness and detail throughout the café and retail space.

· Desire for career growth.

· Love for hospitality.

· Passion for developing people and building teams.

· Hold a current Food Service Manager certification (preferred) or able to pass the exam within 90 days of employment.

NLEN Core Values

Neighborhood-focused employment initiatives are fundamental.

Successful programs are neighborhood-focused and community-driven, so they meet the specific needs of individuals.

Quality of work matters.

People who work hard should not be poor. A full-time job must meet basic needs and offer conditions for engagement, advancement, and respect.

Economic mobility is essential to reducing poverty.

Family supporting wages and financial literacy are core to addressing economic insecurity, which disproportionally affects African American, Latino, and other families of color. Economic insecurity is not only impacting the poor; it has grown to threaten the middle class. Self-employment and entrepreneurship are critically important economic mobility strategies to generate income and boost household finances.

We must address the racial wealth gap and social inequality.

The United States’ history of racially charged public policy has created the modern racial wealth divide not just through the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow, but through the more recent race-based discrimination in hiring, housing subsidies, tax subsidies, and veteran benefits as well as other implicitly and explicitly racist public policies.

Everyone deserves human dignity and empowerment.

To uphold this belief, we do all of our work in a manner that values human dignity and eliminates shame, humiliation, and stigma by building on the strengths that help our participants and community survive loss and trauma and rebalance the power dynamic between participants and authority figures.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $17.00 per hour

Expected hours: No more than 40 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid training
• Vision insurance

Experience level:

• 1 year

Restaurant type:

• Café
• Coffee shop

Shift:

• Day shift
• Morning shift

Weekly day range:

• Every weekend
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Work Location: In person