Culinary and Lodging Manager - Heifer U.S.A
Job ID 1678
Description
Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.
About Heifer International
In 1944, Heifer International’s founder, Dan West, began outlining a simple but groundbreaking plan to tackle hunger around the world. West, a farmer from the Midwest and Church of the Brethren member, had recently returned from feeding weary refugees during volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War.
He had seen firsthand that giving people food was a short-term solution, whereas providing them with animals offered a steady supply of nutritious food for an entire family. His philosophy still inspires Heifer’s work today. Partnering with farmers across a range of different livestock and crops, we create unique solutions to local challenges.
Today, Heifer International has operations in 19 countries around the world, working alongside local farmers, business owners and their communities, as they mobilize and envision their futures. Together, we build inclusive, resilient economies, so communities can develop effective ways to end global hunger and poverty in a sustainable way.
To date, we have supported more than 42 million farming families across Africa, Asia and the Americas and in the past five years alone. We have worked alongside 2.7 million families to close the living income gap or set them on a path to doing so. Between now and 2030, we will support an additional 10 million people to reach a living income by scaling up our signature programs. To achieve this, Heifer International relies on its passionate, committed, and highly skilled staff.
WHO WE ARE
Located west of Little Rock in the foothills of the beautiful Ouachita Mountains, the Heifer Center for Regenerative Agriculture (HCRA) is a 1200-acre ranch and working model of regenerative agriculture, immersive education, and hospitality. As a living laboratory, the Ranch integrates soil health, biodiversity, and sustainable food systems into a dynamic guest experience. Our campus serves as a destination for lodging, conferences, and hands-on learning—bringing together farmers, thought leaders, like-minded organizations, and guests to explore solutions for a more sustainable food future. We currently have lodging for 40+ guests, multiple meeting rooms, and indoor and outdoor dining areas. The outdoor dining pavilion overlooks a 3-acre market garden alongside several hundred scenic acres of mixed forest and pastures where we produce the highest quality pastured proteins—beef, lamb, pork, chickens, and turkeys.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Culinary and Lodging Manager serves as the strategic and operational leader of HCRA’s day-to-day culinary and hospitality ecosystem—overseeing lodging, farm-to-fork dining, and guest experience.
This role goes beyond traditional hospitality management. It is responsible for designing and delivering immersive, mission-aligned experiences that connect guests to regenerative agriculture while visiting HCRA.
The ideal candidate blends hospitality leadership, food systems awareness, and entrepreneurial thinking, and thrives in a dynamic environment that combines lodging, conferences, education, and agriculture.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are seeking a forward-thinking Ranch Culinary and Lodging Manager to help deliver an integrated farm-to-fork dining and stay experience that reflects HCRA’s purpose: to cultivate prosperity and resilience in farming and food systems through regenerative practices.
This role bridges regenerative agriculture, culinary innovation, and guest engagement—translating what is grown on the land into meaningful, educational, and memorable dining experiences.
The ideal candidate is passionate about sustainable food systems, values storytelling through rich, immersive experiences, and thrives in a mission-driven, multi-use environment that includes lodging, conferences, and public programming.
RESPONSIBILITIES & DELIVERABLES
Farm-to-Fork Culinary Integration (20%)
- Collaborate closely with farm and livestock teams to plan and execute regenerative food production for a farm to fork experience as well as contributing to hunger alleviation with HCRA partner the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
- Champion whole-animal utilization, zero-waste principles, and preservation techniques
- Create and adapt menus dynamically based on harvest cycles, availability, and ecological conditions
Guest & Educational Experience (20%)
- Translate food into storytelling—connecting guests to the land, farmers, and regenerative practices
- Support immersive dining experiences, workshops, and demonstrations tied to Ranch programming
- Engage conference and retreat groups with curated food experiences that align with their themes (e.g. food is medicine, wild harvesting, etc.)
- Through customer satisfaction surveys, actively seek continuous improvement on all aspects of guest interaction.
- Consistently obtain a high-level rating of customer satisfaction.
Culinary & Lodging Operations (25%)
- Partner with lodging and events teams to deliver cohesive, high-quality guest experiences
- Deliver hospitality and culinary experiences that reinforce the HCRA’s reputation as a premier regenerative agriculture destination.
- Ensure dining offerings scale effectively across daily service, special events, and large gatherings
- Deeply understand, constantly analyze, and measure customer needs and how to best create and deliver lodging and farm and food experiences at the Ranch
- Collaborate with the Events & Marketing Manager, and the Facilities, Livestock and Finance Departments for effective, high-quality planning and implementation of on-ranch events.
- Utilize event and lodging management systems to coordinate guest accommodations, meal counts, and hospitality logistics.
- Ensure the timely and accurate management of Culinary and Lodging budgets, invoicing and other relevant records in close collaboration with the Finance and Operations Department(s)
- Develop pricing strategies, seasonal packages, retreat meal pricing, lodging yield optimization and food preparation / preservation educational experiences for revenue generation.
Sustainability & Innovation (15%)
- Lead or support initiatives in composting, waste reduction, and circular food systems
- Stay current with trends in regenerative agriculture, climate-smart cuisine, and ethical sourcing
- Incorporate indigenous, regional, and culturally relevant foodways where appropriate
- Develop and implement community-focused food preparation and preservation workshops
- Build revenue from lodging bookings – including 6 small lodges, 8+ RV spots and camping spots.
- Analyze competition to inform pricing and comparable amenities and conditions.
- Continuously research and apply learnings from other successful farm experience venues in Arkansas, the US and around the world, and challenge us to innovate and pilot new things
Build, manage, and inspire culinary and lodging teams. (20%)
- Supervise and build performance capacity of culinary and hospitality teams
- Commitment and ability to step in and work in all aspects of housekeeping to ensure rapid turnover of lodging.
- Able to flex staffing capacity to volume for each type of event, using permanent staff, temporary staff, and external vendors.
- May perform other job-related duties as assigned.
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree/certification in culinary arts or related field or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
- Minimum 8 years of professional experience, minimum three years of management experience in farm-to-table or farm-integrated culinary / hospitality environments.
- Strong understanding of regenerative agriculture principles and sustainable / local sourcing
- Ability to work cross-functionally with livestock, finance, communications, facilities, and hospitality teams.
- Experience in event, retreat, or conference-based food service is highly desirable.
- Superb culinary / kitchen management skills.
- Passion for mission-driven work and experiential guest engagement.
- Must live in commutable distance to Heifer’s Ranch in Perryville and have reliable transportation.
Most Critical Proficiencies:
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
- Organized and extremely detail oriented.
- Creative high-quality and healthy meal preparation based on seasonal availability and local / regionally sourced products to the extent possible.
- Ability to multi-task and manage several projects simultaneously to completion and work under pressure.
- Ability to work on a varying schedule including nights, early mornings, weekends and holidays as needed.
- Maintain valid licenses and certifications (e.g. Arkansas State Board of Health license, SERV Safe certification, liquor license, etc.).
- Ensure OSHA compliance.
Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:
- Including but not limited to reaching, bending, stooping, wiping, standing, and walking throughout the dining room and up and down stairs when applicable for up to 12 hours.
- Ability to carry a tray with up to 25 pounds.
- Ability to lift up to 40 pounds.
- Proficiency with all Microsoft Office, Google suite of programs; working knowledge of POS systems.
- Ability to be flexible with early and late shifts for special events.
- Some holidays and weekends are required.
Salary Information:
The salary range for this position is $85,098 - $87,000 annually. Placement within the range will be based on the experience and competency level of the candidate. Please submit your full application by 6/15/2026 to be considered for this role.
What We Offer:
Heifer International offers a variety of benefits for U.S. based employees working 30 or more hours per week.
- Health and wellness benefits including Flexible Spending Account and/or Health Saving Account
- Employee assistance program
- 403(b) retirement plan (match 1% employee to 2% employer up to a maximum of 4% match +3% employer discretionary contribution regardless of employee contribution)
- 22 vacation days in addition to 12 statutory and discretionary holidays, and 10 sick days per year
- Employer-paid life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D)
- Professional development and annual merit increase opportunities
- Optional critical illness insurance, legal assistance plan and pet protection
- And more!
Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.