Our Jobs
Around 18 seasonal crew work plus the Miller Family work in the office, dining room, housekeeping, kitchen, grounds-keeping, maintenance, driving and barn/guiding areas. Our crew is small. We aim to have well defined jobs and roles, but occasionally we must pitch in to help in other departments. Our family works in the thick of it with our crew.
We look for people who can bring professional skills and enthusiasm about family oriented ranch hospitality to our team. Everyone who works here lives here ~ so work and community are entertwined. People who enjoy the outdoors, rural life and being part of a small close knit team do best here.
When we hire crew, we fully expect everyone to make a commitment for the full season -- from ranch opening in October through early May. We bring people on about a month ahead of opening day to "open" the ranch, and we view this as an important team-building time.
We know that these are difficult times given the Covid-19 situation with many unknowns for all of us. We have posted information on our website ~ look for the words Covid-Care in blue. We hope you'll take a look at our plans as you do your research and prepare your application.
We look forward to hearing from you this summer! Thanks, The Miller Family, July 16, 2020
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This position plays a lead role in day-to-day implementation of the ranch's COVID-CARE program. Provides hospitality and guest service primarily from office and dining room, and cross-trained to support housekeeping. An ideal applicant has hospitality oriented work experience in dining, housekeeping, and guest / reception office environments and understands how they all must work together. Excellent communication skills, flexibility, and responsibility critical. Must be able to be active and on feet during work hours.
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The barn crew of 6 spend the majority of the day guiding half and all-day horseback rides for ranch guests (adults and kids). The job also involves: livestock care and horseshoeing, tacking and equipment use and care, early morning wrangle to bring herd in from pasture, training and developing horses, loading and leading a pack horse for all-day lunch rides and ranch chores, and ranch chores (barn clean up, feeding, tack repair, fencing, etc). Rocky mountain terrain requires backcountry navigation skills. The guide is reponsible for horse and guest safety while on rides. Each guide is issued a string of horses to ride with the expectation that you'll develop them for eventual guest use ~ this is a real plus if you're really interested in horseback work and improving your skills. Note that the first month or so of work before the ranch opens will involve trail clearing, much of it on foot, and ranch chores. Elkhorn seeks applicants with a minimum of three years of professional horse experience and basic horseshoeing skills ~ this is not an entry level horseback guide position. Note that the Elkhorn Covid-Care plan will require you to wear a cloth mask at strategic times, including when helping guests mount and dismount.
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A two-person team is responsible for setting up and serving of 3 guest meals, daily cleaning and weekly deep cleaning of a portion of the kitchen, communal kitchen bathroom, and guest dining room. Provide very personal family-style hospitality and individual guest attention, including knowing all guests’ names. Predictable time off in the afternoons to ride or hike is a perk of this job! A good applicant will have at least one year of professional serving or kitchen experience, but this can be an entry level job. Note that during a month or so of ranch opening, dining room servers will be part of the cabin opening team that does top-to-bottom cleaning of each guest cabin and the ranch dining room ~ a key time for team building and getting settled into ranch life! Note that dining room crew will be key players in the Elkhorn Covid-Care strategy, and will be required to wear cloth masks and gloves.
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The kitchen assistant is part of a 5 person kitchen/dining room crew. The kitchen assistant is responsible for daily pot washing, crew dining room cleaning/meal set-up, and daily kitchen cleaning jobs; and weekly chores such as storage and refrigeration cleaning, put away new supplies, set up sack lunch buffet, and kitchen deep cleaning. This is a "back of the house" role primarily ~ but there is interaction with guests while serving at the outdoor buffet a few nights a week and running the all-day ride sack lunch table. The kitchen assistant also helps staff the Saturday desert picnic. Predictable free time to ride or hike most afternoons is a perk of this job. While an ideal applicant has at least one year of professional kitchen experience, this can be an entry level position as well. Note that during a month or so of ranch opening, dining room servers will be part of the cabin opening team that does top-to-bottom cleaning of each guest cabin and the ranch dining room ~ a key time for team building and getting settled into ranch life!
Please note that our kitchen will be a top priority for management of Covid-19 risk, and we will ask our crew to wear masks and gloves and participate in other important aspects of our risk management plan.
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ELKHORN RANCH LUNCH/SUPPER RANCH COOK VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Updated: August 1, 2020
The Basics ~ Prepares lunch and supper for ranch crew and guests and all 3 meals one day per week. Team Lead for 6 person kitchen staff group. We seek applications from experienced professionals who wish to enjoy and invest in guest ranch life and manage a kitchen and team that produces excellent food presented to guests and crew with care and maintains excellent kitchen and dining room sanitation. This particular season will require extra attention to sanitation and logistics to manage local and federal guidelines relative to COVID-19.
Ranch background. Elkhorn Ranch is a winter season guest ranch located about one hour southwest of Tucson, Arizona, that has been owned and operated by the Miller Family since 1946. Elkhorn Ranch is a traditional guest ranch where horseback riding is the main activity – if you need daily city life, we’re not the place for you. Elkhorn Ranch accommodates an average of 32 guests (up to a maximum of 40 during holidays and school vacations) who live in 20 guest cabins. The ranch crew consists of about 18 people, plus the Miller family, such that crew meals entail 20-25 people. All of the ranch crew live on the ranch premises. The crew receives the same meals as guests, with left-overs thoughtfully included. Guests and crew eat in separate dining rooms on either side of the kitchen.
Culinary program. Our culinary goal is to produce upscale, home-style meals. We serve three meals a day. Breakfast involves a fruit, cereal, fresh bread buffet and plated short-order service. Lunch involves an entrée with protein, supplemented as necessary to address dietary needs, soup, salad and/or cut vegetables with dressing or dips, fruit platter, cottage cheese, and a cookie platter (3 varieties baked daily). Supper involves a protein entrée (plus supplements as per dietary needs), carb choice (potato, pasta, beans, rice, legumes), vegetable, side salad, fresh baked bread, and plated dessert. Lunch and supper basic ingredients are outlined on a 4 week rotational menu, with most recipe choices left to the Cook. High quality beef is served twice a week, along with weekly poultry and fish, and a mix to cover the rest of the week. Due to our rural location, supper vegetables are a mix of frozen and fresh, with fresh salad always on the menu. Lunch menu recipes are adjusted to fit the number of guests present, weather, and to utilize left-overs efficiently and creatively.
Kitchen team. The kitchen is staffed by 6 primary positions: Ranch Cook, Breakfast Cook/Baker, Kitchen Assistant, 2 Servers, and a Swing position that covers days off. The Ranch Cook prepares lunch and supper and prepares all 3 meals on the Breakfast Cook/Baker’s day off; and the Breakfast Cook/Baker covers all 3 meals on the Ranch Cook’s day off.
Kitchen set up. The kitchen is spacious and equipped with a Hobart mixer, 2 oven wolf stove with 6 burners and a flat top, indoor reach-in refrigeration, and a walk-in refrigeration/freezer plus other food storage accessed from the kitchen yard outdoors. Supplies are delivered by Shamrock weekly, and supplemented by a weekly town run. The ranch office does weekly supply inventories and orders and consults with the Ranch Cook and other kitchen staff to finalize the weekly town list and food order.
Compensation. All Elkhorn Ranch crew work a 6 day work week with one regularly scheduled day off (Saturday for the Ranch Cook). The Ranch Cook’s housing consists of a two room “cabin”, with a private bath, located immediately adjacent to the kitchen. The compensation for all Elkhorn Ranch jobs consists of full room and board, one day off per week, and a monthly wage composed of salary (to be negotiated) and a guaranteed portion of the crew gratuity pool. The remaining gratuity pool is distributed to all crew present at the end of the season. Medical insurance benefits are provided to 2ndseason crew and beyond. Please check www.elkhornranch.com to learn more about our ranch.
Thank you for your interest in the Ranch Cook position at Elkhorn Ranch, and we look forward to hearing from you!
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A team of 2 crew provide daily housekeeping and nightly bed turn down for 20 guest cabins, daily cleaning of the dining room sitting room, weekly cleaning of one communal crew bathroom ~ plus the housekeepers operate the ranch laundry to clean guest linens and guest laundry upon request. This job requires an eye for detail, efficiency, organization, and self-motivation. It is a great job for a person who likes to be active and busy! This job requires a minimum of one year's experience in hospitality and ideally experience doing professional housekeeping. Note that during a month or so of ranch opening, dining room servers will be part of the cabin opening team that does top-to-bottom cleaning of each guest cabin and the ranch dining room ~ a key time for team building and getting settled into ranch life! Please note that housekeeping staff will play a key role in implementing our Covid-19 risk management strategy, and will be asked to wear masks and gloves during work times.
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This job swings between positions, hence the name! to provide day off coverage for housekeepers (2 days), dining room servers (2 days) and the kitchen assistant (1 day) ~ plus there's a 3rd day in housekeeping to cover the Sunday changeover workload (deep clean between guests). Please see other jobs for descriptions to see if you’re interested. Flexibility, quick learning, and positive team energy important. This is a great job for a someone who wants to help out everywhere and build diverse experience! Note that during a month or so of ranch opening, dining room servers will be part of the cabin opening team that does top-to-bottom cleaning of each guest cabin and the ranch dining room ~ a key time for team building and getting settled into ranch life! Please note that this job will be a critical player in implementing our Covid-19 strategy ~ and that you'll be asked to wearing a mask and gloves will be necessary.
Admin
Barn
Food and Beverage
Housekeeping
How to Apply
Elkhorn Ranch will accept applications during July and early August, and beyond until all positions are filled. We ask that our returning crew confirm their plans for the upcoming season by July 31st, 2020, and should know by then exactly what positions are open. We will begin a serious review of applications on August 1st.
TO APPLY:
- Complete the online application form available by clicking on Apply Here below. You can also contact the ranch for a paper application form if necessary.
- We encourage you to provide a resume ~ you can attach it to your application. You may also email your resume or any other materials to office@elkhornranch.com.
- Provide professional references ~ and please check that contact information is up to date. We do check references and if we can't reach people we will quickly give up on your application.
Please note that it is very important to let us know the dates when you will be available. We expect crew to arrive in October, ideally for an October 5, 2020 starting date, and the seasonal commitment is May 3, 2021.
Feel free to contact us, preferably by email at office@elkhornranch.com, to check on the status of your application.
Attention: The Miller Family
Elkhorn Ranch
27000 W Elkhorn Ranch Road
Tucson, AZ 85736
520-822-1040 ... office@elkhornranch.com (email preferred for correspondence)