Retreat Program Assistant

Retreat Program Assistant

The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) is an 80-acre demonstration, education, and advocacy center, and Fiscal Sponsor located in western Sonoma County, California. OAEC's work focuses on cultivating ecological literacy and building the capacity of civic and social movement leaders and organizations to guide their communities toward an ecologically regenerative, economically viable, and socially just future.

Job Overview

The Retreat Program Assistant is a key position at OAEC, supporting environmental and social movement leaders in feeling at home when they come to OAEC for organizational retreats, trainings, or alliance meetings. The Retreat Program Assistant is supervised by the Retreat Program Manager and serves the Retreat Program through a combination of administrative and logistical support and hands-on retreat hosting. The Retreat Program Assistant also supports the team of hourly Retreat Hosts (primarily residential interns) throughout the retreats, especially when the Retreat Program Manager is not on site. In this capacity, they serve as the lead contact for groups and provide essential support to the hosting team.

Typical Schedule

While the Retreat Program Assistant will be paid a consistent salary, there are high and low working seasons due to the frequency of retreats, which varies throughout the year. Spring and fall are typically our busiest seasons. When retreat groups are on site, the Retreat Program Assistant typically works many of the weekend and weekday daytime shifts (9 am 5 pm), as well as some overnight, early morning, and evening shifts.

In this salaried position, we are looking for someone to work an average of 40 hours/week. This means working up to 60 hours/week during busy retreat times, and working +/- 20 hours/week when there are no retreats on site. The Retreat Program Assistant will generally have many weeks' notice as to when they will have busier weeks. When we do not have retreats scheduled, the Retreat Program Assistant will support the Retreat Manager with administrative tasks and special projects.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as the point person for groups staying at OAEC.
• Complete standard hosting tasks, including but not limited to: greeting guests, orienting facilitators to the Meeting Hall, orienting groups to the guest housing and the land, updating inventory of supplies, tidying spaces used by retreat groups, making coffee/tea, monitoring the toast bar, restocking the kitchenette, supporting groups with A/V, setting up and tending the fire circle, and general support when the groups are on site.
• Engage with the groups in a professional, service-oriented manner, being mindful and respectful of their needs, the cultural context of their home communities, and the work they are doing.
• Attend to retreat groups' emergent needs and any changes to the plan, with support from the Retreat Program Manager.
• Answer questions about OAEC policy that a group may ask and navigate challenging situations.
• Follow OAEC's Emergency Action Plan when faced with emergencies/safety issues.
• Work closely with the Retreat Program Manager to ensure the hosting calendar and shifts are filled.
• Work closely with the Retreat Program Manager to train and support Retreat Hosts throughout the year. Training often takes place on Mondays and Fridays.
• Communicate with OAEC's Beauty Way (housekeeping), Kitchen, Facilities, and Office staff to ensure smooth operations.
• Provide ongoing review and feedback of the Retreat Program to continually improve and respond to guest input.
• Assist the Retreat Program Manager with communicating information about upcoming retreats to the OAEC Staff and Residential Community. This includes writing up brief blurbs on visiting groups.
• Welcome groups to OAEC, conduct facilitator orientations, lead site tours, and provide logistical welcome orientations.
• Light housekeeping and food prep as needed in the Meeting Hall.

Retreat Program Assistant Qualifications

• Ability to independently handle a wide range of problem-solving for both OAEC and our guests.
• Experience in hospitality or customer service with proven reliability, professionalism, and grace.
• Excitement in assisting the diverse groups of activists working for racial, social, and environmental justice who come to OAEC from all over the world.
• Ability to work well alone and take initiative, and also work collaboratively as part of a team.
• Ability and interest in being highly flexible with hours and work assignments throughout the year.
• A valid driver's license & clean driving record.
• Comfortable with responding to emergent needs, emergencies, and safety issues.

Organizational Participation

• Participate in weekly Thursday morning OAEC staff meetings and serve on appropriate committees.
• Participate in the annual Staff Performance Review process.
• After 18 months on staff, lead occasional OAEC public and private tours.

A bout Living at OAEC

• Housing: The Retreat Program Assistant is required to live on site at OAEC. They will pay $750/month in rent for a rustic, private, and free-standing cabin. Rent includes all utilities, firewood, and WiFi. The cabin is solar-powered and can be pre-furnished if desired. The cabin does not have running water or a kitchen.
• Facilities: Residents share our site and common facilities, including gardens and orchards, wildlands and swimming pond, bathhouse, sauna and hot tub, well-stocked workshop, kitchen, and other aspects of community life.
• Meals and Food System: All residents at OAEC/ Sowing Circle, including this position, currently pay $375-$395/month (subject to change) into our Community Food System, allowing full access to the pantry stocked like a natural food store by OAEC's Kitchen team. All residents cook community dinners (for ~10-20 people) once or twice a month, and are otherwise invited to enjoy all community or OAEC-cooked meals. Produce is sourced largely from OAEC's renowned gardens, and other high-quality, locally sourced ingredients are available for personal meals. When there are no retreats scheduled, all residents participate in a cooking rotation, taking turns cooking dinner for the community each night. Breakfast and lunch are ad-hoc or on your own with full use of the kitchen and pantry ingredients. During OAEC retreats and courses, 3 meals a day are cooked by professional chefs. It should be noted that most residents are not vegetarians, and meat is served regularly during retreats.
• Community Participation: This role will participate as a member of the residential community while at OAEC, sharing the land, meals, and facilities. All community members have collective responsibilities, including participation in scheduled cooking and cleaning (which are in addition to OAEC work hours). We celebrate non-sectarian diversity and are fully committed to maintaining a pluralistic, supportive, and honest working and living environment. In addition to the interns (5-6 annually), the resident community comprises approximately 16 people, aged in their 20s to their 70s. Please note: There are no regularly scheduled all-resident community meetings.

Compensation, Location, and Work Environment

• The annual salary for the Retreat Program Assistant, at an average of 40 hours/week, is $66,836 annually.
• OAEC offers a paid health and wellness benefit, currently set at 100% of the value of a Kaiser Permanente Silver HMO Plan for each employee. We intend to offer a full organizational health insurance plan for all salaried staff beginning in 2027 - this will replace the current health and wellness benefit.
• OAEC offers generous family leave and disability leave, as well as an employee-only contribution 401(k) option and a cell phone plan stipend of $50/month.
• OAEC offers generous paid time off: a total of 5 weeks and 3 days per year of vacation and floating holidays combined, as well as 10 paid sick days (plus an additional week for those with dependents).
• All staff may enjoy the use of OAEC's beautiful facilities, including our swimming pond, hot tub and sauna, and wildlands. Staff are invited to harvest from the extraordinary array of organic produce, flowers, and fruit grown in our Mother Garden and orchards.
• Staff may attend the various theater performances, small concerts, talks, and celebrations happening on site throughout the year. We welcome visits from family and friends.

How to Apply

• Before applying, please spend some time looking at our website to learn about the site, the organization, and to understand what OAEC does in the world. See our Movement Building Retreat