The staff and facilities on TNC’s Palmyra Preserve supports scientific research by TNC, the USFWS, and world-renowned research institutions. Staff are hired on a seasonal basis for approximately 3 months at a time to run the operations, maintain the facilities and support visitor and research trips. Board and lodging are provided while on-island.
Palmyra Atoll is one of the most spectacular wilderness areas on Earth. Located 1,000 miles south of Hawai‘i, Palmyra is a 680-acre atoll with 480,000 acres of lagoons, coral reefs, and submerged lands. TNC’s Palmyra Preserve is located within a US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Refuge within a protected Marine National Monument. The Nature Conservancy owns and operates a Preserve at Palmyra to care for this special place while learning and developing innovations to improve ecosystem health and resilience and enhance biodiversity. Supporting research and management at Palmyra is a rewarding challenge for the right applicant (see nature.org/palmyra).
The Hospitality Specialist is responsible for planning and preparing the facilities to receive visitors. They are responsible for daily galley clean-up including dishes, floors, storage areas, bathrooms and showers and systematic deep cleaning of all cabins, associated living areas, recreation areas and the galley. This position is also responsible for planning and preparation of high-quality meals, of breakfast, lunch and dinner for guests, staff, and volunteers. The Hospitality Specialist is responsible for tracking inventory, stocking food items in refrigerators, freezers and dry storage, and the proper rotation of all food and hospitality inventory items to ensure efficiency, organization, and safety. The Hospitality Specialist, like all Palmyra seasonal staff, should have the ability to respond to medical emergencies and other duties as assigned.
Cooking and hosting at TNC’s Palmyra Preserve are unique experiences. Although TNC maintains commercial cleanliness standards, the Palmyra Program does not operate a “commercial kitchen.” To maintain these standards in Palmyra’s challenging environment, our Hospitality staff spend approximately 50% of their time doing daily and deep cleaning. Palmyra’s galley produces meals based on a simple inventory that includes shelf stable items. Producing high quality meals from a predetermined ingredient list requires our cooks to have the ability to make many items from scratch and to have the creativity to incorporate canned and packaged food into high quality meals for guests and staff.