Job Opportunities

Opened in 2012, The Art of Living Retreat Center is the newest outgrowth of the Art of Living Foundation’s 40+ year global commitment to health, happiness, and Ayurveda.

Nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, the Center offers immersive wellness experiences inspired by authentic traditions of yoga and Ayurveda. From signature workshops in the life-transforming power of breath and meditation to cleanses that have been practiced for thousands of years, the experiences at the center and its Shankara Ayurveda Wellness provide timeless tools that help guests tap into their potential for lasting health and happiness.

The community is built around a spiritual and wellness focus. While this is not necessary in an applicant’s background, you should be able to deeply understand and appreciate this approach to life. For those who are inclined towards this lifestyle, there are plenty of opportunities for personal growth.

Below is a listing of our current job openings; click on the title to learn more. 

  • On-site housing opportunities
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Subsidized meal plans
  • Complimentary meditation and yoga classes
  • Complimentary participation in our Signature Happiness and Silence Retreats

Full-time positions only also include

  • Subsidized Health/Dental Insurance available after 90 days 
  • Paid Vacation and Sick Time available after 90 days
  • Generous 401k contribution/match after one year

All of our positions include opportunities for advancement within the organization, monthly employee appreciation events, and the opportunity to engage in a wholesome lifestyle of self-sufficiency, meaningful work, inner development, and accomplishment.

Must pass a background screening. Please include the following when submitting your application:

  • Include the position title in the email subject line
  • CV with contactable references
  • Minimum of one recent letter of reference
  • Copies of any related certificates

Resumes may be submitted via email to [email protected].

Open Positions

Dining

Three times a day, we prepare whole-food meals with the freshest seasonal ingredients we can find. Our priority is to provide our guests with vegetarian nourishment designed to energize and nourish all body types in a stellar dining experience. Meals are served buffet-style.

This position is responsible for washing dishes, pots, and pans during prep periods and service, as well as performing any kitchen prep as directed by the supervisor. May also put away deliveries and organize storage.

Requirements

  • Some kitchen experience is preferred, but not required
  • Strong teamwork and communication skills
  • Ability to stand on feet for long periods of time and work in a fast-paced environment
  • Mental and emotional stability
  • Outstanding people skills; comfortable interacting with diverse populations
  • Positive outlook and abundant optimism

APPLY

Under the guidance of the Head Chef and Sous Chef, the Cook works to ensure a delicious and pleasant dining experience for our guests. This position follows recipes and is responsible for prepping and assembling dishes while maintaining a sanitary kitchen.

Responsibilities

  • Assemble, prep, and cook ingredients according to recipes.
  • Assist with running food and ensuring that the buffet is properly stocked.
  • Ensure the kitchen is always clean and sanitized.
  • Taste all food that is being cooked and prepared to ensure it is properly seasoned.
  • Assist in putting away all deliveries in a timely manner.
  • Use all equipment properly and with caution.
  • Assist with keeping all coolers and storerooms organized, clean, and clear of all debris.
  • Communicate any personnel issues to the Sous or Head Chef in a timely manner.
  • Maintain a sanitary kitchen.
  • Slice, cut, chop, minces, stir, grill, sautee, roast, fry, broil, and plate meals.
  • Adhere to proper food handling, sanitation, and safety procedures of food storage areas, equipment, and work areas.
  • Maintain temperature and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) logs as required
    Maintain appropriate dating, labeling, and rotation of all food items.
  • Ensure smooth operation of cafeteria services during the absence of a supervisor.
  • Complete cleaning according to daily and weekly schedules; including dishwashing/pot washing as needed.
  • Adhere to all policies set forth by the Chef.
  • Maintain a positive attitude and be a team player.

Skills and Qualifications

  • High School Diploma or equivalent
  • 2 years of experience in a professional kitchen is preferred.

APPLY

The Art of Living Retreat Center is now hiring a Dining Server for its food services. This is a vegan/vegetarian concept restaurant, so although you don’t have to have vast experience with cooking plant-based food, you do need to be excited about this.

Requirements

  • Some dining/server experience is required
  • Positive attitude; upbeat, friendly, and outgoing personality; passionate about people
  • Excellent communication skills.
  • Willingness and ability to work with diverse populations.
  • Excellent initiative and motivation, ability to work independently to stay busy.
  • Works well in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

  • Greet guests promptly, cheerfully, and courteously.
  • Take guest remittance as required and make every effort to ensure a high-quality dining experience.
  • Communicate guest concerns to the manager as appropriate.
  • Clean tables, restock plates, cutlery, etc.
  • Check levels of product in the buffet and report replacement needs to the kitchen management.
  • Set up and tear down cold and hot buffet items as assigned.
  • Keep the back dining area replenished and organized (to-go boxes, shakers, napkins, etc.).
  • Other duties as assigned.

APPLY

We are looking for a Lead Server in our Ayurvedic-inspired Dining Hall. Due to the nature and schedule of the position, we are not hiring students.

Responsibilities

  • Assist Dining Room Supervisor in assigning tasks to, scheduling, and monitoring of front of house staff.
  • Ensure guest dining experience satisfaction; communicates guest concerns to the manager when appropriate.
  • Greets guests promptly, cheerfully, and courteously.
  • Takes guest remittance.
  • Cleans tables and restocks plates, cutlery, etc.
  • Monitors levels of product on the buffet and notifies kitchen of replacement needs.
  • Sets up and tears down cold and hot buffet items.
  • Keeps the back dining area replenished and organized with to-go boxes, shakers, napkins, etc.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • Availability to work days, nights, and weekends
  • Customer service experience
  • Serving experience (preferred)

We are looking for a hard-working prep cook to be responsible for setting up workstations in the kitchen and preparing ingredients for the cooking process. The prep cook is required to perform basic cooking duties, monitor stock levels, and take on culinary tasks as they arise.

Responsibilities

  • Setting up and sanitizing workstations.
  • Following prep lists created by chefs.
  • Measuring ingredients and seasonings, and preparing cooking ingredients such as soup stock to be used in the cooking process.
  • Preparing simple dishes, such as entrees or salads.
  • Ensuring all food items are properly stored and easily accessible.
  • Assisting chefs in preparing food and attending to any culinary tasks that arise.
  • Supervising food and cooling room temperatures.
  • Maintaining a clean, orderly, and sanitized kitchen.

Requirements

  • High school diploma or equivalent
  • Some kitchen experience is preferred, but not required
  • Manual dexterity to operate cooking tools such as knives
  • Strong teamwork and communication skills
  • Ability to stand on feet for long periods of time
  • Mental and emotional stability
  • Outstanding people skills; comfortable interacting with all diverse populations
  • Display care and attention to detail
  • Positive outlook and abundant optimism

APPLY

Operations

We’re looking for an experienced A/V technician to interact with our faculty and presenters, ensuring all the audio/video, lighting, and desktop technology needs are being met to the highest standards and in a professional manner. This position makes sure all associated A/V equipment is running at peak performance. In conjunction, they provide system support to the IT supervisor.

Responsibilities

  • Provide Support for a variety of office/network-related equipment, including desktop computers, laptops, phones, projectors, networked copiers, and teleconferencing equipment.
  • Manage the IT/AV tasks coming in from the retreat center.
  • Assist in managing updates/upgrades.
  • Run, maintain, and administer audio/video equipment. (i.e., set up and operate audio and video equipment, including microphones, sound speakers, video screens, projectors, video monitors, special lighting, recording equipment, connecting wires and cables, sound and mixing boards, and related electronic equipment for events, meetings, and presentations.)
  • Perform minor repairs and routine cleaning of A/V equipment, as well as desktop computers.
  • Troubleshoot media system problems.
  • Manage small venue live streaming.
  • Properly construct and position sets, lighting equipment, and other equipment.
  • Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.

Additional Duties

  • Ensure only trained volunteers or staff are running the equipment. Conduct training sessions on the selection, use, and design of A/V materials and on the operation of presentation equipment to volunteers and staff.
  • Organize and maintain compliance, license, and warranty information related to A/V equipment.
  • Develop manuals or related materials for use in conjunction with production materials or for training.
  • Work with the Business Administrator, Marketing Specialists, and Program Directors to utilize the A/V equipment for informational and advertising purposes.
  • Create or coordinate the creation of informational and advertising pieces.

Skills and Qualifications

  • A degree in audio, video, theater production, or similar. In place of a degree, we’ll accept at least four years of experience working in an audio, video, or production field.
  • 2+ year’s experience with desktop support or related experience.
  • An understanding of how to run the Windows operating system.
  • Basic knowledge of how to run business phone systems.
  • Basic knowledge of analog AV/Sound.
  • Strong creative, communication, and organizational skills.
  • Able to work in a team environment and interact with a variety of people, groups, and personalities.
  • Technical abilities and experience.
  • Must be hands-on.

Sales & Marketing

We seek an Email Marketing Specialist to manage email and SMS programs for our retreat center. In the role, you will be responsible for end-to-end campaign execution across email and SMS, including defining customer journeys and lifecycle stages to develop compelling, on-brand marketing campaigns that drive engagement, loyalty, retention, and registrations.

Responsibilities

  • Manage the day-to-day strategy and deployment of email and SMS (program to be added this coming year). Ensure all messages are built, tested, and deployed properly, leveraging best practices and learnings.
  • Partner with the Marketing team to develop messaging strategy and calendar, maximizing opportunities to drive engagement, frequency, retention, reactivation, sales, AOV, and LTV.
  • Manage and optimize Hubspot account and all contact data, including cleaning up outdated workflows, managing usage thresholds, identifying overlap between lists and audience groups, and continually auditing the account for simplicity and cleanliness.
  • Track and analyze campaigns, measuring effectiveness and ROI for all types of email and SMS messaging. Report on performance weekly, quarterly, and ad hoc basis as needed.
  • Continually work to improve all KPIs: deliverability, open rate, click rate, conversion rate, opt-out rate, revenue, and specific business goals around individual campaigns.
  • Develop test-and-learn practices. Identify opportunities to A/B test campaigns with the goal of optimizing engagement and conversion metrics.
  • Optimize lead capture and conversion to drive significant growth of our email list.
  • Provide email marketing thought leadership: strong understanding of best-in-class email and SMS marketing, new tools and software, and desire/ability to create best-in-class programs.

Skills and Qualifications

  • 3+ years of experience designing and building CRM and email marketing campaigns, creating content, executing campaign automation, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
  • In-depth knowledge of email marketing and best practices, including segmentation and developing automated lifecycle programs.
  • Experience using the full scope of features and functionality within a Hubspot CRM.
  • Demonstrated experience with marketing automation and reporting tools.
  • Basic HTML experience for email template design.
  • Solid understanding of digital marketing trends and email best practices.
  • Well-versed in multi-channel marketing strategies and tactics across CRM marketing.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects independently from start to finish.
  • Ability to work as necessary during non-office hours (this may include: weekends, mornings, and evenings) when necessary.

Shankara Ayurveda Wellness

No open positions at this time.

Application Requirements

Must pass a background screening. Please include the following when submitting your application:

  • Include the position title in the email subject line
  • CV with contactable references
  • Minimum of one recent letter of reference
  • Copies of any related certificates

Resumes may be submitted via email to [email protected].

Contact Form

Small Group Inquiry Request

Note: You will receive an email confirming our receipt of your inquiry.

Our peak season runs April–November, so space fills up quickly during that time.