Become an Upper Canyon Outfitter Team Member

Upper Canyon Outfitters is a family-owned and operated guest ranch located in southwest Montana.  One of the biggest investments we make is in our staff and we work hard to find a crew that works hard to get the job done and support other UCO teammates.  If you are interested in becoming part of the UCO team, it is important to know that working at UCO is filled with long days and hard, manual labor.  It is also an opportunity to experience all that rural Montana has to offer.  We try hard to give our staff two days off, consecutively, to provide the opportunities to explore this beautiful area.

Working on an isolated guest ranch in Montana requires a unique mindset. It is important that all applicants are aware that days are long and the work is hard. It is helpful to look at working at UCO as more of a life style than a job. While all applicants will be given a job and job description, it is important that our team stays flexible and has a willingness to help out wherever they are needed. All applicants will be expected to follow housing rules for on campus living. It is best if people have their own form of transportation as we are very isolated and it is nice to be able to leave the ranch on your days off to explore this beautiful area.

Here are the qualities we look for in an applicant

  • Strong work ethic
  • Flexibility
  • Strong sense of team
  • Ability to communicate with guests
  • Willingness to learn
  • Honesty

Available Positions

UCO is currently hiring for the 2024 season.  If you are interested in working here, please fill out the application below.  Please be sure to complete the application to allow us to streamline the hiring process.

Guide Positions – 4×4 tours/Guided Hiking Tours

Tour Guide

General Responsibilities

This person will take out 4×4 tours, hiking tours, teach intro to fly fishing class to beginner anglers, and provide transport for Bill Tate during History tour.  When tours are not going out, this person will be asked to help around the ranch.  

Tour Guide Duties

  • Provide safe, fun excursions for guests
  • Take the side-by-sides out for tours.  This person will be the only one that drives the side by side (not guests)
  • Lead safe, fun appropriate level hikes for guests
  • Teach a beginner fly fishing class.  This will be for people that have never fly fished and would like to learn the basics
  • Help with dinner service 1 to 2 nights a week
  • Must be able to operate side-by-sides
  • Must know or be willing to learn basic maintenance of side by sides
    • Checking oil, tires, and filling with fuel
  • On days that tours are going out, must be willing to help with other jobs such as maintenance, lawn, and other duties as assigned

Schedule

  • Sunday – Thursday
    • 7 am until done

Characteristics of a Good Candidate 

  • Be committed to the safety of self and guests on all tours
  • Willingness to learn
    •  We will train you to know the area and different access points, but this person will have to be able and prepared to lead tours through the mountains by themselves.  
  • Ability to understand and read a map
    • Most guides here use onX maps, an understanding of this or something similar would be beneficial
  • Understand or be willing to learn how to use Garmin for communication purposes
  • Willingness to help other UCO team members
  • High-level communication skills – we expect this person to be able to engage in conversations with guests.  This person will have to help guests feel comfortable on the different tours.

Kitchen

Kitchen Lead – FILLED

General Responsibilities

The kitchen team is extremely important to UCO.  We cannot control the weather or water conditions, but we can always be sure to provide wonderful service and delicious meals.  The person that takes this position will be in charge of the kitchen.  They will be tasked with creating a menu, meal planning, acquiring food, preparation of assigned meals, organizing of kitchen team, and cleanliness of kitchen and storage areas. While kitchen skills will be very important in this position, we will hold leadership and people skills to as high of a priority.

Kitchen Lead Duties

  • Create the dinner menu
    • This person will be in charge of the preparation and service of dinner
    • A more comprehensive breakdown of this can be provided upon request
  • Oversee the breakfast and lunch menu
    • This person will manage the breakfast and lunch cook
  • Order all supplies, food items
    • Research best option for food/product purchases 
    • A thorough, weekly inventory of all food items/paper products at the ranch
    • Order all food items/paper products
    • Be sure to be able to find a way to order/purchase fresh fruit and veggies for each week
      • We will no longer be serving canned veggies or fruit
  • Help create a positive work environment
    • This position will be in a lead position and will be expected to have clear, positive communication with the other UCO staff
  • Alternate meal options to accommodate any dietary needs should be done the week before guest arrival
  • Track food costs
  • Oversee cleanliness of kitchen and service area
  • Oversee kitchen team in preparation and service of meals

Schedule

  • Sunday – Thursday
    • Salaried – but hours are around 11 – close

Characteristics of a Good Candidate 

  • Strong Leadership Abilities – the person that fills this position will be in charge of creating a positive working environment that allows for hard work and accomplishment by all involved.  We are looking for an inclusive leader.
  • Communication Skills – this person will have to be able to communicate with staff, guests and other food-related business.  It will be important that messages are clear and to the point.  We work hard to treat all our staff with respect and we expect our management team to do the same.
  • Ability to take initiative – There are a lot of moving parts at UCO and we need the leader of each department to be able to make decisions and execute work without a ton of direction or oversight from the head managers.  That being said, we like to place trust in the decisions this person will make and allow them to decide on many aspects of running the kitchen.
  • Flexibility – While we work hard to be as organized as possible, people on vacations can change their mind from time to time.  We want the person in this position to know that we do our best to provide consistency for them, but there are times that dinner count will change by one or two.
  • Experience – At least 5 years professional kitchen experience

Kitchen Assistant

General Responsibilities

This person will be the Kitchen Leads main helper.  Food prep, kitchen assistance, and dinner service will be the main tasks for this position.  

Kitchen Assistant Duties 

  • Help Kitchen Lead with food prep
  • Lunch clean up
  • Dinner Service
  • Food storage
  • Other duties as assigned 

Schedule

  • Sunday – Thursday
  • 11-Cl

Characteristics of a Good Candidate

  • Willingness to help and execute jobs to completion
  • Flexibility 
  • Good Communication Skills – part of this job will be serving dinner and this person will need to be able to engage guests in a friendly manner while remaining professional and efficient 

Other Team Members

Office Assistant – FILLED

Duties of Office Assistant 

  • Greet clients in a friendly, efficient manner
  • Check guests in and out
  • Help with any questions about the ranch
  • Maintain and sell store inventory
  • Keep office clean
  • Data entry
  • Answering phones and emails
  • Help with dinner service 2-3 nights a week
  • Help with housekeeping on Fridays
  • Other duties as assigned
  • Run Social Media – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok
  • Collect and organize photos from guides
  • Help with housekeeping on Fridays

Schedule

  • Monday – Thursday (Times TDB
  • Friday (8 am – 10 am Office, 10 am – 5 pm Housekeeping)

Characteristics of a Good Candidate 

  • Effective communication skills.  We will want this person to be able to communicate clearly and in a friendly manner with our guests and staff team.  Communication will be verbal and written.
  • Initiative.  This person will have to be a self-starter that is responsible to keep themselves busy.
  • Multitasker.  This job can have 100 things happening at once!  This person will have to be able to be flexible and open to interruptions.  
  • Growth mindset.  This person will have to be able to learn a number of new systems and facts about uco.
  • Be a team player.  This person will be a contact point for both staff and guests and they will have to support fellow staff members with pertinent information.

Head Housekeeper

This person will be the lead for all housekeeping duties.  They will be responsible for keeping all spaces tidy.  They will also be in charge of our big turnover days, where you will be leading 3 to 4 other coworkers.

Head Housekeeping Duties

  • Tidy all guest spaces
  • Tidy common areas
  • Help put breakfast
  • Help and oversee all cleaning and laundry

Schedule

  • Monday – Thursday
    • 6 am – 2 pm
  • Friday – 8 am – 5 pm

Characteristics of a Good Candidate 

  • Willingness to help and execute jobs to completion
  • Flexibility 
  • Good Communication Skills – part of this job will be interacting with guests and managing other staff. Clear and open communication will be important.