Food Service Director

Summary Duties and Responsibilities:

The Food Service Director is responsible for the strategic planning, daily operations, regulatory compliance, personnel management, and financial performance of the Dining Services Department. Reporting directly to the Administrator, the Food Service Director ensures the delivery of nutritious, appetizing, and attractively presented meals to residents occupying 92 apartments with 96 licensed beds across all levels of care.

This position provides hands-on leadership of the kitchen and dining room operations while promoting resident satisfaction, food safety, fiscal responsibility, and compliance with the mission, policies, and service standards of HAND Senior Assisted Living.

Essential Functions and Work Duties:

The following essential functions are performed personally, in collaboration with the Administrator, or in coordination with facility staff, the corporate office, and outside professionals.

Department Leadership and Operations

• Direct and continually improve the daily operations of the kitchen, dining room, tray-line, and room-service delivery systems.
• Maintain appropriate staffing levels and schedules based on occupancy, resident needs, meal periods, special events, and operational demands.
• Maintain complete operational flexibility and personally provide kitchen, line, tray-service, or dining room coverage when necessary, including during unexpected staff absences, weekends, and holidays.
• Ensure meals are prepared and served according to established schedules, standardized recipes, approved menus, portion standards, and resident dietary requirements.
• Assist in the preparation of meals when necessary.
• Maintain exceptional standards for food quality, preparation, presentation, temperature, service and productivity.
• Develop and implement standardized, scale-appropriate recipes using professional resources, industry publications, resident feedback, and ongoing staff training.
• Establish and monitor a comprehensive departmental Quality Assurance program to measure performance, identify deficiencies, and support continuous improvement.
• Maintain accurate departmental records, reports, logs, schedules, and other required documentation.
• Oversee the safe operation, cleaning, preventive maintenance, and repair of commercial kitchen and dining equipment.
• Regularly inspect equipment and systems and recommend repairs, replacements, and capital purchases to the Administrator.
• Crosstrain all kitchen staff to be able to assist when needed.
• Food Safety, Sanitation, and Regulatory Compliance
• Develop, implement, monitor, and enforce sanitation and food-safety procedures throughout all kitchen, food-storage, dishwashing, receiving, and dining areas.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and health requirements, including Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 449 and Southern Nevada Health District standards.
• Prepare the department for regulatory inspections and promptly correct any identified deficiencies.
• Ensure all food and supplies are properly received, inspected, dated, labeled, rotated using first-in, first-out procedures, and stored under safe and sanitary conditions.
• Monitor required food temperatures during receiving, storage, preparation, holding, service, cooling, and reheating.
• Enforce departmental uniform, personal hygiene, and safety requirements, including appropriate hair restraints or chef hats and slip-resistant footwear.
• Maintain a clean, organized, sanitary, and safe working environment for residents, employees, vendors, and visitors.

Menu Planning and Nutritional Services

• Collaborate with the consulting Registered Dietitian to develop, review, approve, and implement cyclical menus that meet residents' nutritional needs and preferences in addition to a well-balanced diet.
• Ensure the accurate preparation and service of physician-ordered and dietitian-approved therapeutic diets, including modified-texture, low-sodium, diabetic-friendly, and other specialized diets.
• Participate in weekly multidisciplinary care-team meetings to review residents' weight changes, dietary concerns, nutritional progress, and other food-service needs.
• Coordinate with nursing and other departments regarding changes in residents' diets, nutritional risks, food allergies, preferences, and levels of assistance.
• Plan and oversee menus and food service for facility events, holiday meals, banquets, meetings, and private resident functions.
• Ensure compliance with applicable menu-posting, substitution, documentation, and consumer-disclosure requirements.
• Keep a daily log of the quantity of each type of meal served and the quantity of each type of meal discarded (not consumed).
• Keep a daily log of food discarded from the preparation area.

Resident Relations

• Attend Resident Council meetings and other resident forums to gather feedback, respond to concerns, and identify opportunities to improve dining services.
• Incorporate resident preferences into menu development and food-service operations whenever practical and within nutritional, regulatory, and budgetary requirements.
• Respond promptly and professionally to resident and family concerns regarding meals, dietary accommodations, food quality, and dining service.
• Promote a positive dining experience that respects residents' dignity, independence, cultural preferences, and individual needs.

Financial Management, Purchasing, Receiving, and Inventory

• Develop, administer, and closely monitor the department's annual operating budget based on facility capacity, occupancy, resident needs, and approved service standards.
• Review monthly declining budget reports, purchasing, food-cost, and inventory reports.
• Monitor raw food cost per resident day and implement timely corrective measures when expenses exceed established budget targets.
• Negotiate and maintain productive relationships with food-service distributors, suppliers, and other vendors to obtain competitive pricing, appropriate service levels, and quality products.
• Oversee departmental purchasing, receiving, invoice review and approval, inventory counts, storage controls, and product-usage procedures.
• Minimize food waste, overproduction, spoilage, and unnecessary purchasing while maintaining appropriate product availability and service quality.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs without compromising resident satisfaction, nutritional standards, or food quality.
• Weigh and count all incoming items for accuracy. Maintain a log of any discrepancies, including damaged products. Report discrepancies to the Assistant Administrator to reconcile invoice credits.
• During receiving, check each order against the invoice to ensure accuracy. Train staff to receive orders accurately.

Personnel Management and Human Resources Partnership

• Lead the recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, scheduling, supervision, coaching, evaluation of Dining Services employees and discharging of staff.
• Address employee performance, attendance, conduct, and workplace concerns promptly and consistently.
• Coordinate disciplinary action or discharge decisions with the Administrator and Human Resources in accordance with Nevada HAND policies.
• Ensure personnel actions, performance evaluations, and related documentation are completed accurately, fairly, consistently, and on time.
• Maintain effective staffing matrices and make appropriate scheduling adjustments based on occupancy and operational needs.
• Provide employees with ongoing training in food preparation, therapeutic diets, sanitation, resident service, equipment operation, emergency procedures, and workplace safety.
• Foster a positive, respectful, cooperative, and safety-focused workplace that promotes fairness, accountability, teamwork, and professional development.

Qualifications and Skills Required:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below represent the knowledge, skill, and ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience:

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Certified Dietary Manager credential or a degree in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Food Service Management, or a related field is strongly preferred.
• Prefer a minimum of three years of progressively responsible food-service management experience.
• Prefer at least two years of supervisory experience managing a mid- to large-scale kitchen.
• Experience in a residential care, assisted living, healthcare, senior-living, or similar environment with 75 or more units is strongly preferred.
• Experience with therapeutic diets, large-volume meal production, food-cost management, purchasing, and regulatory inspections is preferred.

Required Certifications and Qualifications:

• Current Food Handler Safety Training Card issued by the Southern Nevada Health District.
• Current ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification or the ability to obtain certification within 30 days of hire.
• Current CPR and First Aid certification from an approved provider or the ability to obtain certification within 30 days of hire.
• Ability to successfully complete Nevada's Automated Background Check System requirements and obtain any Sheriff's Work Card required for assisted-living facility employment.
• Completion of required Cultural Competency training or the ability to complete the training within the required period following hire.
• Must maintain all licenses, certifications, cards, and training required for the position throughout employment.

Other Skills and Abilities:

• Thorough working knowledge of commercial food-service operations, sanitation standards, food-safety practices, and applicable Southern Nevada health regulations.
• Working knowledge of Nevada Administrative Code requirements applicable to assisted-living food-service operations.
• Knowledge of therapeutic diets, modified food textures, nutritional standards, food allergies, and special dietary accommodations.
• Strong leadership, organizational, budgeting, purchasing, inventory-control, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to effectively supervise, train, motivate, coach, and evaluate employees.
• Strong verbal and written English communication skills.
• Ability to communicate professionally and compassionately with residents, families, employees, vendors, regulators, and other members of the care team.
• Proficiency with menu-planning programs, food-cost spreadsheets, inventory systems, digital ordering platforms, email, and standard office software.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, respond calmly to emergencies, and adjust quickly to staffing and operational changes.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling resident and employee information.

Physical Requirements:

The physical requirements described below represent those necessary to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Regularly remain standing and walking for sustained periods, potentially for up to eight hours during a shift.
• Frequently stoop by bending the body downward and forward at the waist, requiring the use of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Frequently kneel by bending the legs at the knees and coming to rest on one or both knees.
• Frequently reach by extending the hands or arms in any direction.
• Frequently use the hands and fingers to handle, feel, seize, hold, turn, and manipulate objects, utensils, equipment, and supplies.
• Frequently grasp objects by applying pressure with the fingers and palms.
• Regularly lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects weighing up to 20 pounds.
• Occasionally lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Perform work classified as medium-duty, requiring up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 20 pounds frequently, and up to 10 pounds continuously to move objects.
• Possess the close vision, depth perception, focus adjustment, and general visual acuity necessary to inspect food, evaluate cleanliness, read labels and instructions, and safely operate kitchen equipment.

Work Environment:

• Work is primarily performed indoors but may involve frequent movement between areas with significant temperature changes, including hot cooking lines, refrigerated storage areas, and walk-in freezers.
• The position may involve exposure to heat, steam, moisture, cleaning chemicals, sharp utensils, moving equipment, slippery surfaces, and other conditions commonly found in a commercial kitchen.
• The employee may potentially be exposed to infectious diseases or other health-related conditions associated with an assisted-living environment.
• Required personal protective equipment and established safety procedures must be used and followed at all times.

General Statement:

This description summarizes the position's primary duties and qualifications and is not exhaustive. Duties may be modified based on resident or operational needs.