Food Services Director

Job Description

Job Description

$105,000 - $115,000 annually | Meaningful Work | No Late Nights | Great Benefits!

Era Living is seeking a Food Services Director to join our team at our Ida Culver House Broadview, a beautiful retirement community in North Seattle, WA. This position is responsible for all aspects of the day-to day-operations of our culinary and dining departments and is supported by the Dining Services Director and Culinary Services Director and nearly 100 staff.

We serve more than 300 seniors daily through one primary formal dining room and three satellite dining rooms for residents with higher care needs. Join us to escape the long and unpredictable hours of the restaurant industry or to grow into overseeing a bigger operation within the senior living industry.

Ida Culver House Broadview is close to several bus lines and provides a parking space for members of the leadership team.

Competitive Compensation and a Complete Benefits Package including:

• Leadership bonus potential

• Longevity bonuses

• Medical/vision/prescription drug plan

• Dental plan

• Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment insurance

• Long-Term Disability insurance

• Flexible Spending Accounts for health care and dependent care

• 401(k) retirement plan with generous company match (eligibility contingent on age requirement)

• Progressive vacation package starting at 15 days per year

• 8 paid holidays per year

• 1 hour paid sick time for every 40 hours worked

• Employee Assistance Program

• Employee discount programs

• Discounted ORCA commuter pass 

Primary Responsibilities:

The Food Services Director is responsible for driving resident satisfaction through a successful food services operation, while also managing within our operating budget and ensuring safety and compliance standards are met. In this role, you will set direction and priorities for the culinary and dining departments and partner with department leaders to meet goals for resident satisfaction and continuous improvement. You will ensure your departments deliver excellent customer service and actively engage with residents to gather and triage feedback. You will play a leadership role in planning and execution of resident, staff, and marketing events.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Ensures the department delivers high quality food service, maintains standards of nutrition, food preparation, service, sanitation, and resident satisfaction

• Performs all aspects of culinary and dining functions as required by the operation. Supports all aspects of culinary and dining services in the community: orients, trains, and provides hands-on support to Culinary and Dining Services Directors and/or other culinary and dining positions providing coverage during planned and unplanned absences including vacation/sick/vacant positions to ensure adequate staffing levels are in place for all shifts.

• Appropriately actions resident and/or employee concerns

• Participates as an individual contributor for both culinary and dining departments as required by the operation to ensure the consistent delivery of services is provided.

• Oversees the creation and review of meal plans and ensures the proper requisitions for food items are prepared sufficiently in advance of needs

• Responsible for all operational programs and services of the Food Service Department, which includes ensuring daily, weekly and monthly adherence to budget maintenance, monthly accounting; inventory systems and annual budgetary plans

• Responsible for all aspects of the POS system

• Responsible for program and special event planning and implementation, in collaboration with the Executive Director and/or, the community leadership team

• Directs the recruitment and retention of qualified employees. Evaluates turnover in the department, job satisfaction, and market trends and develops a recruitment and retention plan to ensure adequate staffing levels are met.

• Ensures adherence to the Food Service Department policies and procedures including food purchasing, handling and storage; food preparation and service; sanitation and safety. Ensures compliance with regulatory agencies through maintaining a current knowledge of city, state, and federal licensing laws and regulations and developing and implementing of standards to meet regulatory expectations

• Communicates with residents and staff regarding Food Service services, including monthly advisory meetings and other forms of communication

• Participates in the development of organizational goals and objectives for both long-term and short-term planning engaging as an integral member of the community leadership team

• Other duties outlined in the job description

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Responsible for the overall direction, coordination and evaluation of this department. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. This includes: 

1.       Interview, hire, orient and ensure staff is trained.

2.       Planning, assigning and direct work,

3.       Appraising performance,

4.       Reward and discipline employees,

5.       In collaboration with the Executive Director and/or, Human Resources, addresses complaints and resolve problems by mediating conflicts.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Possess technical knowledge and ability to perform all aspects of culinary and dining services functions

• Knowledge and demonstrated ability to apply food service management including preparation and service, menu planning, regulatory compliance, sanitation, nutrition, and resident services

• Knowledge and demonstrated ability to apply principles and practices of dietetics and food systems management, including food values and cost; Works cooperatively with Era Living Registered Dietician implementing menus and guidance as required

• Ability to plan menus for a large-scale food service operation and to direct quantity cooking with economy and efficiency in compliance with dietary guidelines

• Ability to plan, direct, supervise, coordinate and evaluate the work of others

• Ability to plan and prioritize work and manage multiple priorities as the same time

• Ability to communicate with residents, families, staff and support agencies, and ability to remain calm under stress

• Ability to be creative and flexible in executing multi-faceted problem solving

• Ability to read, write and communicate in English

• Ability to perform duties in compliance with established Universal Precautions, fire safety, infection control and sanitation procedures, and Era Living policies and procedures

Education and Experience:

• Culinary Arts degree or Certification, or Bachelor’s degree in restaurant management or a related field, preferred. 2 years’ experience in Food Services Management overseeing culinary operations, required; oversight of dining operations, preferred.

• Experience working in long-term care, preferred

• Required:

o   Food Handler’s Certificate or able to obtain within 14 days of hire

o   First Aid and CPR certified or able to obtain within 30 days of hire

o   Washington State Alcohol Permit or able to obtain within 30 days of hire

o   ServSafe Certification or able to obtain within 30 days of hire

  About Era Living:

At Era Living and our eight retirement communities, our mission is to honor older adults by enhancing the quality of their lives. We are a diverse team of people from varied backgrounds, united by a passion for this mission. Every person in every job has the opportunity to make a positive impact on our residents’ lives. Era Living was voted “2023/2024/2025 Winner: Best in the Pacific Northwest – Senior Community” by the Seattle Times. Ida Culver House Broadview was one of three communities in the country awarded the 2026 Caring Super Star, with Resident Recommended Designation by Caring.com.

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