Hospitality Director

Who We Are:
Our story began in 2011 when a group of office workers at a major logistics company in Chicago had a lunch problem. Nearby options were limited, and the team was spending too much time and money traveling to their favorite restaurants. They had an idea: bring Chicago’s local restaurant culture inside the office to sell food.  It was an immediate hit. When they discovered people from other companies sneaking into their office, they knew they were on to something.

Fooda pioneered the concept of rotating popup restaurants inside offices. Today, we operate in 60 cities with over 100 million meals served and continue to grow rapidly.

Powered by technology and a network of 3,500+ restaurants, we feed hungry people at work through a platform of unique food programs located within companies, office buildings, hospitals, schools, distribution centers, and more. At Fooda, we believe a workplace food program should be something employees love and look forward to every day.

Position Overview

This position is overseeing a new client in Indianapolis, IN

The Hospitality Director is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of café operations, coffee shop operations, catering services, pantry replenishment and management, and designated special events at the corporate headquarters.
This role ensures a seamless, elevated employee and guest experience across these services while driving operational excellence, financial performance, service quality, and stakeholder satisfaction.
The Hospitality Director is expected to operate with a strong ownership mindset, taking responsibility for the performance of the services within their scope, proactively identifying opportunities and issues, following through on commitments, and ensuring problems are resolved effectively and sustainably.
The role requires a consistently positive, solutions-oriented attitude and a strong commitment to creating value through improved service, employee experience, operational efficiency, innovation, and responsible cost management.
A critical component of the role is establishing and maintaining excellent working partnerships with the local client, the café operator, and the broader Fooda team. The Hospitality Director must build credibility and trust across these groups through open communication, transparency, responsiveness, reliability, collaboration, and consistent delivery of agreed-upon expectations.

Key Responsibilities
Café & Coffee Shop Operations

• Oversee the daily operation of the corporate café and coffee shop, ensuring a polished, hospitality-forward level of service for employees and guests.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve service standards across café and coffee shop operations.
• Develop and enforce standard operating procedures for service, presentation, cleanliness, guest interaction, and operational execution.
• Maintain a visible presence within the café and coffee shop operations and actively engage with employees, guests, the café operator, and stakeholders.
• Proactively identify service gaps, operational risks, employee concerns, and opportunities for improvement before they negatively impact the experience.
• Take ownership of service issues and ensure challenges are resolved quickly, professionally, and with appropriate follow-through.
• Regularly assess café and coffee shop performance and recommend improvements that enhance quality, efficiency, satisfaction, and overall value.
• Work closely with the café operator to ensure agreed service standards, operating expectations, staffing, execution, and employee experience requirements are consistently achieved.

Catering & Event Services

• Direct all high-profile catering operations, prioritizing the C-suite, internal executive events, and critical leadership functions.
• Coordinate specific workplace events requiring food, beverage, or hospitality support.

• Partner with culinary teams, the café operator, Fooda teams, vendors, meeting organizers, and stakeholders to design menus and service solutions that align with client preferences, dietary requirements, event expectations, and budget parameters.
• Manage the end-to-end catering lifecycle, including order intake, planning, setup, service execution, replenishment, breakdown, and post-event follow-up.
• Ensure food quality, presentation, food safety, sanitation, timing, and service standards are consistently achieved.
• Maintain a high-touch and professional experience for internal clients, executives, employees, and visiting guests.
• Anticipate event requirements and proactively address potential service or execution issues.
• Conduct appropriate follow-up after significant events and incorporate feedback into future service improvements.

Pantry Management & Replenishment

• Oversee the stocking, timely replenishment, organization, cleanliness, and presentation of designated pantries and micro-kitchen areas throughout the headquarters.
• Ensure pantry products remain fresh, well merchandised, and consistently available by managing inventory, par levels, ordering, replenishment, and vendor coordination while using consumption data to optimize stock levels, minimize waste, and prevent stock outs. Monitor pantry conditions through regular audits and spot checks.
• Respond quickly to stockouts, service concerns, product quality issues, or special requests.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve pantry assortments, processes, replenishment practices, employee satisfaction, and cost efficiency.

Client, Café Operator & Fooda Partnership

• Establish and maintain strong, collaborative working relationships with the local team, the café operator, and the broader Fooda team.
• Operate as a trusted partner by demonstrating transparency, responsiveness, reliability, collaboration, and consistent follow-through.
• Maintain frequent and open communication regarding operational performance, service concerns, upcoming events, emerging issues, and improvement opportunities.
• Be physically present and actively participate in the weekly operational meetings with the local team.
• Come prepared to weekly operational meetings with relevant performance updates, open action items, service issues, corrective actions, upcoming events, and improvement opportunities.
• Ensure the local team is appropriately informed of significant operational issues and proposed corrective actions.
• Coordinate closely with the café operator and Fooda teams to ensure issues are addressed quickly and responsibilities are clearly understood.
• Seek input from various departments, the café operator, Fooda corporate support teams, and other key stakeholders and incorporate feedback into operational improvements where appropriate.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with executive assistants, department leaders, meeting organizers, facilities partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Participate in additional operational and service reviews as required.
• Provide clear updates on commitments, action items, performance issues, and corrective measures.
• Escalate issues appropriately while maintaining ownership through resolution.
• Build trust through consistency between commitments made and results delivered.

Ownership, Proactivity & Continuous Improvement

• Operate with an ownership mindset across all café, coffee shop, catering, pantry, and event responsibilities within the role's scope.
• Take responsibility for operational outcomes rather than waiting for issues to be escalated or for direction to be provided.
• Identify risks, service gaps, and improvement opportunities early and develop practical solutions.
• Ensure commitments are tracked, completed, and communicated to relevant stakeholders.
• When performance falls below expectations, develop and implement corrective actions with clear timelines and measurable outcomes.
• Regularly review operations to identify opportunities to improve service quality, employee experience, operational efficiency, financial performance, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Bring forward ideas, recommendations, and innovations that create measurable value for the client and employees.
• Maintain a continuous-improvement mindset and encourage the same behavior throughout the team.

Financial & Administrative Oversight

• Manage applicable budgets, P&L responsibilities, and cost controls across café, coffee shop, catering, and pantry operations.
• Monitor food costs, labor, inventory, waste, subsidies, utilization, and other relevant financial metrics.
• Track key performance indicators including service performance, satisfaction, utilization, food cost, waste, and operational compliance.
• Analyze operating data and trends to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Prepare reports and provide clear operational insights and recommendations to Fooda leadership and the local team.
• Balance financial stewardship with service quality and employee experience.
• Identify opportunities to create value through better processes, purchasing practices, inventory management, service design, and operational efficiencies.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, train, coach, and manage a cross-functional food and hospitality team supporting café, coffee shop, catering, pantry, and event services.
• Create a culture centered on great attitude, service excellence, proactive ownership, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Establish clear expectations for team members and hold individuals accountable for performance, behavior, and commitments.
• Lead by example through professionalism, responsiveness, positive attitude, and visible ownership of the operation.
• Develop team members through coaching, performance management, regular feedback, and career development.
• Reinforce hospitality and service standards through ongoing training and observation.
• Address performance or behavioral issues promptly and constructively.
• Ensure employees understand the importance of their role in creating a positive workplace experience.

Service Recovery & Accountability

• Act as the primary operational point of escalation for café, coffee shop, catering, pantry, and event-related service issues.
• Respond to concerns with urgency, professionalism, and a solutions-oriented approach.
• Take responsibility for understanding root causes rather than only addressing immediate symptoms.
• Develop corrective actions for recurring or significant service failures.
• Communicate clearly with client, the café operator, Fooda leadership, and other relevant stakeholders regarding issues, actions, timelines, and resolution.
• Confirm that corrective measures have been successfully implemented and sustained.
• Use service failures and feedback as opportunities to improve processes and prevent recurrence.

Compliance & Safety

• Ensure compliance with all applicable health, safety, food handling, sanitation, and workplace requirements across café, coffee shop, catering, pantry, and event operations.
• Maintain adherence to corporate policies, Fooda requirements, and industry best practices.
• Ensure employees are properly trained in food safety and operational compliance requirements.
• Maintain appropriate documentation, inspections, and corrective-action procedures.
• Immediately address any food safety, sanitation, or compliance concerns.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, Business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 7+ years of progressive leadership experience in hospitality, corporate dining, café operations, coffee shop operations, catering, or a comparable environment.
• Strong experience leading café and catering operations in a corporate or high-service environment.
• Experience with coffee shop operations preferred.
• Experience managing pantry, micro-kitchen, inventory, or replenishment operations preferred.
• Experience supporting executive meetings, corporate events, or high-profile hospitality functions strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated financial acumen with experience managing budgets, P&L, food costs, labor, inventory, and operational performance.
• Proven ability to develop strong client, operator, and stakeholder relationships.
• Demonstrated success working collaboratively with Client, facilities, workplace teams, foodservice operators, or client-side partners preferred.
• Excellent leadership, communication, organization, and relationship-management skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to take ownership and drive issues through resolution.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced corporate environment.
• Ability to exercise discretion and professionalism when supporting employees, senior leaders, executives, and guests.

Key Competencies

• Positive, solutions-oriented attitude
• Strong ownership mindset
• Proactive identification of needs, risks, and opportunities
• Accountability and consistent follow-through
• Value creation and continuous improvement
• Service excellence and customer focus
• Strong partnership and relationship-building skills
• Ability to establish trust and credibility with client, the café operator, and Fooda teams
• Collaborative working style
• Strategic thinking and practical problem-solving
• Operational discipline and attention to detail
• Financial and commercial awareness
• Clear and transparent communication
• Team leadership and development
• Adaptability and sound decision-making under pressure
• Professionalism and discretion
• Ability to balance employee experience, service quality, operational performance, and cost stewardship

Work Environment

• On-site role within a corporate headquarters environment.
• Requires a visible and active presence across café, coffee shop, catering, pantry, and event operations.
• Requires physical attendance and active participation in weekly operational meetings with the local team.
• Requires flexibility to support early morning, evening, executive, or special events as business needs require.
• Regular interaction with employees, client, the café operator, Fooda teams, executive assistants, senior leaders, vendors

What We’ll Hook You Up With:

• Competitive base salary, bonus plan, and stock options, based on experience
• Comprehensive health, dental and vision plans
• 401k retirement plan with company match
• Paid maternity and parental leave benefits
• Flexible spending accounts
• Company-issued laptop
• Daily subsidized lunch program (ours!) 

Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. No recruiters please.

The salary range for this role is $80,000-$95,000. The salary is dependent on a number of factors including but not limited to: work experience, training, locations and skills.