SOUS CHEF - K12 FOOD SERVICE - JACKSONVILLE, FL

Sous Chef

Chartwells K12's goal is to make sure students leave the cafeteria happier and healthier than they came in, by serving food kids love to eat and creating custom dining programs. With more than 16,000 associates in 4,500 schools, ranging from large public institutions to small charter and private schools, Chartwells K12 is built on decades of food, education and operational experience driven by top culinary, nutrition, wellness, and sustainability talent.

This is one of the Sous Chef positions supporting Duval County School District in Jacksonville, FL, one of the premier K-12 dining programs in the region. This role supports culinary operations across multiple school locations, catering functions, and special events, ensuring high standards for food quality, safety, and customer satisfaction. The ideal candidate brings strong culinary expertise, previous K-12 or high-volume food service experience, and a passion for training and developing teams.

The Sous Chef will provide daily leadership to supervisors, leads, and food service associates while partnering with district leadership to support operational excellence across 145 schools. Success in this role requires strong communication skills, supervisory experience, the ability to work independently, and a confident leadership style. This position offers a Monday-Friday schedule, travel throughout the district, and excellent opportunities for professional growth within a large and innovative organization.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Oversees and participates in the preparation and service of food and beverage items while meeting standards for presentation, sanitation, safety and portion control.
• Assumes responsibility for kitchen in absence of Executive Chef.
• Communicates with customers to describe menu preparation, answer questions and resolve concerns; communicates customer comments and operational needs appropriately through the organization.
• Helps with menu planning and ordering following appropriate company programs and initiatives.
• Uses approved food recipes and production standards to ensure proper quality, serving temperatures and standard portion control.
• Assigns duties to associates for efficient operation of the kitchen; ensures timely and efficient meal service to all service areas.
• Conducts periodic and regular inspections to monitor quality of food preparation, service, cleanliness and sanitation of production and service areas, appearance of equipment and associates; takes appropriate corrective action when appropriate.
• Supervises and participates in the service of food and beverage orders; ensures the delivery of exemplary customer service and no service delays.
• Supervises associates, including training, scheduling, assigning and directing work; conducts pre-shift meetings.
• Participates in performance management of associates, including appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining associates and resolving concerns.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Chartwells K-12 maintains a drug-free workplace.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Associates at Chartwells K12 are offered many fantastic benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability insurance, retirement plan, paid time off, holiday time off, associate shopping program, health and wellness programs, discount marketplace, identity theft protection, pet insurance, commuter benefits, employee assistance program, flexible spending accounts, paid parental leave, and personal leave.

Certain positions may require Florida Level 2 background screening. Details:

Req ID: 1540364