Dining Services Director

Position Title: Dining Services Director - Troy, NY

Salary: $82,000 - $88,000

Other Forms of Compensation: 5% Bonus Eligible

Think Fresh! Lead with Excellence!

An industry leading hospitality food service group, Unidine is driven by its exceptional people sharing their passion, creativity and talent to craft memorable guest experiences. Unidines commitment to scratch cooking, innovative programs, venue concepts and services continues to push boundaries and modernize dining programs for hundreds of clients around the nation. Our restaurants, bars, cafeterias and bistros offer a place for guests to enjoy something extraordinary. That is why we believe that using the freshest ingredients makes for the best dishes, staying ahead of industry trends pushes us to be innovative, and giving team members the right tools and resources helps them to perform their best. Come and join our award-winning team!

Job Summary:

The Director of Dining Services is the strategic business leader of the communitys food and beverage/culinary operation ensuring resident and client satisfaction by providing a consistently high-quality product and best-in-class hospitality, while also meeting financial goals and driving a positive work environment. You will oversee the development and implementation of departmental strategies and ensures implementation of the Compass Community Livings service strategy as well as be the face of the company.

Leading Food & Beverage Operation:

• Develop and implement overall operating strategy that is aligned with the Compass Community Living and client business strategy, disseminates the vision within the community so all team members understand expectations.
• Must have an entrepreneurial approach and take full ownership of driving desired outcomes as if the business owner and hold the on-site leadership team accountable for demonstrating desired service behaviors.
• Ability to quickly evaluate personnel, operations, and culinary situations and make appropriate recommendations to person(s) involved.
• Maintain a professional and positive demeanor with a high level of resilience during stressful periods, have an ability to adapt and problem solve when required.
• Perform daily walk-through to ensure full compliance with Department of Health regulations and Compass Group standards.
• Directs and conducts safety, sanitation, and maintenance programs.
• Ensures that regular, ongoing communication occurs in all areas of food and beverage by leading pre-meal briefings and staff meetings.
• Advise and update the executives, supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates on relevant information in a timely manner by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Business and Financial Competence:

• Understanding market dynamics, enterprise level objectives and important aspects of Compass Community Livings business to accurately diagnose strengths and weaknesses, anticipate opportunities and risks, identify issues, and develop strategies and plans. Aligning individual and team actions to drive business results.
• Capability to recognize and understand P&L drivers for the purpose of analyzing and evaluating results, identifying opportunities, and put plans into action to deliver expected results.
• Develops overall budget and operates the account in accordance with the approved budget, while providing the client with the maximum value for the dollars spent.
• Coaches and supports team to optimally manage wages, food & beverage cost, and controllable expenses (e.g., restaurant supplies, uniforms, etc.)
• Reviews financial reports and statements to determine how the account is performing against budget.
• Works with team to resolve areas of concern and develops strategies to improve the departments financial performance.

Ensuring Exceptional Customer Service:

• Understand the clients business model to prioritize what is most important to their residents.
• Be visible within the community to build and maintain excellent relationships with residents, staff, and other departments within the community to be seen as a member of the clients management team.
• Review resident satisfaction results and other data to identify areas of improvement, share feedback with all team members to ensure resident and client expectations are met, and take appropriate corrective when needed to deliver desired outcomes.
• Improves service by communicating and assisting individuals to understand resident needs, providing mentorship, feedback, and individual coaching when needed.
• Stays aware of market trends and introduces new food and beverage products to meet or exceed resident expectations, generate increased revenue, and ensure client satisfaction.
• Empowers employees to provide excellent service that exceed resident and client satisfaction.

Team Building & Management:

• Regularly lead team member meetings.
• Create a positive work environment by serving as a role model to demonstrate appropriate behaviors, make each person feel important and motivated to deliver a best-in-class hospitality experience for our residents.
• Establishes goals including performance goals, budget goals, team goals, etc.
• Solicits employee feedback, applies an "open door" policy and reviews employee satisfaction results to identify and address employee problems or concerns.
• Identifies the developmental needs of others, coach, and mentor team members by providing feedback and training to achieve performance objectives and reach their fullest potential.
• Ability to cross-train abilities for all skills, promotes the professional growth and development of the entire team.
• Ability to find, train, and retain talent starting with behavioral based interviewing.
• Hires food & beverage leadership team members who demonstrate strong functional expertise, creativity, and entrepreneurial leadership to meet the business needs of the operation.
• Ensures employees are treated fairly and equitably.
• Empathetic leader while still being able to hold self and team members accountable.

Preferred Qualifications:

• B.S. Degree in Food Services Technology/Management or related field; or A.A. Degree plus four years of directly related experience preferred.
• Five to seven years of direct foodservice operational management experience with inventory and purchasing knowledge and control.
• Strong knowledge of food and catering trends with a focus on quality, production, sanitation, food cost controls, and presentation
• Previous P&L accountability or contract-managed service experience is desirable.
• Strong supervisory, leadership, management, and coaching skills
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to communicate on various levels to include management, client, customer, and associate levels.
• Excellent financial, budgetary, accounting, and computational skills
• Proficient computer skills to include various computer programs, Microsoft Office programs, e-mail, and the Internet.
• ServSafe Certified

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Job Summary

Working as a Senior Director of Dining Services (Sr DDS) , you will manage multiple K12 schools within a district or across districts. You will be our point of contact for the school administrator responsible for foodservice, lead the teams within your assigned account(s), and manage the overall operation. You will provide planning and direction within the assigned accounts to achieve operational and financial goals in a dynamic environment, comply with all applicable regulations, maintain strong client relationships, and fulfill our mission to feed kids.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Leads, manages, and inspires a diverse team(s) at a large account or multiple accounts, with the goal of providing top-notch service to the client, students, and community
• Drives and develops self and team at the account(s) towards building strong relationships with client(s) and achievement of key performance indicators (profitability, safety, engagement, etc.) 
• May serve on district leadership team, and participates in ongoing conversations with peers to share best practices, mitigate risks, champion diversity, and build community
• Ensures decisions are weighed for risk/reward and short/long term implications, while gathering input from the team and partners 
• Fosters a culture of transparency, understanding, education, safety, and accountability 
• Serves as the representative/brand ambassador of the Chartwells team within the district(s) and the community; attends key client and community events
• Ensures client(s) needs are met or exceeded, we retain the account(s), find cross-sell opportunities, and assist in rebid process as directed
• Supports functional areas including but not limited to safety, marketing, nutrition and culinary
• Ensures adherence to local, state, federal and company policies, and conducts unit audits to ensure conformance for key areas (e.g. food storage, sanitation) 
• Maintains compliance with USDA regulations and guidance for all applicable meal and retail programs, along with completing all required reporting on time
• Champions development within the account(s) and has a full understanding of all roles within the operation; conducts performance evaluations, along with succession planning for the account(s)
• Owns the financial results for the account(s), and works to ensure accuracy for reporting, forecasting, and budgeting processes 
• Ensures consistent and fair administration of all policies and procedures

Required Qualifications:

• Educational minimum and work experience per USDA Professional Standards for the account(s)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and minimum of three (3) years of management experience, preferably in foodservice, hospitality management, plant operations management, environmental services, laundry, or other Support Services area 
• Is well-versed in foodservice management with proven track record of success, ideally in K12 foodservice 
• Has proven track record of leading a business and a team, strong customer service, and good business and financial acumen
• Demonstrates strong initiative, critical thinking, ownership, communications (listening, written, and verbal), multi-tasking, prioritization, and organization skills
• Champions the inclusion mindset, and is proactive, positive, professional, and resilient
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and POS software 

Occasional travel required in this position

 

Apply to Unidine today!

Unidine is a member of Compass Group USA

Associates at Unidine are offered many fantastic benefits.

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance/ AD
• Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Flexible Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Holiday Time Off (varies by site/state)
• Personal Leave
• Associate Shopping Program
• Health and Wellness Programs
• Discount Marketplace
• Identity Theft Protection
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Associates may also be eligible for paid and/or unpaid time off benefits in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. For positions in Washington State, Maryland, or to be performed Remotely, click here or copy/paste the link below for paid time off benefits information.

Compass Group is an equal opportunity employer. At Compass, we are committed to treating all Applicants and Associates fairly based on their abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by law.

Qualified candidates must be able to perform the essential functions of this position satisfactorily with or without a reasonable accommodation. Disclaimer: this job post is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all essential responsibilities, skills, tasks, or requirements associated with this position. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the position posted, the Company reserves the right to modify or change the essential functions of the job based on business necessity. We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with a criminal history (including relevant driving history), in a manner consistent with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York Fair Chance Act. We encourage applicants with a criminal history (and driving history) to apply.

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

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Unidine maintains a drug-free workplace.

Req ID: 1577161

Unidine

Nicholas Henderson

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