Assistant Manager - Concessions

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium • Omaha, NE

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is seeking an enthusiastic, operationally focused and guest-centered Assistant Manager of Concessions to help lead concession operations throughout the Zoo. This position plays a critical role in creating memorable guest experiences by ensuring food and beverage locations consistently provide welcoming hospitality, efficient service, quality products and clean, guest-ready environments. Supporting 14 concession locations, the Assistant Manager works closely with the Director of Food and Beverage and concession supervisors to translate department expectations into consistent daily execution. This role maintains a strong presence in the operation, develops frontline leaders, monitors performance and responds quickly to changing attendance, staffing and guest needs. The ideal candidate is passionate about hospitality and understands that successful concession operations require both exceptional guest service and strong operational discipline. This leader develops employees, uses operational and financial information to make informed decisions, and creates an environment in which employees understand their role in delivering an outstanding Zoo experience.

Requirements

• Strong leadership, coaching, employee-development, and performance-management skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to delivering exceptional guest service and creating a positive hospitality experience.
• Strong understanding of high-volume food service and concession operations, including staffing, food preparation, service flow, cleanliness, and operational standards.
• Ability to maintain a visible leadership presence and effectively support employees and supervisors during peak operating periods.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple locations, priorities, and operational needs simultaneously.
• Ability to interpret sales, labor, food cost, waste, and other operational information to identify trends and make informed decisions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to anticipate guest and operational needs and proactively adjust staffing, service, and resources as conditions change.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated guest recovery skills and the ability to resolve concerns professionally while supporting positive guest relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with employees, supervisors, vendors, managers, and leaders throughout the organization.
• Ability to hold employees accountable while maintaining a positive, professional, and supportive working environment.
• Strong working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, cash-handling, point-of-sale, and operational control practices.
• Demonstrated ability to ensure adherence to food safety and sanitation standards through consistent training, monitoring, coaching, and corrective action.
• Demonstrated initiative, sound judgment, professionalism, and accountability.
• Ability to remain composed, flexible, and guest-focused in a fast-paced, high-volume, and constantly changing environment.
• Commitment to workplace safety, food safety, financial stewardship, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
• Commitment to the Zoo's mission, values, and guest-focused culture.
• Candidates will be required to pass a pre-employment background check, drug test, and possess a valid driver’s license with a good history.

Nice To Haves

• Effective February 1, 2026, all Food and Beverage employees must possess an active Food Handler Permit registered with the Douglas County Health Department at the time of hire or successfully complete Food Handler training and obtain certification within 30 days of employment.

Responsibilities

• Champion a guest-first culture in which employees provide friendly, efficient and welcoming service at every concession location.
• Maintain a visible leadership presence throughout concession operations, regularly observing the guest experience and providing real-time coaching and support.
• Ensure employees understand not only the tasks associated with their positions, but how their actions, communication and sense of urgency affect the overall guest experience.
• Coach supervisors and employees to anticipate guest needs, communicate positively and maintain hospitality standards during both routine and high-volume periods.
• Support supervisors in resolving guest concerns promptly and professionally and use guest feedback to identify opportunities for operational improvement.
• Monitor speed of service, product availability, presentation, cleanliness and employee engagement and intervene when conditions do not meet established expectations.
• Foster an environment that reflects the Zoo's values of Care, Joy, Impact and Innovation.
• Recruit, train, schedule, coach and retain a reliable and engaged concession workforce.
• Develop concession supervisors as frontline leaders by establishing clear expectations, providing ongoing feedback and holding them accountable for the performance of their locations and teams.
• Ensure training is delivered consistently across locations and employees demonstrate competency in guest service, food preparation, food safety, point-of-sale operation and department procedures.
• Lead by example through visible floor presence, hands-on operational support, professionalism and positive guest interactions.
• Recognize strong performance and address performance or conduct concerns consistently and in a timely manner.
• Foster teamwork, communication, accountability and continuous improvement across concession operations.
• Partner with the Director of Food and Beverage to monitor sales, labor, food cost, product mix, portioning, waste and other established operational KPIs.
• Use daily and periodic performance information to identify trends, address operational concerns and make informed staffing and service decisions.
• Forecast product needs based on attendance, weather, events, historical demand and operating conditions and communicate those needs to the Warehouse Supervisor.
• Ensure concession locations maintain appropriate product levels and follow established processes for requesting, receiving and transferring inventory.
• Hold supervisors accountable for location-level inventory controls, portioning, waste management and appropriate product usage.
• Partner with the Warehouse Supervisor to address product shortages, substitutions, distribution concerns and recurring inventory issues.
• Support the programming and maintenance of point-of-sale systems and implementation of new products.
• Ensure established cash-handling controls and financial procedures are consistently followed.
• Review departmental performance, including monthly and annual profit-and-loss results, with management and supervisory staff and identify appropriate operational responses.

Benefits

• Training is provided onsite and compensated at the employee's regular hourly rate.
• The Zoo will pay the fee for the employee's first certification attempt.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed