Traveling Dining Specialist

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. • Brentwood, TN

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Brookdale Senior Living is hiring an Associate Director of Dining Specialist to travel within a designated region and support dining operations and teams in its communities. This is a 100% travel role on a 10-days-on, 4-days-off schedule. The individual will primarily support communities in the Northeast and must be able to travel across the entire region, including the Upper Midwest, as needed.

The role assists with planning, directing, training, and coordinating food service department activities within the assigned division, and provides information and input to the Corporate Office regarding national food service programs. The specialist supports regional and community leaders with dining operations, staffing, food costs and quality, sanitation, efficiency, and labor matters; may fill in for Dining Services Coordinators during leave; and manages subordinate supervisors. The role also supports new department start-ups, staff training, policy and procedure development, manager meetings, food-cost monitoring, vendor-program implementation, and product and vendor reviews.

Requirements

• At least five years of dining services experience.
• At least two years of supervisory experience in senior housing hospitality.
• ServSafe certification.
• Any locally, state, or county required food-handling and sanitation licenses or certificates.
• Valid driver's license and access to a private vehicle for business use.
• Basic knowledge of PCs and word-processing software, preferably in a Microsoft Windows environment.
• Extensive knowledge of food preparation and delivery, food service positions, food and beverage operations, and federal, state, and local food safety regulations.
• Ability to understand residents’ dining and nutritional needs and incorporate their preferences into dining services.
• Ability to communicate courteously with staff, residents, and visitors and to communicate residents’ perceived physical and emotional needs to other skilled staff.
• Ability to apply guidelines and procedures, use sound judgment, and solve moderately complex problems.
• Ability to travel frequently across the designated region.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university.
• Registered dietitian or Certified Dietary Manager credential.

Responsibilities

• Assist Regional Directors, Area Directors, Executive Directors, and Dining Service Managers with community dining operations, staffing, hiring and training, food costs and quality, sanitation, efficiency, and labor issues; fill in for Dining Services Coordinators when needed.
• Manage subordinate supervisors and oversee the direction, coordination, and evaluation of their units, including training, work assignments, performance reviews, rewards and discipline, and complaint resolution.
• Assist with starting up new dining services departments, reviewing menu-system accuracy, setting up kitchens, and checking small-ware deliveries.
• Train dining services and other staff on the menu system, present in-services, and train trainers.
• Assist in developing and revising dining services forms, policies, procedures, and training tools.
• Conduct and facilitate regular meetings with dining service managers in the division about policies, procedures, training programs, and related topics.
• Obtain monthly detailed food expense reports and annual food-cost reports from assigned communities and help keep food costs within budget.
• Support rollout and use of national, regional, and local vendor programs and measure compliance and quality results.
• Participate in product reviews and testing, and evaluate vendors and manufacturers with the purchasing director and national purchasing department.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for eligible part-time and full-time associates.
• 401(k) for eligible part-time and full-time associates; temporary associates may participate in the company's 401(k) program.
• Associate assistance program.
• Employee discounts.
• Referral program.
• Early access to earned wages for hourly associates outside California.
• Optional identity theft protection and pet insurance.
• Paid time off for eligible full-time associates.
• Paid holidays for eligible full-time associates.
• Company-provided life insurance for eligible full-time associates.
• Adoption benefit for eligible full-time associates.
• Short- and long-term disability for eligible full-time associates.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible full-time associates.
• Health Savings Account for eligible full-time associates.
• Optional life and dependent life insurance for eligible full-time associates.
• Optional accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity insurance, and legal plan for eligible full-time associates.
• Tuition reimbursement for eligible full-time associates.
• Advance of naturalization application fees up to $725, less applicable taxes and withholding, for qualified associates who have been employed for at least one year.
• Professional development and ongoing programs supporting health and wellness.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager