Culinary Services Director

INSIGHT LIVING•West Linn, OR

2d•$70,000 - $80,000

About The Position

The Culinary Services Director (CSD) is the department head responsible for the overall leadership, financial performance, culinary quality, hospitality, staffing, regulatory compliance, and day-to-day operation of Culinary Services. This is a hands-on, working leadership position. The CSD spends the majority of working time actively engaged in culinary operations, including cooking, food preparation, training, coaching, and developing team members. Administrative responsibilities support, rather than replace, active leadership within the operation. The CSD is accountable for front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) operations, leads by example, maintains a visible presence during meal periods, and steps directly into production and service as operational needs require. The director leads culinary operations and team development, oversees resident dining and special-diet execution, and is accountable for food quality, service, safety, sanitation, compliance, and departmental financial performance. The role works with community leadership, clinical teams, residents, families, dietitians, vendors, and other department heads to support community operations and resident experience. The position is located in West Linn, Oregon, and is listed as full-time with a salary range of $70,000 to $80,000 per year.

Requirements

Minimum of 3–5 years of progressive culinary or food-service leadership experience.
Previous supervisory or management experience.
Demonstrated experience with hands-on food production, cooking, culinary training, and kitchen leadership.
Experience directly managing staffing, scheduling, food cost, labor, inventory, food safety, and daily culinary operations.
Strong culinary fundamentals and ability to teach, coach, and develop the culinary skills of others.
Strong communication skills with residents, families, culinary team members, community leadership, and business partners.
Working knowledge of professional cooking techniques, food preparation, recipe execution, production planning, presentation, and kitchen organization.
Ability and willingness to cook and work alongside the culinary team regularly.
Ability to teach culinary techniques and translate company recipes and standards into consistent team execution.
Understanding of both FOH and BOH operations.
Understanding of food safety, sanitation, infection prevention, allergen management, and applicable regulatory requirements.
Ability to understand and manage departmental budgets, labor, food costs, inventory, and operational performance.
Ability to analyze operational results and implement corrective action when necessary.
Ability to build, coach, develop, and hold culinary teams accountable.
Ability to manage multiple operational and administrative priorities while maintaining a strong daily presence in the kitchen.
Commitment to hospitality and resident satisfaction.

Nice To Haves

Culinary degree or formal culinary education.
Senior living, healthcare, hospitality, or high-volume food-service leadership experience.

Responsibilities

Maintain a visible presence in kitchen and dining operations, spending the majority of working time supporting culinary production, training, coaching, and service execution.
Work alongside the culinary team in food preparation, cooking, plating, and meal service, and work any culinary station when operationally necessary.
Demonstrate culinary techniques, recipe execution, presentation standards, sanitation practices, organization, and efficient kitchen workflow; use daily production to assess performance and provide coaching.
Oversee daily culinary operations and ensure consistent, high-quality meal service and adherence to company recipes, menus, portion standards, presentation standards, and production expectations.
Lead, mentor, coach, and develop the culinary team, including cooks, sous chefs, servers, dishwashers, and other team members.
Manage recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, staffing levels, scheduling, training, retention, performance management, evaluations, feedback, and accountability.
Develop the Sous Chef and emerging leaders to support succession and operational coverage.
Own FOH and BOH operations, including kitchen production, dining room service, sanitation, dishwashing, opening and closing procedures, and meal-period readiness.
Set schedules based on resident census, meal volumes, operational requirements, and approved labor targets; support culinary production and dining service during meal periods.
Accommodate resident preferences, provide excellent service, establish service expectations, and respond to dining concerns with appropriate corrective action.
Manage departmental financial performance, including food and labor costs, productivity, overtime, inventory, purchasing, waste, operating expenses, kitchen maintenance, and budget compliance.
Analyze financial and operational results and performance indicators, including Food Per Resident Day, Labor Per Resident Day, RPLH/productivity, inventory, overtime, budget variance, and resident satisfaction; take corrective action when results fall outside targets.
Maintain appropriate inventory levels while reducing waste and unnecessary spending.
Execute the standardized corporate menu program, incorporating approved seasonal rotations, resident feedback, and dietary needs within established guidelines; communicate menu feedback through proper channels.
Ensure standardized recipes, portioning, presentation, and production requirements are followed.
Engage residents to gather feedback on food quality, menu preferences, service, dietary needs, and dining satisfaction.
Organize and participate in food preparation and execution for special events, holidays, themed meals, and other approved culinary initiatives.
Coordinate with community leadership, clinical teams, residents, families, and dietitians as appropriate to correctly execute dietary requirements.
Ensure accurate execution of therapeutic diets, texture modifications, food allergies, documented resident preferences, and other dietary requirements; train employees in special-diet, allergen, cross-contact prevention, and resident-safety procedures.
Lead departmental food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance; maintain readiness for inspections, audits, and regulatory reviews.
Ensure food-temperature, sanitation, cleaning-schedule, and other food-safety records are properly documented; inspect kitchens, storage, dining areas, equipment, and sanitation practices and address concerns promptly.
Ensure employees receive food-safety training and maintain required certifications.
Maintain proficiency with company technology for menus, recipes, production, ordering, inventory, financial tracking, food safety, POS, training, and reporting; ensure accurate and timely system entries and records.
Complete required company reporting accurately and on time, maintain operational records, and train employees on required systems and technology.
Balance administrative work with hands-on leadership in daily operations.
Serve on the community leadership team, communicate regularly with the Executive Director about staffing, financial performance, resident concerns, operational challenges, compliance, and priorities, and participate in meetings and reviews.
Proactively communicate challenges, request support when needed, and partner with other department heads to support community operations and resident experience.
Follow company purchasing standards and use approved vendors, products, contracts, and purchasing programs.
Maintain appropriate ordering practices and product availability while controlling costs and waste; monitor kitchen and dining equipment, report failures, and coordinate repairs through company procedures.