Culinary Services Director

State of Oklahoma•Oklahoma City, OK

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

This position is for a Culinary Services Director for the Central Office. Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs 2132 NE 36th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73111 Annual Salary: $90,000.00 Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO) Coordination: ODVA Chief of Staff, Senior Headquarters Personnel, Home Administrators Location: Oklahoma City Headquarters (with ~30-50% regional travel) Position Objective The Culinary Services Director serves as the primary architect and overseer of the nutritional and dining experience for Oklahoma’s veterans. This role is responsible for the strategic integration of food service operations across seven state veterans’ homes, ensuring that every meal meets the highest standards of clinical nutrition, regulatory compliance, fiscal efficiency, and resident satisfaction.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics, Culinary Management, Hospitality Management, Healthcare Administration, or a related field; equivalent leadership experience in healthcare food service operations may be considered in lieu of degree requirements.
Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in food service operations.
Minimum of 3 years of leadership experience in long-term care, healthcare, hospital, senior living, or multi-site food service environments.
Current ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification, or ability to obtain within a specified timeframe after hire.
Strong financial and operational management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, and proficiency in Excel for reporting and cost analysis.
Ability to travel extensively throughout Oklahoma to support operations at seven veterans’ homes.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Dietetics, Culinary Management, Hospitality, Healthcare Administration, or related discipline.
Registered Dietitian (RD) credential.
Certified Dietary Manager / Certified Food Protection Professional (CDM/CFPP) certification.
Experience leading multi-site or system-level culinary operations within long-term care or hospital systems.
Experience with regulatory compliance in skilled nursing, veterans’ homes, or healthcare dining environments.
Advanced experience with financial modeling, labor analytics, and cost-benefit analysis.

Responsibilities

Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for all culinary and nutritional matters within the ODVA executive team.
Collaborate with the Chief of Staff and COO to develop and implement standardized policies and procedures pertaining to all aspects of food service operations, including resident dining experience.
Provide data-driven reporting on food service KPIs, including cost-per-resident-day (PPD), labor efficiency, and clinical quality outcomes.
Lead the selection, onboarding, and/or performance management of food service vendors and prime distributors.
Analyze and manage contract compliance to ensure maximum value from Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs).
Design and maintain a standard menu that balances resident preferences with clinical requirements (MDS 3.0, therapeutic diets).
Ensure all menus meet or exceed 38 CFR §51.140 and CMS F-Tag (800–814) requirements.
Coordinate with facility-level Registered Dietitians (RDs) to ensure seamless integration between the kitchen and clinical care plans.
Standardize "Person-Centered" dining initiatives that prioritize resident experience, food palatability, and meal temperature.
Implement and monitor resident satisfaction instruments to track and improve the dining experience.
Conduct unannounced site visits to perform quality audits on food presentation, taste, and service culture.
Develop a centralized training regimen for home-level staff, focusing on food safety, modified texture preparation, and veteran-centric hospitality.
Assist Home Administrators in the recruitment, selection, and performance evaluation of facility Culinary Service Managers.
Identify and implement best practices for staffing levels to ensure operational continuity.
Ensure all seven homes maintain "Survey Ready" status for VA, CMS, and Oklahoma State Department of Health inspections.
Standardize Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans across the agency.
Lead the corrective action plan (CAP) process for any food-service-related regulatory deficiencies.
Direct the agency-wide subsistence procurement strategy, ensuring all food and supply acquisitions across seven homes comply with the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act and OMES (Office of Management and Enterprise Services) guidelines.
Monitor and approve large-scale requisitions to ensure fiscal alignment with the agency’s annual budget.
Implement internal controls to prevent "split-purchasing" and ensure all procurement activities are audit-ready for state and federal (VA) oversight.
Standardize inventory control systems at the home level to minimize waste, monitor "shrinkage," and ensure that raw food costs (PPD) are optimized through strict order-guide compliance.
Act as the primary liaison between the culinary department and the agency’s Certified Procurement Officers (CPOs) to move solicitations through the state portal (ServiceNow/Supplier Portal) efficiently.