Dining Manager

Mountain View Retirement Village•Tucson, AZ

About The Position

Mountain View Retirement Village is seeking a passionate, experienced, hands-on Dining Manager to lead front-of-house dining operations in a large senior living community serving independent living, assisted living, and memory care residents. The role focuses on creating exceptional dining experiences, building strong teams, maintaining high standards, and fostering hospitality, accountability, and service. The manager works closely with the kitchen team, the Dietary Director, community leadership, and other departments to improve dining operations and the overall resident experience. The Dining Manager supervises and develops dining employees, oversees service for daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and helps ensure resident dietary accommodations, food quality, safety, sanitation, regulatory compliance, and survey readiness. The role also supports inventory, waste and budget management, special events, holiday meals, and the development of systems that improve efficiency and consistency. Scheduling varies according to resident needs and departmental coverage. Flexibility is required, including weekends and holidays. The kitchen operates from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. year-round; this is not a set-schedule position, but there are no late-night shifts.

Requirements

At least 3 years of experience in food service, hospitality, healthcare dining, senior living, restaurants, hotels, or a related industry.
At least 2 years of relevant supervisory experience managing teams of 12 or more.
Maintain SERV Safe Manager / Food Protection Manager Certification (FPMC) that meets state and local health department standards.
Maintain level one fingerprint clearance.
Tech-savvy mindset and a proven ability to quickly adopt and master software platforms, vendor ordering portals, and performance dashboards.

Nice To Haves

At least 2 years of leadership experience in senior living, a retirement community, or a specialized healthcare dining environment.
Degree or certificate in culinary arts, restaurant management, or hospitality.

Responsibilities

Ensure the CAPLICO Core Values and Code of Conduct are demonstrated and upheld within the Dietary Department.
Manage front-of-house dining operations for daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner service.
Build a positive culture focused on teamwork, accountability, and resident satisfaction.
Collaborate daily with the back-of-house kitchen team regarding menu offerings, inventory, and changes.
Lead pre-meal meetings and communicate new menu items, menu changes, special resident requests, and other pertinent information.
Assist with inventory control, waste management, and budget management; ensure orders are entered and distributed accurately.
Ensure opening and closing duties are completed correctly and the dining area is secured after final service.
Ensure resident dietary accommodations, food quality, and service standards are consistently met.
Work with the Dietary Director to recruit, train, develop, and coach dining staff.
Collaborate with community leadership and other departments to enhance the resident experience.
Help plan and support special events, holiday meals, and celebrations.
Create systems and processes that improve efficiency, organization, and consistency.
Engage regularly with residents to understand their preferences and improve dining services.
Maintain regulatory compliance and survey readiness.
Provide administrative and functional supervision of dining employees, including direction, coaching, training, accountability, and performance management.
Ensure staff understand and follow department policies, procedures, job duties, safety expectations, sanitation standards, and resident service expectations.