Director, Health & Food Safety

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa•Las Vegas, NV

About The Position

The Director of Health & Food Safety provides strategic leadership, development, implementation, and oversight of sanitation, environmental health, public health compliance, and regulatory inspection readiness programs across Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. The role serves as the property's primary liaison with the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) and other applicable regulatory agencies, and is accountable for compliance with relevant health, sanitation, safety, environmental, and operational regulations. The Director oversees sanitation standards and inspection preparedness across all SNHD-permitted and regulated areas, including food and beverage operations, guest rooms, public areas, pools, spas, aquatic venues, employee dining facilities, retail food outlets, warehouses, and stewarding operations. The role works closely with Hotel Operations, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Engineering, Risk Management, Security, Human Resources, and Resort Operations leadership to promote sanitation excellence and continuous compliance. The position leads inspections, audits, training, investigations, corrective actions, and internal improvement programs. It also participates in operational planning, resort openings, renovations, and capital projects to ensure sanitation and regulatory requirements are addressed. Duties are performed in accordance with departmental and property policies, practices, and procedures.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health, Public Health, Food Science, Occupational Safety, Hospitality Management, Biology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
At least 10 years of progressive experience in environmental health, sanitation, food safety, public health compliance, or regulatory inspection programs.
At least 5 years of leadership experience managing sanitation, compliance, environmental health, or regulatory functions.
Certified ServSafe Instructor/Proctor.
HACCP Certification.
Extensive knowledge of Southern Nevada Health District regulations and inspection processes.
Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS).
Certified Pool Operator (CPO) or equivalent aquatic facility certification.
Experience working directly with governmental and regulatory agencies.
Experience leading large-scale compliance, sanitation, or public health initiatives in a complex resort, casino, hospitality, healthcare, or regulatory environment.

Nice To Haves

REHS/RS (Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Sanitarian) certification is strongly preferred.
Experience in a unionized environment is preferred.
Previous experience in an integrated resort, luxury hotel, casino, or large hospitality environment.

Responsibilities

Provide property-wide leadership for sanitation, environmental health, and public health compliance programs throughout the resort.
Serve as the primary property liaison with the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) and other applicable regulatory agencies.
Establish and maintain sanitation standards, policies, and procedures that meet or exceed regulatory and brand requirements.
Lead regulatory inspections, audits, and compliance reviews.
Develop corrective action plans and ensure timely resolution of inspection findings and compliance deficiencies.
Maintain inspection readiness across all operational areas.
Monitor regulatory changes and proactively implement operational enhancements to ensure compliance.
Oversee sanitation and environmental health compliance for restaurants, bars, lounges, kitchens, bakeries, commissaries, stewarding operations, food warehouses and storage facilities, employee dining facilities, hotel guest rooms and suites, public and back-of-house areas, pools, spas, aquatic and recreational water venues, retail food and beverage locations, and other facilities regulated or inspected by SNHD or other governmental agencies.
Develop and execute internal inspection and audit programs.
Conduct routine and unannounced inspections to identify sanitation risks and compliance gaps.
Analyze inspection trends and performance metrics to drive continuous improvement.
Establish sanitation scorecards and compliance reporting for executive leadership.
Prepare executive summaries and operational updates on health inspections and compliance performance.
Direct property sanitation and food safety training programs.
Maintain ServSafe Instructor and Proctor certifications and oversee certification programs for management and supervisory personnel.
Partner with Learning & Development to deliver sanitation awareness, environmental health, and regulatory compliance training.
Promote accountability and ownership of sanitation standards across departments.
Participate in operational planning, project reviews, resort openings, renovations, and capital projects to incorporate sanitation and regulatory requirements.
Lead investigations involving sanitation concerns, environmental health issues, guest complaints, contamination concerns, or potential regulatory violations.
Develop contingency plans for sanitation-related emergencies and operational disruptions.
Implement preventive measures to mitigate public health and sanitation risks.
Coordinate immediate response and remediation with operational leaders when deficiencies are identified.
Recruit, develop, coach, and mentor sanitation professionals and support staff.
Establish departmental goals, performance metrics, and succession planning initiatives.
Foster a culture of compliance, accountability, service excellence, and continuous improvement.
Perform other duties as assigned.