Food Operations Manager 3

Sodexo Careers • Paramus, NJ

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Lead with purpose. Support healing. Transform the patient dining experience. Sodexo is seeking a Food Operations Manager 3 to join our healthcare team at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, an 800-bed facility recognized for its comprehensive continuum of care, including acute and ambulatory services, behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and long-term care. This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for a hands-on professional who is passionate about patient experience, employee development, and operational excellence. The Food Operations Manager 3 will play a critical role in leading patient dining services while partnering with hospital leadership, clinical teams, and behavioral health programs to support the health and well-being of patients across multiple care settings. The successful candidate will oversee a unionized workforce of approximately 150 frontline employees and support patient dining operations that primarily serve long-term care residents, along with a smaller acute care population and ancillary behavioral health programs. Additional responsibilities include oversight of the "Zime" branded retail concept and the hospital café, which serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. At Sodexo, we believe every meal matters. If you're an energetic healthcare leader who thrives in a mission-driven environment and is ready to make an impact on patient care and employee engagement, we'd love to hear from you.

Requirements

• Healthcare food service leadership experience, preferably in patient dining, long-term care, behavioral health, or acute care environments
• Experience managing unionized frontline teams preferred
• Strong knowledge of food safety, HACCP, sanitation, and regulatory compliance
• Demonstrated success with patient rounding, customer satisfaction, and service recovery initiatives
• Experience managing payroll, scheduling, and labor productivity
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to build strong relationships across clinical and operational teams
• Minimum Education Requirement - Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
• Minimum Management Experience - 3 years
• Minimum Functional Experience - 3 years work experience in food or culinary services including restaurants, fast food, vending, catering services, institutional services, mall food courts, etc.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Experiencia, SMS rounding, or similar patient satisfaction platforms is a plus
• Passion for developing teams and creating exceptional patient experiences

Responsibilities

• Lead daily patient dining and retail operations while ensuring exceptional service and operational excellence
• Conduct patient rounding and service recovery initiatives to enhance the patient experience
• Perform SMS rounding and maintain patient satisfaction documentation within Experiencia
• Ensure completion of employee in-services, training, and ongoing development initiatives
• Oversee payroll, scheduling, and labor management for a unionized frontline team
• Monitor tray line operations to ensure meal accuracy, quality, and timeliness
• Maintain compliance with HACCP guidelines, food safety standards, sanitation procedures, and regulatory requirements
• Partner closely with hospital leadership, nursing, behavioral health teams, and other interdisciplinary departments
• Support ancillary food service programs, including snack and sandwich service for adolescent behavioral health programs
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision Care and Wellness Programs
• 401(k) Plan with Matching Contributions
• Paid Time Off and Company Holidays
• Career Growth Opportunities and Tuition Reimbursement

What This Job Offers

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