General Manager - Lombard School Nutrition

Whitsons Culinary Group•Lombard, IL

3d•$55,000 - $60,000•Onsite

About The Position

Food Service General Manager – Lead with Purpose in School Nutrition! School Dining Leadership Are you a food service leader who’s passionate about people, operations, and purpose? Join our school nutrition team as a Food Service General Manager and take the lead in a mission-driven kitchen that fuels young minds and futures.

Requirements

3–5 years of experience in food service management (K–12 or institutional preferred)
Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills
Knowledge of USDA school meal guidelines and food safety regulations
A hands-on leader who builds strong teams and models accountability
ServSafe certification (or ability to obtain)
Experience managing satellite meal programs within a large K–12 school district environment.
Demonstrated knowledge of bulk food production, transportation logistics, meal holding standards, and satellite service procedures.
Experience coordinating production schedules and delivery timelines to ensure accurate meal counts and on-time service across multiple schools.
Ability to manage operational consistency between multiple production kitchens while maintaining USDA and state compliance standards.
Experience supervising staff across both production and satellite serving locations.
Knowledge of HACCP procedures, temperature control, food safety, and transportation documentation for satellite meal service.
Experience with inventory coordination, ordering, and distribution of food and supplies to multiple district locations.
Strong organizational and communication skills to support seamless operations between central kitchens, drivers, and elementary satellite sites.
Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as food and nutrition, food service management, dietetics, family and consumer sciences, nutrition education, culinary arts, business, or similar OR Bachelor’s degree in any field plus either a state-recognized school nutrition director certificate or at least 1 year of relevant food service experience OR Associate’s degree in a related field plus at least 1 year of relevant food service experience OR High school diploma/equivalency plus at least 3 years of relevant food service experience
Minimum 5-7 years of progressive experience in restaurant or food service operations
Minimum 3-5 years of general management experience with full P&L responsibility
3 years’ experience in Food Service Management as a Manager/Director required.
Minimum 1 year experience in K-12 programs required
ServSafe Mandatory– Local food safety certification if required in jurisdiction of employment. Must be knowledgeable of all local health and food safety ordinances.
Yearly mandatory training in accordance with USDA Professional Standards requirements as well as mandatory Whitsons training requirements
Strong business acumen including financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and P&L management
Proficiency in POS platforms, scheduling software, and reporting tools
Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) for business planning, analysis, and communication
Understanding of marketing strategies, and customer relationship management as they relate to school nutrition dining
Demonstrated success in driving sales growth, controlling costs, and achieving profitability targets
Proven track record of building and leading high-performing teams
Working knowledge of cooking procedures and recipe adherence and scaling

Nice To Haves

Additional management or hospitality certifications a plus
Experience in multi-unit oversight or area management a plus
Bi-lingual in Spanish highly desirable

Responsibilities

Inspire and lead the food service team to deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to students and staff
Oversee all aspects of daily operations: scheduling, inventory, compliance, and food safety
Partner with school staff to ensure meals support student health, learning, and well-being
Ensure compliance with state and federal child nutrition program guidelines (NSLP, SBP, etc.)
Manage budgets, staffing, vendor relationships, and performance goals
Foster a positive, student-centered, and inclusive kitchen culture
Oversight of multi-site food service operations with meals produced from the middle school kitchen and distributed to multiple elementary school locations.
Monitor participation trends, forecast meal counts, and communicate effectively between production sites and satellite schools.