Sous Chef - UW Dining (multiple opportunities)

University of Washington Medical Center • Seattle, WA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

Housing & Food Services is hiring a Sous Chef to assist with day-to-day culinary operations at a large, multi-concept residential dining facility. Working under the direction of the Chef de Cuisine and General Manager, the Sous Chef leads production and ensures compliance with policies, recipes, and production standards. The position reports to the Unit Manager or Unit Culinary Leader.

The role provides leadership and strategic direction aligned with departmental goals, values, and priorities; oversees kitchen staffing, scheduling, food production, and assignments; and supports a safe, inclusive, high-performing work environment. It also manages customer service, food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, inventory, purchasing, vendor relationships, waste reduction, and facility upkeep.

The Sous Chef monitors financial and operational performance, advances culinary quality through recipes, menus, quality control, and presentation, and supervises staff performance and development. The role also supports CBORD Food Service Suite initiatives by developing, validating, testing, and maintaining recipes and production standards with culinary and dining systems teams.

UW Dining operates seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The position has a regularly scheduled shift and covers other shifts to ensure an overall presence and appropriate supervision. Work also includes special events on weekends and evenings. Remote work is not available. This is a regular, 100% FTE position. The stated annual pay range is $67,200.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, business administration, or a related field; equivalent education and/or experience may substitute where permitted.
• At least one year of management experience in the food service industry.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Project.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in college or university food services.
• Experience in a high-volume production setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction aligned with departmental goals, values, and priorities; lead production meetings and maintain stakeholder relationships.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and develop staff; ensure required training is completed and foster a safe, inclusive, high-performing work environment.
• Oversee daily kitchen operations, including staffing, scheduling, food production, and work assignments.
• Ensure compliance with contracts, policies, union agreements, food safety standards, sanitation requirements, and workplace safety regulations.
• Deliver customer service by gathering feedback, resolving concerns, responding to special requests, and maintaining customer and partner relationships.
• Manage inventory, purchasing, vendor relations, waste reduction, and facility upkeep.
• Monitor financial and operational performance using food costs, production records, staffing schedules, and financial reports.
• Improve recipes, develop menus, implement quality control measures, and enhance food presentation and display techniques.
• Supervise and evaluate staff, conduct performance appraisals, manage time and leave approvals, and support employee growth and accountability.
• Develop, validate, test, and maintain recipes and production standards for CBORD Food Service Suite initiatives in collaboration with culinary and dining systems teams.
• Cover other shifts and work weekend and evening special events as needed to maintain an overall presence and appropriate supervision.

Benefits

• UW employees are described as enjoying outstanding benefits and opportunities for professional growth; specific benefits are provided through the linked UW staff benefits information.

What This Job Offers

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