Sous Chef, Operations

gategroup•Chantilly, VA

5d•$75,000 - $80,000

About The Position

The Sous Chef, Operations assists the Executive Sous Chef or Executive Chef in designing and preparing meals for airline customers. The role provides culinary expertise and leadership, promotes quality food services, ensures food safety and sanitation requirements are followed, and drives food production with the assistance of Food Supervisors. The Sous Chef oversees daily hot and/or cold kitchen production for quality and consistency, while managing staffing, schedules, materials, and production tasks. The position trains and monitors employees, supports employee retention and performance, and ensures compliance with company policies, applicable union agreements, and required procedures and training.

Requirements

Minimum 1–3 years of experience as a Chef and/or Sous Chef.
Minimum 7 years of experience as a cook.
Ability to cook meals according to detailed specifications.
Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Strong leadership skills and ability to manage a team of cooks.
Ability to train others and provide positive and negative employee feedback daily.
Excellent time-management skills and ability to handle multiple tasks while maintaining focus on priorities.
Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and leadership skills.
Ability to make operational changes to improve the work environment and unit performance.
Basic computer skills.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Able to stand, bend, lift, and move intermittently during shifts of 10 or more hours.
Able to lift, push, pull, and move products, equipment, and supplies in excess of 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Associate degree in Culinary Arts or a Culinary Arts certification.
Previous supervisory experience in a high-volume, manufacturing, food production, restaurant, or catering environment.
In-flight catering experience or experience in a high-volume food service environment.
Current or previous labor relations experience.
Menu design experience.
Working knowledge of Microsoft Office products.
ServSafe certification.
Bilingual Spanish language skills.

Responsibilities

Ensure food specifications and labor objectives meet company and customer requirements.
Supervise department quality and quantity; ensure items are produced and dated to specifications and applicable coding and regulatory requirements are followed.
Track attendance, prepare paperwork, set up each shift, and assign employees to sections while optimizing schedules.
Order raw materials from the storeroom and prepare extra meals when needed.
Prepare daily production sheets and assign tasks, directing employees according to production sheets and passenger counts.
Take responsibility for food items after requisitioning them from the storeroom; train and recurrently train employees on preparation procedures.
Ensure safety procedures are followed and maintain cleanliness throughout shifts.
Manage daily hot and/or cold kitchen production for quality and consistency.
Ensure compliance with the company Wage & Hour policy, including rest and meal breaks and required company processes.
Train and monitor employees on work procedures to support productivity and control labor and food expenses.
Monitor manpower planning and schedule employees.
Support employee retention and reduce employee turnover.
Coach and counsel employees and prepare corrective actions in compliance with applicable union or collective bargaining agreements.
Review and ensure employees in the chain of command are assigned to correct cost centers and job titles.
Review and ensure union-represented employees' pay rates reflect wage scales and seniority.
Complete all company-required training, including ServSafe, and comply with required company policies, procedures, and processes.