Supervisor, Food Services - Patient Dining

Stanford Health Care • Palo Alto, CA

1d • $38 - $49 • Onsite

About The Position

Lead a team that transforms everyday meals into moments of care and connection. As a Patient Dining Supervisor, you’ll play a direct role in enhancing the healing experience by delivering service that feels personalized, responsive, and compassionate to every patient. This full-time, onsite role based at Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto leads front-line food service operations across a dynamic hospital environment with hours spanning 5:00am–10:00pm (primarily Sunday–Thursday). You’ll supervise daily operations, manage staff performance, and ensure seamless coordination across shifts while fostering a culture of accountability and service excellence. Success in this role includes coaching and leading union staff, navigating service recovery with confidence, and maintaining high-quality patient interactions. Ideal candidates bring strong people leadership and scheduling experience, comfort in a healthcare or hospitality setting, and the ability to lead with both firmness and empathy. The Facilities Services division enhances health through leadership, collaboration, and innovation. Our team offers essential non-clinical support 24/7, ensuring safe operations and planning for future needs. We represent the intersection of planning, construction, general services, and facilities operations. The Hospitality Services business unit enhances patient, staff, and visitor experience through exceptional service. This team includes food services, environmental services, facility management, and patient transport & equipment management, all focused on creating a safe and welcoming environment that promotes healing and well-being. Food Services is a talented team of culinary and food service professionals devoted to offering patients, visitors, and staff a premium dining experience through locally sourced sustainable food to support healing and wellness. Our “Food as Medicine” philosophy brings awareness to the critical link between eating healthy and living well. Under the direction of Food Service Managers, the Food Services Supervisor provides direct supervision of specific work groups and has accountability for front-line staff of the Food Service team. The Food Service Supervisor ensures adherence to high quality standards and sanitation procedures, and models exemplary behaviors for the members of the staff.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED equivalent.
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible and directly related work experience.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with widely diverse groups, including individuals at all levels both within and outside the organization and gain their cooperation.
• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, work independently and meet deadlines
• Knowledge of commercial kitchen equipment, food service policies and procedures
• Knowledge of food values and nutrition.
• Knowledge of health, safety, and sanitation regulations and procedures as they pertain to operations of a volume dining or food service facility.
• Knowledge of menu planning.
• Knowledge of methods, materials, and equipment used in a volume dining or food service facility
• Knowledge of principles and practices of volume food management.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Physical requirements as needed to perform the job functions

Nice To Haves

• Comfort in a healthcare or hospitality setting
• Strong people leadership and scheduling experience

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop frontline staff while managing daily service execution
• Oversee scheduling, shift coverage, and operational flow
• Partner with teams to resolve service issues and improve patient satisfaction
• Foster a culture of teamwork, communication, and continuous improvement
• Ensures high standards of quality and sanitation by utilizing established tools and quality monitors.
• Ensures compliance with laws, regulations and standards regarding food service activities and sanitation and safety standards.
• Ensures compliance with departmental sanitation procedures, initiating corrective action for sanitation discrepancies.
• Monitors the safe storage and handling of food items.
• Maintains safety standards that conform with Federal and State regulations.
• Participates with management in planning and preparing menus; checks daily menus for possible changes to recipes; makes recipe changes and informs staff; informs staff of new recipe adjustments makes sure all menu items are ready for distribution at prearranged times; updates and evaluates recipes; ensures that the staff serves food at proper temperatures; observes food to be sure it is visually appealing and served in adequate portions; plans and directs the preparation of new food items or new service activities for increased customer satisfaction; obtains feedback from customers concerning the quality of the food served and the service provided; maintains the general operation and efficiency of the commercial kitchen equipment; accommodates special diet needs of customers who have specific religious or medical; recommends to management improved methods of food preparation, service, and personnel practices.
• Notifies management of any food shortages, menu changes, equipment breakdowns; takes corrective action as needed to determine appropriate utilization, storage or disposal of food items.
• Prepare and maintain unit for daily operations including merchandising, setting up cash drawers, point of sales terminals, reconciling cash, pricing items, monitor and re-stock supplies.
• Supervises and participates in a variety of activities of a food service unit to include food preparation, distribution, service, and record maintenance in an acute care setting.
• Maintain and submit accurate information for payroll reporting (timecards, tardiness, and absenteeism).
• Maintain accurate reports of daily and monthly financial and production records.
• Plans, assigns, and reviews work of assigned staff; adjusts work assignments and schedules to maintain adequate staffing levels and respond to fluctuating workloads; evaluates employee performance and prepares performance appraisals; assesses training needs of staff and arranges for or provides appropriate instruction; provides initial orientation to new employees; reviews applicant's credentials, participates in the interview process, and hires or effectively recommends hiring of staff; resolves personnel problems, complaints, and formal grievances at the first level; disciplines and rewards employees; counsels employees in work-related activities, personal growth, and career development.
• Demonstrates proper operation and maintenance of kitchen equipment, cash handling methods, food handling and storage, workplace safety, infection prevention, and sanitary procedures.
• Determines food items to order based upon the food on hand; some employees in this class may obtain cost quotes or bids from vendors or food suppliers.
• Initiates requisition purchase orders for produce, baked goods, meat, dairy products, cooking and serving equipment and supplies from procurement.
• Ensures procedures are followed by the staff for receiving, storing, and issuing food and supplies; inventories food supplies needed before each order by counting food items, recording totals, and reporting findings to superior; recommends purchases of commercial kitchen equipment to superior.
• Contributes to cost containment by managing time and supplies so that commitment to cost containment through management of labor, supplies, and waste reduction efforts are completed as scheduled and resources are not wasted.
• Evaluates the needs of the unit in terms of staff, supplies, and equipment; provides information to management concerning long-range planning, goal setting, and policy and procedure development; contributes new ideas and creative ways of preparing and distributing foods; assists staff by performing some of the food service activities such as preparing, serving, and distributing food.
• Models exemplary behaviors for the members of the staff.

Benefits

• Stanford Health Care sets a high standard for delivering value and an exceptional experience for our patients and families. Candidates for employment and existing employees must adopt and execute C-I-CARE standards for all of patients, families and towards each other. C-I-CARE is the foundation of Stanford’s patient-experience and represents a framework for patient-centered interactions. Simply put, we do what it takes to enable and empower patients and families to focus on health, healing and recovery.
• You will do this by executing against our three experience pillars, from the patient and family’s perspective: Know Me: Anticipate my needs and status to deliver effective care Show Me the Way: Guide and prompt my actions to arrive at better outcomes and better health Coordinate for Me: Own the complexity of my care through coordination

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED