The Director of Kitchen Operations provides agency-wide leadership and oversight of food service operations across Caz Recovery programs. This position is responsible for ensuring safe, nutritious, compliant, and cost-effective food services; supervising Culinary and Program Specialists; coordinating menu planning, purchasing, inventory, and food-service resources; and collaborating with program leadership to ensure food services effectively support resident needs and agency operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Ensures food-service operations comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements, including NYS Department of Health food-service requirements, applicable provisions of the U.S. Food Code, OSHA requirements, fire and life-safety standards, food-bank requirements, and applicable funder and agency standards.

• Develops, monitors, and manages food-service budgets and expenditures across assigned programs, identifies cost-saving opportunities, monitors food costs and utilization, and ensures responsible stewardship of agency resources.

• Coordination of healthy and nutritious meals in accordance with the agency’s menu and in accordance with the USDA/US Food Code/ NY Subpart 14-1.

• Develops and maintains consistent agency-wide food-service practices, tools, standards, and procedures while allowing appropriate flexibility for individual program and resident needs.

• Effectively models and teaches residents and staff kitchen safety and basic food preparation techniques. Recommends cooking procedures to the Culinary and Program Specialists to assist with food preparation by residents.

• Travel to different Caz Recovery facilities to assist with ensuring appropriate food is available and kitchen equipment is functioning appropriately.

• Conducts routine site reviews of kitchen operations and ensures identified food safety, sanitation, inventory, equipment, or regulatory concerns are addressed timely and appropriately.

• Provides leadership, supervision, coaching, training, performance feedback, and development to assigned food-service staff and participates in recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and corrective action as appropriate. Works collaboratively with on-site Program Managers to ensure appropriate supervision is in place.

• Facilitation of training for the Culinary and Program Specialists to build an understanding of foods and their impact on individuals with a substance use disorder.

• Understands and monitors any changes in SNAP benefits and ensures these are collected for each resident.

• Oversees vendor relationships, purchasing practices, pricing, food-bank resources, and other procurement activities to support quality, consistency, availability, and cost effectiveness.

• Identifies potential food-related grant opportunities and works alongside Grants and Development Coordinator to apply for funding.

• Participates in after-hours consultation and response, as necessary, for urgent food-service operational issues including staff shortages, significant inventory concerns, equipment failures, or other issues affecting continuity of meal services.

• Oversees the inventory maintained by each program’s Culinary and Program Specialist as outlined in the kitchen and food inventory related policies.

• Collaborates with Wellness Coordinators, healthcare providers, dietitians/nutrition professionals, and program staff, as appropriate, to support medically indicated diets, food allergies, dietary accommodations, and individual nutritional needs within the scope of the position. Provide consultation with program and Culinary and Program Specialist inquiries related to specific resident nutritional needs.

• Plans with the Culinary and Program Specialists for purchase of food and other needs related to the food service department.

• Oversees the maintenance of records, including food production, inventory, income/expense and meal counts.

• Develops and maintains food-service contingency plans to support continuity of meal services during emergencies, supply disruptions, equipment failures, staffing shortages, or other operational interruptions.

• Ensures the food storage areas are clean, free of debris, and in compliance with standards set by the Department of Health.

• Monitors kitchen equipment and operational needs and coordinates identified repairs, replacement needs, and capital improvements with Facilities Development and program leadership. 

Provides food-service operational input into kitchen renovation and design projects. • Serves on agency committees as requested.

• Assists in the implementation of the agency’s policies and procedures.

• Is mindful of and integrates Trauma-Informed Care and its five principles in all duties and interactions with fellow staff, residents, and external partners.

• Maintains compliance with all required rules and regulations, including Federal Confidentiality (42 CFR, Part 2), HIPAA, Medicaid and / or HUD, and any others.

• Carries out duties essential to the above-stated responsibilities as assigned.

• Regular attendance at work location.

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Other duties may be assigned.

• Must possess a valid New York State driver’s license and reliable automobile.

• ServSafe Certification required; ServSafe Manager Certification preferred.

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Service Management, Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, Nutrition, Dietetics, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.

• Associate’s degree in a related field with additional relevant experience may be considered.

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible food-service experience, including two (2) years in a supervisory or management capacity; multi-site experience preferred.

• Experience with food-service budgets, purchasing, inventory, staffing, scheduling, vendors, and regulated food-service operations.

• Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.