Foodservice Operations Director The Ridge Foothill Senior Living - 3.0 Ankeny, IA Job Details Full-time $85,000 - $95,000 a year 22 hours ago Benefits Health savings account Relocation assistance Health insurance Dental insurance 401(k) Flexible spending account Tuition reimbursement Paid time off Employee assistance program Vision insurance 401(k) matching Employee discount Professional development assistance Life insurance Retirement plan Qualifications Teamwork Microsoft Excel Food processing plant experience Food allergen management Experience working with individuals with specific dietary needs Managing kitchen staff Food ordering Delegation Time management Full Job Description Foodservice Operations Director - High-Volume ProductionPosition Overview We are seeking a highly organized and experienced Foodservice Operations Director to lead a complex, high-volume food production operation. This individual will oversee daily operations, organize the production process, develop the team, and ensure bulk and individually portioned meals are prepared from scratch safely, accurately, and on schedule. The ideal candidate will have culinary and food production experience, but their greatest strengths will be leadership, organization, communication, and follow-through. This role requires someone who can manage changing meal volumes, coordinate multiple priorities, maintain accurate systems, and keep the team focused on daily execution and future operational needs. Key Responsibilities Lead all daily foodservice and culinary production operations. Plan and coordinate high-volume, from-scratch preparation of bulk and individually portioned meals. Monitor current meal counts and forecast future volumes to support accurate staffing, production, and purchasing. Develop menus that support food quality, variety, nutritional requirements, production capabilities, and operational needs. Manage recipe and production systems, including recipes, menus, yields, production sheets, meal counts, labels, and required documentation. Ensure standardized recipes and preparation methods are followed to maintain consistency, quality, and accurate yields. Create clear production schedules, workflows, staffing plans, and daily assignments. Organize preparation, cooking, portioning, packaging, staging, and distribution. Oversee food ordering, receiving, inventory management, product utilization, and waste reduction. Ensure individualized meals, dietary modifications, allergen requirements, and special requests are produced accurately. Lead, coach, and develop culinary, production, and support team members. Establish clear expectations and hold the team accountable for quality, accuracy, productivity, attendance, and timeliness. Review and approve employee timesheets while ensuring accurate time-clock use and compliance with payroll and break requirements. Conduct weekly meetings with leadership to review upcoming meal volumes, menus, staffing, events, operational priorities, and future needs. Plan and execute catering events, including staffing, ordering, production, setup, service, and communication. Maintain strong food safety, sanitation, HACCP, quality-assurance, and workplace-safety practices. Monitor labor, overtime, food costs, inventory, productivity, and other key performance indicators. Identify operational challenges, communicate changes promptly, and implement effective solutions. Create consistent processes that improve organization, accountability, communication, and efficiency. Maintain a visible leadership presence and foster a positive, collaborative, and results-focused culture. Qualifications Leadership experience in high-volume food production, institutional foodservice, healthcare dining, commissary operations, catering, or a similar environment. Culinary or food production experience with a strong understanding of from-scratch preparation and commercial kitchen operations. Experience managing both bulk production and individually portioned or customized meals. Experience with menu development, standardized recipes, production planning, meal-volume forecasting, and food ordering. Commercial food production or food manufacturing experience is strongly preferred, particularly in an operation requiring high-volume output, standardized processes, production controls, quality assurance, and strict timelines. Experience in a commissary, centralized production kitchen, institutional foodservice operation, or similar large-scale environment will also be considered. Proven ability to organize and lead a large, fast-paced operation with changing priorities and deadlines. Strong planning, prioritization, time-management, and problem-solving skills. Demonstrated ability to develop teams, delegate responsibilities, communicate expectations, and hold others accountable. Experience managing staffing, scheduling, payroll compliance, inventory, labor, and food costs. Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, allergen controls, special diets, and quality-assurance standards. Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Experience using electronic recipe, production, scheduling, timekeeping, or inventory systems. ServSafe Manager certification or the ability to obtain certification within the required timeframe. Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate is a calm, organized, and decisive leader who can manage the full operation while remaining attentive to critical details. They bring structure to complex processes, anticipate future needs, communicate clearly, and follow through consistently. They understand from-scratch culinary production but are equally skilled at coordinating people, meal volumes, systems, timelines, and resources to deliver reliable results every day.

Pay:

$85,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Employee assistance program Employee discount Flexible spending account Health insurance Health savings account Life insurance Paid time off Professional development assistance Relocation assistance Retirement plan Tuition reimbursement Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person