Associate Director, Hospitality & Engagement

About The Opportunity

JOB SUMMARY The Associate Director of Hospitality & Engagement is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing guest experience, service analytics, catering operations, and financial planning within Campus Dining. This position requires a candidate who can operate at the intersection of hospitality management and data-driven strategy.

Sentiment Feedback & Guest Experience Program

• Manage and advance the Sentiment Feedback Program to continuously improve guest satisfaction across all campus service venues.
• Direct the monitoring and analysis of guest feedback across all channels, including online reviews, surveys, comment platforms, and customer support interactions.
• Oversee the use of sentiment analysis tools, AI, and large language models (LLMs) to assess overall guest sentiment, identify emerging trends, and surface key themes across service units.
• Ensure consistent application of data analysis best practices, including dashboard creation, automated reporting, and visualization tools such as Tableau, Google Analytics, and Excel.
• Establish quarterly benchmarks for guest satisfaction scores and present findings with actionable, data-informed recommendations.
• Oversee the collection, organization, and categorization of feedback data to ensure it is accessible, accurate, and actionable across the department.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams — including unit managers, culinary leads, and campus partners — to ensure timely and thoughtful responses to guest feedback and service inquiries.
• Maintain data integrity and accuracy standards across all feedback systems and reporting outputs.
• Extract actionable insights from guest feedback to drive improvements in dining products, service delivery, and overall campus experiences.
• Prepare and present regular reports summarizing sentiment analysis findings, trend analysis, and strategic recommendations for key stakeholders.
• Translate data-driven insights into concrete operational and programming adjustments across campus service venues.

Catering Operations Oversight

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the catering department, managing an annual budget of $2.9M.
• Ensure consistent execution of events ranging from departmental meetings to large-scale university events and ceremonies.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for client relations, resolving issues and identifying opportunities to grow catering revenue.

Guest & Community Engagement

• Lead proactive guest engagement efforts, including the design and deployment of surveys, focus groups, and other feedback mechanisms to gather meaningful input from students, faculty, and the broader campus community.
• Oversee in-person tabling and engagement initiatives that connect directly with the student community to gather real-time feedback and foster positive relationships.
• Ensure that guest interactions reflect a high standard of empathy, professionalism, and responsiveness in alignment with campus service hospitality values.

Continuous Improvement

• Partner with the marketing and communications team to refine promotions, campaigns, and messaging based on sentiment trends and guest behavior insights.
• Continuously evaluate and optimize the Sentiment Feedback Program itself, incorporating new tools, methodologies, and best practices as they emerge.

Catering Operations Oversight

• Oversee all aspects of Campus Dining's catering operations, ensuring quality, profitability, and strong client relationships.
• Responsibilities include: Provide strategic and operational leadership for the catering department, managing an annual budget of $2.9M.
• Ensure consistent execution of events ranging from departmental meetings to large-scale university events and ceremonies.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for client relations, resolving issues and identifying opportunities to grow catering revenue.

Cross-Divisional Engagement & Campus Partnerships

• Lead cross-divisional engagement efforts to strengthen Campus Dining's role as a collaborative campus partner.
• Build and maintain relationships with key university stakeholders including Student Affairs, Facilities, Athletics, Academic Departments, and Residence Life.
• Represent Campus Dining in university-wide planning initiatives, committees, and sustainability efforts.
• Identify opportunities to integrate dining services into broader campus programming, events, and student success initiatives.
• Serve as a Campus Dining ambassador at university events, orientations, and community engagement functions.

Meal Plan Growth & Strategy

• Identify and develop Meal Plan growth strategies to increase participation, retention, and overall program value.
• Analyze current meal plan enrollment trends, pricing structures, and participation rates across student, faculty, and community populations.
• Develop and execute marketing and outreach strategies in collaboration with university communications and student affairs teams to drive new participation.
• Evaluate and propose new meal plan tiers, flex spending options, or value-added features to meet evolving student needs.
• Target: Increase meal plan participation by 5% annually, with a focus on voluntary (non-mandatory) enrollments and retention.
• Report on program performance and ROI on a semester basis.

Elevated Dining Experiences

• Oversee all elevated dining experiences, upholding the highest standards in culinary quality, service excellence, and hospitality.
• Program Leadership & Standards: Monitor service, presentation, and culinary standards across all elevated dining venues and experiences (e.g., The Faculty Club, VIP events, presidential functions, donor events, and specialty dining concepts).
• Develop and implement elevated dining programming that reflects the university's culture, values, and brand identity.
• Menu & Concept Development: Collaborate with the Executive Chef and culinary team to develop seasonal menus, special dining concepts, and event-specific offerings.
• Ensure menus reflect dietary diversity, local sourcing initiatives, and sustainability goals.
• Incorporate guest feedback and industry trends to evolve offerings and maintain competitive relevance.
• Financial Stewardship: Monitor food and labor costs, identify efficiencies, and ensure programs are operating within or below budget targets.
• Develop annual budget proposals and financial forecasts for elevated dining operations.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Use analytics tools and guest sentiment data to evaluate the performance of dining experiences and identify areas for improvement.
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) including participation rates, per-meal costs, satisfaction scores, and event feedback.
• Present regular performance reports with data-informed recommendations.