Dining Room Manager

Recognized by Newsweek in 2024 and 2025 as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

About Us

Brookdale is a nationwide company with 589 communities as of November 30, 2025, offering many opportunities to grow and learn. We provide:

• Gracious hospitality and neighborliness for our residents and families.
• Home-like feel and all-around comfort for residents and visiting family members.
• Entertaining events and gatherings so our residents can find connections in groups and 1:1 settings.
• Industry leadership in clinical care.
• Extensive corporate support including a robust training program.

Responsibilities

• Provide quality dining experiences by overseeing dining room staff and maintaining a pleasant and clean dining environment.
• Manage daily operations of dining room, room service, and convenience store, if applicable.
• Assign wait staff to designated sections and all staff to appropriate side work; inspect work to ensure proper completion.
• Ensure room service orders are delivered timely and properly.
• Ensure smooth and timely opening and closing of the dining room.
• Ensure an adequate number of service employees for each shift and cover absences.
• Oversee resident billing of food services charges.
• Assist in producing weekly schedules with budgetary guidelines for service staff.
• Lead the training of all new dining room associates and conduct required on-going training sessions.
• Provide supervision for special events.
• Assist service staff during mealtime as needed.
• Assist in greeting and seating residents and guests.
• In consultation with the Dining Services Director, hire, train, discipline, and terminate departmental associates in accordance with company policies.
• Maintain the resident request logbook and forward requests to the Chef and/or Food Service Director.

This job description represents an overview of the responsibilities for the above referenced position. An associate should perform all duties as assigned by his/her supervisor.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree or equivalent from two-year College or technical school; or two to three years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Current ServSafe Certification required.
• Obtain and hold any local, state, and/or county required food handling/sanitation licenses and/or certificates.

Skills

• Extensive knowledge of dining service operations and a thorough understanding of the organization and work environment.
• Working knowledge of a functional discipline.
• Outgoing, cheerful personality; energetic, friendly, and organized.
• Enjoy working with older adults and capable of walking and standing for long periods of time.
• Ability to read and write English; communicate effectively with residents and other employees.
• Ability to follow oral and written directions.

Management/Decision Making

Applies existing guidelines and procedures to make varied decisions within a department. Uses sound judgment and experience to solve moderately complex problems based on precedent, example, reasonableness, or a combination of these.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• Standing and walking for extended periods.
• Sitting as needed.
• Occasional weekend, evening, or night work to ensure shift coverage.
• Use hands and fingers to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms.
• Stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
• Talk or hear.
• Possible exposure to communicable diseases, infections, latex, blood-borne pathogens, various drugs, chemicals, or biological hazards.
• Subject to injury from falls, burns, odors, or cuts from equipment.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.
• Requires travel: Occasionally.
• Vision requirements.

Benefits

Full suite of health insurance, life insurance, and retirement plans are available and vary by employment status.

Part- and Full-Time Benefits Eligibility

• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Associate assistance program
• Employee discounts
• Referral program
• Early access to earned wages for hourly associates (outside of CA)
• Optional voluntary benefits including ID theft protection and pet insurance

Full-Time Only Benefits Eligibility

• Paid Time Off
• Paid holidays
• Company-provided life insurance
• Adoption benefit
• Disability (short- and long-term)
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Account
• Optional life and dependent life insurance
• Optional voluntary benefits including accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity insurance, and legal plan
• Tuition reimbursement

Temporary associates are not benefits-eligible but may participate in the company’s 401(k) program. To support associates in their journey to become a U.S. citizen, Brookdale offers to advance fees for naturalization (Form N-400) application costs, up to $725, less applicable taxes and withholding, for qualified associates who have been with us for at least a year.