Food Safety Manager

About the role

This role is responsible for the design, execution, and continuous improvement of Mo' Bettah's food safety and sanitation programs across all restaurants.

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously evolve the Mo' Bettahs food safety program, including HACCP plans, standard operating procedures, and brand-specific food safety standards across every restaurant in the system.
• Maintain compliance with the FDA Food Code and all applicable state, county, and municipal regulations across our eight-state operating footprint.
• Develop and maintain temperature, time, allergen, and sanitation standards specific to Hawaiian-style menu items, including rice handling, slow-cooked proteins, steam-table holding, and raw protein cross-contamination controls.
• Conduct in-restaurant food safety audits across the portfolio on a defined cadence, surfacing wins and recognition opportunities alongside corrective action.
• Own the third-party audit program (Ecosure, Steritech, or equivalent), including scope, scoring, vendor relationship, and reporting; calibrate scoring and standards across District Managers and General Managers.
• Serve as the company’s primary responder for foodborne illness allegations, guest complaints involving food safety, supplier recalls, and health department actions.
• Manage relationships with local and state health departments across all eight states; serve as primary point of contact for inspections, plan reviews, and variances.
• Own the ServSafe Manager certification program system-wide and maintain a current roster of certified managers in every restaurant.
• Build and deliver food safety training content for new hires, GMs, DMs, and Restaurant Support Center team members, including allergen awareness and Hawaiian-style menu-specific protocols.
• Partner with Construction, Real Estate, and Operations on permitting, plan review, and pre-opening health department inspections in both existing and new states.
• Partner with Supply Chain to ensure approved suppliers meet Mo' Bettahs food safety standards, including third-party certifications (SQF, BRC, or equivalent), and lead supplier food safety reviews and recall execution.
• Build and report monthly KPIs on food safety performance to the executive team, including audit scores, illness reports, health department findings, training compliance, and recall events.

Requirements

• 5+ years of progressive food safety experience in a multi-unit restaurant, foodservice, or food manufacturing environment; multi-state experience strongly preferred.
• ServSafe Manager Certification required.
• Demonstrated experience managing food safety across geographically distributed operations.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to coach in-restaurant and present to executive leadership.
• Ability to travel 50–65%, including overnight and multi-day trips across our multi-state footprint.
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.
• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Public Health, Hospitality Management, or a related field.
• Prior experience opening restaurants in new states and navigating local regulatory environments.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in audit score performance and trend by store, district, and region
• Experience in Foodborne illness reports and time-to-resolution
• Experience in Health department inspection results and follow-up closure rate
• Experience in Managing ServSafe certification compliance across the system
• Experience in Supplier recall response time and execution accuracy
• Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) or Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) credential