Traveling Dining Services Manager

About the role

The Traveling Dining Services Manager provides interim leadership, operational support, and culinary expertise across multiple senior living communities. This role is responsible for stabilizing dining operations during leadership transitions, supporting new openings, implementing company dining standards, and driving resident satisfaction. Ensures the provision of quality food service and nutrition care in accordance with Federal, State and Local regulations.

Responsibilities

• Operational Support & Leadership
  • Directly manages a team and is accountable for the performance, productivity, development and overall work quality of assigned team members.
  • Provides day-to-day direction, feedback, coaching and performance management to ensure team members individual and team goals are achieved.
  • Provide on-site leadership for dining services during vacancies, leave of absences, and/or periods of transition.
  • Serve as acting Dining Services Director or Dining Department Head as needed.
  • Assess dining operations and implement immediate improvements to quality, service, and compliance.
  • Attendance is an essential requirement of the position.
• Culinary & Service Excellence
  • Ensure menus meet nutritional guidelines, resident preferences, and company standards.
  • Support scratch cooking, presentation, consistency across communities.
  • Lead by example in resident-focused hospitality and service delivery.
• Management Responsibilities
  • Develops organizational strategies by contributing information, analysis, and recommendations to strategic thinking and direction; establishing functional objectives in line with organization objectives.
  • Establishes operational strategies by evaluating trends, establishing critical measurements; determining production, productivity, quality, and customer-service strategies; designing systems; accumulating resources; resolving problems; implementing change.
• Training and Development
  • Train and mentor dining services team members, including cooks, servers, and leadership staff.
  • Support onboarding and development of newly hired Dining Services Directors or Dining Department Heads.
  • Reinforce food safety, sanitation, and infection control standards.
  • Ensures that small group meetings are held per company policy.
  • Communicates new Policy & Procedures and regulations to staff to ensure compliance.
• Compliance & Quality Assurance
  • Ensure compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.
  • Conduct audits related to food safety, sanitation, and documentation.
  • Partner with community leadership to address survey readiness and corrective action plans.
• Collaboration & Communication
  • Work closely with Executive Directors, Regional Leaders, and Corporate Support Teams.
  • Provide clear handoff documentation and recommendations at the conclusion of each assignment.
  • Serve as a brand ambassador for the organization's dining philosophy.
• Residents Rights
  • Understands, upholds and promotes the rights of the residents.
  • Ensures residents can exercise rights without interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal from the facility.
  • Ensures protected health information is kept confidential.
  • Ensures resident concerns/complaints are responded to with tact and urgency.
  • Reports allegations of resident abuse, neglect and/or misappropriation of resident property.
  • Coordinates effective communication with Residents and Companions by assuring all arrangements for providing interpreters and/or other auxiliary aids/services needed by Residents/Responsible Party are made.
• Food Safety Responsibilities
  • Follows food safety and sanitation guidelines per company policy and procedure and state and federal codes and regulations.
  • Maintains standards for food preparation and quality of food service.
  • Performs regular audits of dietary/dining services to ensure safe food handling.
  • Follow guidelines for when employees cannot work in food production due to illness.
  • Develops and ensures adherence to cleaning schedules and other tools needed to maintain sanitation and cleanliness of the kitchen and other areas where food is stored or served.
• Safety and Sanitation
  • Reports observations concerning structural, equipment, and furniture defects and malfunctioning to appropriate personnel.
  • Follows established safety policies and procedures.
  • Identifies and corrects safety hazards; reports safety concerns as required.
  • Observes safety needs of residents as indicated in care plan.
  • Wears and/or uses safety equipment and supplies when indicated and properly trained to use.
  • Demonstrates job-specific knowledge of