Assistant Director of Dining Services - Miss Porter's School

Job Summary

As the Assistant Director of Dining Services, you will play a key leadership role in delivering an exceptional dining experience for students, faculty, staff, and guests at Miss Porter’s School, an independent, college preparatory all-girls boarding and day school in Farmington, Connecticut, serving approximately 340-345 students in grades 9-12. With a primary focus on catering and special events, you will oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of campus functions while supporting the day-to-day operations of the school's dining program.

Reporting to the Director of Dining Services, this position serves as a bridge between hospitality, event management, and dining operations. The ideal candidate is a service-focused leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, excels at building relationships, and is passionate about creating memorable dining experiences for the school's close-knit boarding and day school community. When catering activities are not in service, the Assistant Director will support daily dining operations, including staff leadership, client relations, financial oversight, safety compliance, and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of all catering events, ensuring exceptional food quality, presentation, and service standards.
• Collaborate with school administrators, faculty, staff, and campus partners to develop and execute events that support the school's culture and community.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for catering clients, managing event details, communications, timelines, and execution.
  Utilize catering software and event management tools to coordinate logistics, staffing, billing, and event communications.
• Provide on-site leadership during events, proactively addressing challenges and ensuring seamless service.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with students, faculty, staff, parents, and guests to promote a strong hospitality-focused culture.
• Support the overall management of daily dining operations, ensuring high standards of food quality, customer service, safety, and sanitation.
• Lead, train, develop, and motivate a team of associates, fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, and professional growth.
• Facilitate daily pre-service meetings and communicate operational priorities, service expectations, and event details.
• Support allergy awareness programs, food safety initiatives, and compliance with all company and school policies.
• Assist with financial responsibilities, including monitoring budgets, labor, expenses, vendor invoices, and sales reporting.
• Coordinate menu signage, promotional materials, and marketing initiatives that enhance engagement and showcase dining programs.
• Gather and analyze guest feedback to continuously improve both catering and residential dining experiences.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director of Dining Services.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of progressive experience in catering, hospitality, food service management, or dining operations.
• Experience planning and executing catering events, conferences, special functions, or campus programming.
• Proven leadership experience supervising, training, and developing teams in a hospitality or food service environment.
• Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Knowledge of food service operations, catering logistics, service standards, and event execution.
• Experience managing budgets, labor, food costs, and operational reporting.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills with a strong customer-service mindset.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint); experience with catering software platforms preferred.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends, based on event schedules.
• Associate's degree or higher in Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, Business, Event Planning, or a related field preferred.
• Creative, detail-oriented professional with a passion for hospitality, guest engagement, and delivering exceptional experiences.