SENIOR DIRECTOR, FOOD AND NUTRITION - HOSPITAL

The Senior Director of Dining Services will provide strategic and operational leadership for a Food & Nutrition Services department within a large acute care hospital. This role oversees all dining and nutrition operations across a 500+ bed hospital with an average daily census of approximately 325 patients and peak census reaching 550+.

Areas of responsibility include patient dining services, physician lounges, retail café operations, coffee shop, catering, and vending services. The Senior Director will lead a large management team, drive operational excellence, ensure client satisfaction, develop talent, and maintain financial performance for a complex healthcare dining environment.

• Provide overall leadership and direction for the hospital's Food & Nutrition Services department.
• Manage operations in accordance with approved budgets while delivering exceptional value and service to the client.
• Oversee patient dining, retail dining, physician dining, coffee shop, vending, and catering operations.
• Ensure food quality, culinary execution, patient satisfaction, and guest experience consistently meet or exceed expectations.
• Lead safety, sanitation, regulatory compliance, and maintenance programs.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with hospital leadership, physicians, clients, patients, and community stakeholders.
• Develop, mentor, and retain a high-performing management and frontline team.
• Drive operational efficiency, financial performance, labor management, and cost controls.
• Oversee inventory management, purchasing practices, and food cost accountability.
• Foster collaboration across hospital departments and integrate dining services with the organization's overall operational goals.
• Serve as the visible leader and primary client liaison for all food and nutrition services operations.

• 3+ years of Director-level Food & Nutrition leadership experience within an acute care hospital environment.
• Experience leading food service operations with at least $6M-$7M in annual managed volume and supporting an average patient census of 200+.
• Demonstrated success managing complex, high-volume healthcare food service operations.
• Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, P&L accountability, labor, and food cost controls.
• Knowledge of inventory management, purchasing, and supply chain practices.
• Strong understanding of food service trends, culinary quality, patient satisfaction, sanitation, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience with contract-managed services environments preferred.
• ServSafe® certification is a plus.
• Proven people leader with the ability to develop teams, drive engagement, and build strong client relationships.
• Forward-thinking, highly visible leader who is proactive, results-oriented, and committed to operational excellence.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and related business systems.