Assistant Director of Food Services, Salem Public Schools [SY 2026-2027]

Assistant Director of Food Services, Salem Public Schools [SY 2026-2027]

About Salem Public Schools, where belonging leads to opportunity.

Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district enrolling nearly 4,000 students in 10 schools. Our vision is to ensure that all students will be locally engaged, globally connected, and fully prepared to thrive in a diverse and changing world. We hold dear our core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity in everything we do. We seek individuals who are passionate about urban education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement for all students, regardless of ability, economic status, gender/gender identity, language, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other backgrounds. We invite you to learn more about our strategic plan and core priorities on our website at https://salemk12.org/.

What You'll Do: The Assistant Director (AD), Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) advances the breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner programs prepared and served daily in the eight Salem Public Schools kitchens to the nearly 4,000 students in the Salem Public Schools. Our programs include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, After School Snack Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, as well as any other programs, including grant programs, available through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or other partners. Reporting directly to, and partnering with, the Director, Food & Nutrition Services, the AD supports the management, direction, and coordination of the activities of all Food & Nutrition Services programs, including our local and hyper-local Farm to School efforts.

Working closely with the Director of Food & Nutrition Services, the AD's primary duties include providing oversight of nutritional service programs, personnel, inventory, and financial management at all sites. Work is guided by federal, state, and local regulations and a variety of nutritional, operational, and financial policies and procedures established by the USDA and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (MA DESE). Functions include assisting in administering, planning, funding, directing, assessing, implementing, and evaluating key areas of each program in order to meet the nutritional and educational needs of students.

Role Responsibilities: Together with, and at the direction of, the Director of Food & Nutrition Services, the AD will:

• Supervise head cooks' operations including daily reconciliation with the point of sale, production records, inventory, and ordering.
• Ensure adequate daily staff coverage, arranging for substitutes as needed.
• Create professional development agendas for monthly head cook job-alikes, and
• professional growth opportunities for all FNS staff.
• Contribute to, and at times create, the monthly menus for students.
• Provide leadership for, and management of, Salem's in-house catering.
• Reconcile production records and end-of-day reports to submit accurate monthly claims to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
• Research, write, and manage additional grant opportunities to fuel student voice,
• expanded scratch cooking, and farm-to-school initiatives.
• Develop marketing campaigns for programs, products, and services, and formulate a
• specific budget and expenditure plan for each.
• Support special events including periodic catering, National School Lunch Week
• celebrations, National School Lunch Hero Day and others.
• Develop and implement a process to gain regular feedback from student stakeholders
• and expand student voice opportunities.
• Attend and participate in community events to raise awareness of school nutrition and
• summer meals programs.
• Provide general support in managing FNS programs implementation.
• Collaborate with all stakeholders and conduct annual training for school & district staff specific to school meals programs.
• Other duties as assigned.

What You'll Bring

We are looking for candidates who have diverse backgrounds and experiences, are inspired by our mission and are highly motivated to change children's lives through education. You'll be right at home here if you are a reflective practitioner who values collaboration with colleagues and pushes yourself, your work and the people around you to the next level. We expect our SPS employees to:

• Hold a deep commitment to students and families and value diversity - The SPS community is vibrant, diverse in background, ethnicity, language, and perspective. You embrace and affirm the backgrounds of all members of the SPS community and view our diversity as a powerful resource that supports us each in learning and doing our best work.
• Hold high expectations for yourself, students, and colleagues - You see potential in all, especially our SPS students, and maintain high expectations for achievement, while providing the support necessary to meet that bar. You hold yourself to high expectations, modeling SPS values and seeking opportunities to continuously improve.
• Build authentic, caring relationships with colleagues, students, and families - You build strong relationships across students, families, and colleagues that are collaborative in nature and contribute to the individual and collective success of SPS. You partner with families and colleagues to make decisions in the best interest of students and learning.
• Embrace feedback - You are a reflective practitioner who learns from mistakes and challenges and uses them as opportunities for growth. You model persistence and growth mindset and thrive in a culture of feedback.

Job Requirements:

• A minimum of three years of relevant work experience; Associate's degree or higher preferred.
• Experience as a program manager, with a history of managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Experience in a leadership or supervisory role, in a fast-paced work environment preferred.
• Experience with using data to drive decision-making, which may include benchmarking program costs and participation that will guide program decisions.
• Track record of completing large projects and demonstrated ability to master new skills.
• A customer service ethos.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with, take direction from, and receive feedback from a supervisor and/or colleagues.
• A history of problem-solving.
• Experience with the Google suite; experience with school nutrition menu platforms is a plus.
• A palpable willingness to learn and advance the mission of USDA School Meals programs, the Salem Public Schools Food & Nutrition Services programs, including our mission, vision, and values.
• Current authorization to work in the United States.
• Possessing or willingness to earn ServSafe Management-level certification required within 6 months of hire date.
• Spanish Proficiency strongly preferred.

Work Year:

This is a full-time, full-year, non-union position.

Salary Range:

$70,000 to $80,000

Equal Opportunity Employer

Salem Public School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation.