Food Service Operations Manager
Location: Jackson, MS Area
Salary:$40,000–$50,000
Benefits: Employee discounts, PTO
About the Opportunity
A corporate dining operation is seeking to identify a hands-on Food Service Operations Manager to oversee an employee cafeteria within a large manufacturing facility serving approximately 700–800 employees. The operation provides breakfast, lunch, and limited evening meal service with a mix of traditional hot meals, made-to-order selections, salads, sandwiches, desserts, and grab-and-go offerings.
This is an excellent opportunity for a food service leader who enjoys being actively involved in the operation rather than managing from an office. The Food Service Operations Manager will oversee daily kitchen and cafeteria operations while working alongside the team to ensure consistent food quality, proper staffing, efficient service, food safety, and a positive experience for employees.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee daily employee cafeteria operations, including breakfast, lunch, and limited evening meal service
- Lead and work alongside the culinary team during food preparation, cooking, and service
- Ensure consistent execution of hot entrées, sides, sandwiches, salads, desserts, grab-and-go items, and other menu offerings
- Maintain standards for food quality, freshness, presentation, portioning, and service readiness
- Supervise, schedule, train, and provide daily direction to food service employees
- Monitor employee attendance, performance, productivity, and adherence to workplace expectations
- Ensure appropriate staffing and preparation levels based on anticipated business needs
- Manage food, beverage, paper product, cleaning supply, and operating supply ordering
- Receive deliveries and maintain organized inventory, storage, labeling, and product rotation
- Monitor food costs through effective portion control, production planning, inventory management, and waste reduction
- Maintain food safety, sanitation, temperature control, storage, and employee hygiene standards
- Ensure kitchen equipment, workstations, storage areas, and service areas remain clean and organized
- Prepare menus, schedules, invoices, reports, and other operational documentation
- Communicate effectively with employees, vendors, customers, and company leadership
- Identify and resolve operational concerns while maintaining consistent service
Ideal Experience
- Previous supervisory or management experience in a restaurant, cafeteria, catering, institutional dining, corporate dining, or similar food service operation
- Hands-on cooking experience in an operation preparing fresh food beyond primarily prepackaged or fast-food products
- Experience supervising employees, creating schedules, and coordinating daily staffing
- Strong working knowledge of food preparation, sanitation, food safety, ordering, and inventory procedures
- Experience preparing traditional hot meals from scratch is highly preferred
- High-volume food service experience within corporate dining, manufacturing, healthcare, education, or a similar environment is a plus
- Experience with made-to-order stations, grab-and-go programs, or multiple meal periods preferred
- Current food safety or food manager certification is a plus
- Basic computer proficiency, including Microsoft Word, email, document scanning, and electronic communication
- Strong organization, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills
- Dependable, hands-on leadership style with the ability to take ownership of daily operations
To be considered, please submit your resume to:
sydneyc@geckohospitality.com