Food Service Shift Lead - Convenience Store

Food Service Shift Lead – Gas Station & Convenience Store

Job Title: Food Service Shift LeadDepartment: Food Service OperationsReports To: Store Manager / Assistant Store ManagerEmployment Type: Full-Time or Part-TimeLocation: [Store Name and Location]Pay Range: [Insert Hourly Rate]

Position Summary

The Food Service Shift Lead is responsible for overseeing food preparation, customer service, cleanliness, food safety, and team performance during an assigned shift. This position works alongside team members while providing daily direction and ensuring that all prepared food is fresh, properly stocked, accurately labeled, and served according to company standards.

The Shift Lead helps maintain a clean, safe, and welcoming gas station and convenience-store environment. The ideal candidate is dependable, organized, comfortable working in a fast-paced setting, and able to lead employees while delivering excellent customer service.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Shift Leadership

• Lead and support food service employees during the assigned shift.
• Assign workstations, opening tasks, closing tasks, cleaning duties, and rest breaks.
• Communicate daily priorities, promotions, food preparation needs, and operational concerns to team members.
• Monitor employee attendance, appearance, productivity, and compliance with company policies.
• Train new employees on food preparation, equipment use, customer service, cleaning procedures, and food safety requirements.
• Address routine employee and customer concerns professionally and promptly.
• Report significant employee, equipment, inventory, safety, or customer issues to management.
• Assist management with maintaining adequate staffing and shift coverage.

Food Preparation and Service

• Prepare and serve items such as breakfast foods, sandwiches, pizza, fried foods, roller-grill products, beverages, and other menu offerings.
• Follow approved recipes, preparation procedures, portion standards, and presentation requirements.
• Maintain appropriate product levels based on customer demand and established production schedules.
• Ensure food is fresh, attractive, properly packaged, and available during required service periods.
• Check expiration dates, discard expired products, and rotate inventory using the first-in, first-out method.
• Accurately label products with preparation times, expiration times, and other required information.
• Minimize food waste by monitoring production quantities and customer traffic.
• Record food waste, product temperatures, and production information accurately.

Food Safety and Sanitation

• Ensure employees follow all company, local, state, and federal food safety requirements.
• Monitor food temperatures and complete required temperature logs.
• Prevent cross-contamination by following proper storage, preparation, and sanitation procedures.
• Ensure employees wash their hands, wear gloves, use hair restraints, and follow personal hygiene standards.
• Clean and sanitize food-contact surfaces, preparation areas, utensils, and equipment.
• Maintain clean coolers, freezers, storage rooms, beverage stations, display cases, and serving areas.
• Immediately report unsafe conditions, pest activity, equipment problems, or suspected food contamination.
• Follow proper procedures for handling chemicals, hot equipment, sharp objects, grease, and food allergens.

Customer Service

• Greet customers and provide prompt, friendly, and professional service.
• Answer questions about food products, ingredients, pricing, and promotions.
• Respond appropriately to customer complaints and resolve routine concerns when possible.
• Ensure orders are prepared correctly and delivered within expected service times.
• Maintain an inviting and fully stocked food service area.
• Encourage team members to provide consistent and courteous service.

Inventory and Merchandising

• Monitor food, packaging, beverage, condiment, and cleaning-supply inventory.
• Notify management when products or supplies need to be ordered.
• Receive food deliveries and verify quantities, quality, temperatures, and expiration dates.
• Store products promptly in the correct refrigerator, freezer, dry-storage, or display area.
• Help conduct inventory counts and investigate unusual shortages or excessive waste.
• Maintain attractive food displays and properly place promotional signs and pricing materials.
• Protect company inventory from spoilage, damage, misuse, and theft.

Store and Cashier Support

• Operate the point-of-sale register when assigned.
• Accurately process cash, credit-card, mobile, and other approved payment transactions.
• Follow company procedures for cash handling, refunds, discounts, voids, and age-restricted sales.
• Assist with stocking merchandise, cleaning customer areas, and completing other store duties when necessary.
• Follow all company security, robbery-prevention, and loss-prevention procedures.

Equipment and Facility Care

• Safely operate fryers, ovens, grills, microwaves, warmers, coolers, freezers, coffee equipment, beverage machines, and other food service equipment.
• Complete required equipment inspections and cleaning procedures.
• Report equipment malfunctions immediately and stop using unsafe equipment.
• Keep floors, counters, drains, sinks, trash areas, and food service workstations clean and free of hazards.
• Complete opening, shift-change, and closing checklists accurately.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Food Service Shift Lead provides day-to-day direction to food service team members during the assigned shift. The position may assign tasks, monitor performance, provide training, and communicate concerns to management. Formal hiring, disciplinary, scheduling, and termination decisions remain the responsibility of store management unless otherwise authorized.

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent preferred.
• At least one year of food service, restaurant, convenience-store, retail, or customer-service experience preferred.
• Previous shift lead, key holder, or supervisory experience preferred.
• Ability to obtain and maintain any required food-handler or food-safety certification.
• Basic math, reading, writing, and communication skills.
• Ability to follow recipes, safety procedures, production schedules, and written instructions.
• Ability to work independently and provide direction to others.
• Dependable attendance and punctuality.
• Must meet all legal requirements for operating store equipment and selling age-restricted products, when applicable.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong customer-service and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of basic food preparation and sanitation practices.
• Ability to lead by example and maintain a positive work environment.
• Ability to prioritize duties in a fast-paced setting.
• Ability to identify and resolve routine operational problems.
• Attention to food quality, cleanliness, inventory control, and accuracy.
• Ability to communicate effectively with employees, customers, vendors, and management.
• Ability to remain calm and professional during busy periods or difficult situations.
• Basic understanding of food cost, portion control, product rotation, and waste reduction.

Scheduling Requirements

• Must be available to work a flexible schedule based on business needs.
• May be required to work mornings, evenings, overnight shifts, weekends, and holidays.
• Must arrive on time and remain at work until properly relieved or authorized to leave.
• May be asked to provide coverage for employee absences or high-volume periods.

Work Environment

This position is performed in a busy gas station, convenience store, and food preparation environment. The employee may experience changing temperatures, food odors, cooking heat, noise, customer traffic, delivery activity, and exposure to cleaning products.

Performance Expectations

Successful performance includes:

• Consistent compliance with food safety and sanitation standards.
• Properly prepared, fresh, and fully stocked food products.
• Accurate completion of food temperature, production, waste, and cleaning records.
• Positive customer feedback and prompt service.
• Reduced food waste and inventory shortages.
• Clean, organized, and inspection-ready food service areas.
• Dependable attendance and effective shift leadership.
• Completion of assigned duties within established timeframes.

Requirements

Physical Requirements

The employee must be able to:

• Stand and walk for extended periods.
• Frequently bend, reach, twist, push, pull, and perform repetitive hand movements.
• Lift and carry up to 40 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Work around hot surfaces, cooking oil, steam, refrigerated areas, cleaning chemicals, and moving equipment.
• Safely perform duties in areas where floors may occasionally be wet or slippery.
• Communicate clearly with customers and team members.
• Perform cleaning duties, including sweeping, mopping, wiping surfaces, washing dishes, and removing trash.

Benefits

$17-20 Per Hour

Flexible Scheduling & Day Offs