Director, Culinary Operations

Director, Culinary Operations

The Director of Culinary Operations reports directly to the VP of Culinary and Executive Chef and is responsible for two main pillars: Culinary Production and Culinary Park Operations. In this role, you will work with department leadership in planning, implementing, and supporting new food and beverage initiatives, lead culinary teams in planning, training, and daily execution, and serve as a culinary expert who provides leadership and sets standards for culinary excellence.

Responsibilities include developing and mentoring senior chefs, creating training opportunities for chefs and managers through manufacturers and vendor resources and sharing internal best practices, conducting food tastings and evaluating food presentations, establishing food specifications, directing sustainability initiatives throughout the property, understanding restaurant and food service P&L's, financial metrics, and venue budgets, researching and staying current with all culinary trends, addressing any issues regarding food quality, taste, and presentation promptly, providing culinary guidance and support to chefs and operations managers, collaborating with other departments, proactively identifying problems/opportunities, and taking ownership of deadlines and deliverables, managing supply chain challenges and opportunities, providing vision for ongoing culinary development, conducting regular quality checks to ensure adherence to established recipes and standards, ensuring compliance with all local, state, and federal laws regarding food quality, safety, labor, employment, Union guidelines, and Company policies and procedures, collaborating with the Chefs and Operations Team to ensure that the correct training materials are in place and used as intended, partnering with the Quality Assurance department to ensure that the highest safe food handling practices are met, training and developing teams to understand the importance of food safety, responsible for performance evaluations, disciplinary recommendations, succession planning, and management development to meet needs, maintaining or exceeding weekly budgeted variable operation profit by controlling cost of goods & variable labor, standardizing recipes, portion sizes, and presentation techniques to maintain consistent quality across all venues, monitoring and controlling food costs by implementing effective inventory management, portion control, and waste reduction strategies, conducting training programs and workshops for Culinary Team Members to enhance their culinary skills, drive retention and engagement, and maintain consistent cooking techniques, fostering a positive and creative work environment that encourages creativity, teamwork, and professional growth, creating strategic plans to optimize venue profits while maintaining high food quality, food safety, and cleanliness standards, effectively building a cohesive team while demonstrating organizational, planning, delegation, mentoring, and coaching skills, developing and fostering open communication and healthy working relationships with all support partners, between business units and company departments, providing visionary leadership and management of the culinary research and development process from product creation through implementation, staying current on developing trends in the restaurant industry and being able to apply trending ingredients and flavors that support relevant guest demographics, identifying and introducing new culinary techniques.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Salary range: $120,000-$150,000 (bonus eligible).

Qualifications/Requirements include minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in culinary services, a Culinary Arts degree is preferred, a food manager certificate is required, advanced knowledge and understanding of the culinary arts, advanced time management and organization, in-depth knowledge of federal, state, and local food handling regulations, comfortable training, directing, and supervising, excellent verbal and written communication skills, proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, ability to work during holidays, days, nights, and weekends.

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. NBCUniversal will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, or arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with relevant legal requirements, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative For Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, where applicable. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to AccessibilitySupport@nbcuni.com.