Assistant Director

Company: North Carolina State University

Job Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Category: Food Services

Type: Full-Time

Join the Pack! A community with nearly 8,000 faculty and staff, and 30,000 students. NC State is one of the largest employers in North Carolina, offering a large range of career opportunities. Visit us at https://jobs.hr.ncsu.edu/.

Location: Raleigh, NC

Essential Job Duties:

NC State Dining is seeking two dynamic, results-oriented hospitality leaders to fill vital Assistant Director roles. These leaders will drive strategic goals, manage fiscal resources, foster welcoming team cultures, and maintain a premier student-dining experience.

While both positions share core leadership and administrative responsibilities, each oversees a distinct sector of campus retail operations:

• Position 1: Food Courts & Talley Main Kitchen Production - Directs management, daily operations, and culinary execution for high-volume campus food courts and the central Talley Main Kitchen, including the bakery.
• Position 2: Cafes & Markets - Directs management, daily operations, and retail execution across all campus coffee shops, specialized cafes, and convenience market locations.

Core Responsibilities

Dining Operations & Quality Assurance

• Oversee daily management, culinary support, inventory, and point-of-sale operations for your assigned units.
• Enforce rigorous food safety, employee safety, and sanitation standards, maintaining a Wake County Health inspection score of 95% or higher across all locations.
• Collaborate with the Campus Executive Chef, Nutritionist, and stakeholders to design varied, trend-forward menus that meet nutritional, financial, and allergen-safe standards.

Financial Administration & Budgeting

• Manage operational budgets, evaluate financial priorities, and align resource allocation with university standards.
• Review monthly financial statements to analyze and aggressively manage labor costs, food costs, and overall profit margins.
• Advise dining leadership on financial variances, growth opportunities, and capital equipment needs.

Human Resources & Leadership

• Recruit, interview, hire, and train a versatile, results-oriented team in an welcoming environment.
• Directly manage, evaluate, and mentor General Managers and Supervisors, fostering professional development and a positive workplace culture.
• Ensure fair and consistent application of university HR policies in collaboration with Campus Enterprises HR.

Strategic Planning & Technology Integration

• Develop and analyze data-driven operational plans regarding labor, production schedules, space capacity, and equipment lifecycles.
• Utilize food management systems (CBORD / NetMenu), POS software, and other technologies to maintain accurate forecasting, recipe compliance, and retail transparency.
• Evaluate customer feedback from focus groups and campus partners to modify workflows and optimize service levels.

Communication & Campus Collaboration

• Model exceptional customer service, proactively resolving guest inquiries and complaints regarding food quality or accommodations.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to effectively promote dining specials, menu rotations, and unique campus events.
• Maintain open, transparent lines of communication with dining leadership, administrative teams, and the broader campus community.

Key Requirements & Expectations

• Proven management experience in high-volume food service, hospitality, or university dining operations.
• Demonstrated financial acumen with direct accountability for P&L, food costs, and labor budgets.
• Strong tech literacy, specifically with food service management software (CBORD preferred) and POS platforms.
• Exceptional leadership skills with a track record of building and managing varied teams.
• Flexibility to work a varied schedule to support a 7-day operational calendar.

Why Join NC State Dining?

At NC State, you will lead a dedicated team that fuels the Wolfpack community. We offer a vibrant work environment, opportunities for professional growth, and a robust benefits package standard with a premier public university.

Other Work/Responsibilities

• Model the Division's mission and values, introduce the Division's mission and values to the employees, and foster a positive, cohesive workplace and congeniality among co-workers.
• Understand the goals and culture of the organization, and understand how employees' work activities, teamwork, and customer service impact clients. Work with your supervisor and colleagues to understand these goals and the culture.
• Adhere to all University policies, procedures, and regulations, and Division standard operating practices and protocols.
• Travel to other campus food service units and off site facilities.

Minimum Experience/Education

Food service management knowledge; including planning, forecasting, ordering and budgeting. Understand financial statements and be able to adjust labor and food costs to maximize profit margins.

Required Qualifications

• Experience supervising and positively leading teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate with customers, peers and supervisors; and professionally communicate with multiple levels of employees within the University. Actively listen to the needs of the customer, provide accurate responses, and adjust communication style to ensure understanding.
• Proficient technology utilization of Microsoft Office or Google Suite, email, food service point of sale (POS) systems and inventory systems, with the ability to learn additional software.
• Demonstrated ability to build professional relationships internally and externally, and be a productive team member and collaborative campus partner.
• Excellent organizational skills in order to work independently and lead projects to timely and successful completion.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5-7 years of food service management, including planning, forecasting, ordering and budgeting, preferably in a large education/university setting
• 5-7 years of supervisory experience
• Previous experience working with branded dining concept
• 5-7 years expertise with electronic food production and inventory systems
• Proven success managing multi-unit dining operations, including retail outlets and catering production
• Knowledge of operating procedures and human resources policies.

Required License or Certification

• ServSafe Certification or ability to obtain within 90 days of employment. Certification must be maintained as a condition of employment.
• Valid NC Drivers License or the ability to obtain within 60 days of start. Must be maintained as a condition of employment.