Director of Hospitality

Position Summary:

The Director oversees a $20M residential dining operation and leads the implementation of revenue-generating initiatives across residential dining, retail, catering, athletics, and summer conference programs. This role is accountable for optimizing conference margins, improving per-capita yield, and maximizing year-round asset utilization while maintaining Rice's standards for service excellence and access.

Summer conference and seasonal programs are a core revenue pillar within the hospitality portfolio, generating approximately $2.5M in annualized revenue with direct accountability for pricing strategy, labor efficiency, and contribution margin performance.

Business development and expansion of new hospitality portfolios are core responsibilities of this role, with accountability for identifying, launching, and scaling new revenue-generating programs across retail, catering, athletics, executive dining, and emerging service models. This includes building sustainable pipelines, evaluating market demand, and developing operating models that deliver margin-positive growth while aligning with institutional priorities and long-term financial sustainability.

The Director of Hospitality leads a dynamic and growing portfolio of dining services that includes:

• Residential Dining across multiple serveries
• Retail and Community Dining including faculty/staff operations
• Business School and Athletics Performance Nutrition programs
• Campus-Wide Catering and Premium Events
• Innovation Ventures such as premium vending, digital ordering, and hybrid meal models

This executive-level role blends strategy, innovation, operations, and engagement to elevate Rice Dining into a nationally recognized model for student-centered hospitality. As Rice expands its residential, academic, and athletic facilities, this position ensures dining services scale with agility, excellence, and care.

Ideal Candidate Statement:

The ideal candidate is a strategic hospitality leader who combines strong operational expertise with the ability to think and act at an enterprise level. They have a proven track record of driving innovation, growing revenue, and leading high-performing teams through change in complex environments. This individual builds trusted partnerships, translates vision into scalable results, and is committed to elevating hospitality as a key part of the institutional experience.

Workplace Requirements:

• Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds several times each day.
• Requires walking or standing up to eight hours per day. Other physical requirements of the job include the ability to bend/crouch/or kneel, lift, see, reach, climb, and balance.
• Must be able to detect scents and discern flavors. Daily duties will include working with a variety of commercial kitchen equipment including but not limited to: slicers, ovens, gas ranges/grills. Temperature extremes may be experienced when working within walk-in refrigerators and freezers.
• Weekly schedule will vary and will include working evenings, weekends and holidays - Must be available to work any shift required.

Workplace Location:

This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in-person. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

This role is classified as an Essential On-Campus Position, requiring on-site presence to effectively carry out its vital functions. During emergencies or crises, the employee is required to report to campus as directed to ensure continuity of critical operations and must remain accessible to leadership to fulfill responsibilities necessary for maintaining institutional functions.

Hiring Range: Commensurate based on education and experience

*Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.*

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in hospitality, Business Administration, or a related field required
• Five or more (5+) years of progressive leadership in food service operations, including executive dining, catering, or campus dining environments
• Demonstrated success leading innovation, service transformation, or program expansion in a complex organization

Skills:

• Deep expertise in strategic dining operations, especially in higher education or large-scale institutional environments
• Strong financial acumen with experience in P&L oversight, cost control, and revenue growth
• Proven ability to lead high-performing, diverse teams through change
• Demonstrated innovative thinking and ability to implement creative solutions that improve service, sustainability, or student engagement
• Skilled in developing and maintaining strategic partnerships across departments, schools, and vendors
• Strong understanding of performance nutrition, catering logistics, and concession service models
• Commitment to equal access and excellence with customer-centric service

Preferences:

• Master's degree (MBA, MHA, or equivalent) preferred; candidates with a master's degree will be strongly preferred for their advanced strategic, business, and leadership training

Essential Functions:

Strategic & Operational Leadership

• Lead the AVP's vision and execution of a dining program that adapts to institutional growth, student needs, and evolving food trends
• Serve as the principal advisor to senior leadership on dining strategy tied to capital projects and enrollment
• Benchmark Rice Dining against national leaders and oversee high-performing, scalable operations

Business & Financial Oversight

• Establish annual revenue and contribution margin targets for summer conference dining programs; monitor performance against forecast and implement corrective actions as needed to protect margins.
• Partner with Conference Services to develop scalable dining packages, per-diem models, and premium service tiers that balance guest experience with financial performance.
• Develop, manage, and optimize budgets for residential, retail, catering, athletics, and emerging ventures
• Identify opportunities for revenue generation and cost efficiency
• Lead business development for new and expanding hospitality portfolios, including identification, evaluation, and launch of revenue-generating programs across retail, catering, athletics, executive dining, and emerging service models.
• Establish financial targets, pricing strategies, and operating models for new hospitality initiatives, with accountability for margin performance and long-term financial sustainability.

Innovation & Engagement

• Champion service model transformation, digital tools, and real-time feedback integration
• Launch strategic initiatives including new meal plans, premium vending, and expanded catering
• Collaborate with students and staff to co-create inclusive and engaging dining experiences

Talent Development & Culture

• Recruit, mentor, and retain a high-performing culinary and operations team
• Drive a culture of hospitality, professionalism, and continuous improvement
• Implement programs such as ACF Certification to support culinary development

Sustainability & Compliance

• Align operations with Rice's climate action plan and zero waste goals
• Ensure compliance with food safety, allergen management, and regulatory standards