Retail Dining Manager

Salary: $75,000 to $78,000 Annually (salary commensurate with education and experience)

General Statement of Duties:

Under the direction of the Director of Dining and Auxiliary Services, the Retail Dining Manager is responsible for the management and successful execution of all aspects of the Westfield State University retail dining program.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential:

• Operate retail locations in the development, implementation, and maintenance of standard operating procedures (SOP) that improve efficiency and cost effectiveness.
• Assist the Director of Dining and Auxiliary Services in developing goals and objectives for all retail-dining locations. Monitor business trends with strict adherence to all established food and labor budgets assigned to the managed food service locations.
• Recommend process and operational improvement to the Director of Dining and Auxiliary Services to enhance the program for financial and student satisfaction growth.
• Use benchmark Key Performance Indicators (KPI) weekly to measure the business of each unit.
• Assist in preparing budgets for each location including sales and status reports; including long and short-term planning in the areas of location layout, product selection and presentation; forecast trends and anticipate customer demands.
• Participate in programs of quality assurance, assessment, guest satisfaction surveys, peer review, continuing education, food committee, Year-in-Review.
• Maintain a professional signage system by following the guidelines outlined by Dining Services.
• Maintain communication with students through social media channels, email, food committee meetings and in person, etc.
• Greet and meet customers during assigned shift and or in the food service locations during peak meal hours by circulating through the customer service areas, maintaining open lines of feedback through focus groups, food committees, customer satisfaction surveys, etc.
• Follow purchasing guidelines to determine what products are to be sold; determine product presentation, location, floor layout, seasonal changes; maintain continuity of products and presentation as well as introduce new products and services; remodeling and resetting of the service areas to maximize sales and revenue potential.
• Monitor and maintain proper inventory levels, establish selling prices in accordance with departmental policy. Anticipate market conditions, when possible, to increase or control inventory to ensure adequate on hands.
• Prepare staff schedules for employees following the departmental budgets and guidelines.
• Complete weekly payroll and approve all time for retail staff (on Sundays in pay weeks).
• Coordinate employee participation in dining services training classes on sanitation, proper food handling, customer service, PCI Compliance, POS Usage, Cash Handling, etc.
• Support the management and operational effectiveness of retail dining while also supporting auxiliary dining operations, and special service initiatives as business needs dictate.
• Maintain the POS systems to include software, hardware, and peripherals for all (Retail and Residential) dining units; focusing on software updates, lifespan analysis including a replacement plan, and ensuring adequate inventory of supplies and backup units are available to minimize downtime. Serve as crisis response manager in the event of a POS failure that would negatively affect operations including nights and weekends. Additionally, maintain all users and access control databases for cashiers on campus.
• Manage the online order platform software to ensure pricing, menu, and hours are up to date; manage the user access for all of Dining Operations; ensure integration with payment methods and campus card systems; and manage the hardware supplies necessary to execute this program.
• Manage reporting software, access, and report generation for all Dining Units through designated software and reporting systems; trouble shoot and provide liaison support to all Westfield State Dining software systems.
• Maintain a price book and EMC software for menu, product, and retail items for sale in all units.
• Program POS units and credit card hardware for each unit's operational needs. Maintain PCI compliance standards for all locations.
• Create, maintain, and update meals plan programming as needed in Westfield State software system for integration to Dining services.
• Serve as the liaison to the various software systems and with Westfield State University Card Services and any other application related to sales functions within the department.
• Complete yearly costing and a suggested retail-pricing model for all units on campus to incorporate food and recipe costing, margin, and profit for each item to achieve departmental goals.
• Provide operational support at weekend and evening special events for concession sales, University athletic concessions, meals service, and catering operation.
• Conduct an ongoing marketplace analysis to identify new products that are on trend with the industry and explore opportunities for new and improved vendors on a regular basis.
• Provide training, coaching, and counseling on an ongoing basis for all employees to strive for growth, improvement, adherence to standards and procedures, and operational success.
• Maintain locations in a clean and working order and report facility repairs and broken equipment for immediate repair and recommend equipment replacement as needed. Maintains an inventory of small wares for unit operations.
• Ability to operate and manage kitchen cooking/cooling and holding equipment.
• Provide feedback and operational suggestions for continuous improvement.
• Manage and maintain a student/contracted employee-training program for retail operations and a communication tool for quick dissemination of information to retail dining staff.

Job Requirements:

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalence in a related field and three years or the equivalent part-time, of experience in retail food services management.
• A basic understanding of computer systems, networking, and hardware for dining operations or an ability to learn.
• Supervisory experience of at least three years.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as necessary.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Systems.
• Working knowledge of Point-of-Sale Software and Hardware Applications.
• Preferred experience in campus card application.
• Multi-unit operation experience of at least 3 years.
• Ability to perform any of the job duties within supervision areas in case of callouts or staffing shortages.
• Ability to manage operations on the go, understanding that retail units are across campus in at least four different buildings.
• Ability to bend, lift, push, pull, and stretch with weights up to 50 pounds, stand for long periods of time, and manage working in both hot and cold temperature areas.
• Must be able to work around food cooking equipment including flames, steam, smells and odors, boiling water, etc. and committed to tasting food for quality assurance evaluation.
• ServSafe Certification and TIPS Alcohol Certification are required within 90 days of hire.
• Must hold a valid driver's license and be able to drive delivery vans and small trucks.