What are the responsibilities and job description for the Retail Operations Associate (FT, FY) position at Bates College?
Job no: 493132
Work type: Staff Full Time - Full Year
Location: Lewiston, ME
Categories: Dining, Conferences & Campus Events: Cash Operations
Title: Retail Operations Associate (FT, FY)
Position Purpose:
The Retail Operations Associate's primary responsibility is to deliver excellent one-on-one customer service, safely and efficiently preparing food, ensuring quality assurance, practicing responsible alcohol service, accurately processing transactions, and managing waste appropriately.
Job Duties:
Food Service and Retail Operations:
- Take and accurately prepare customer orders in an à la carte dining environment.
- Maintain production and inventory records.
- Ensure food safety by accurately labeling all items for content identification and allergen awareness.
- Manage various payment methods, including credit card, internal, and external charge transactions.
Catering and Student Dining:
- Deliver catering orders, assist with event set-up and breakdown, gather materials for events, and provide event service.
- Assist on food platforms, monitor and oversee beverage stations, and promptly restock food and cereal areas within student dining when needed.
Teamwork and Professionalism:
- Champion exceptional customer service, consistently aiming for the highest standards in every interaction.
- Actively cultivate a positive, inclusive workplace by practicing open, two-way communication and demonstrating a deep respect for all forms of diversity.
- Forge robust collaborative partnerships with colleagues across the entire Dining department and the broader university community.
- Be a flexible, supportive team member, readily assisting in other operational areas and executing all assigned duties with professionalism.
- Ensure adherence to sound environmental practices, including composting, recycling, and waste reduction. Maintain a high level of safety awareness and ensure all injuries are reported within 24 hours.
Minimum Qualifications:
Education
- High School diploma or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
- Serve Safe certification preferred.
- A valid Maine driver’s license desired.
Experience
- Previous experience in a collegiate food service environment desired.
Skills and Knowledge
- Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.
- Commitment to customer service.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Exemplary organizational and time management skills.
- Ability to multi-task.
- Understands and thrives in a fast paced food service environment.
- Relates well to individuals and groups with varying backgrounds, perspectives, education and skills.
Benefits:
Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits (health, dental, 9% retirement contribution with potential for an additional 3% match, 10 days of vacation*, 13 paid holidays, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more), and a supportive, collegial environment in a drug- and smoke-free workplace.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations. All college faculty, staff, students, contractors, visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.
Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed to Gwen Lexow, Title IX Officer, 207-786-6445 or via email at glexow@bates.edu.
About Bates:
Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world.
Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.
Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.
Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percent of its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earn graduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550 staff.
The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburn community, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population of approximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre, traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city with an entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamic business community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 miles north of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.
Advertised: 25 Jun 2026