Director of Auxiliary Food Services and Hospitality Operations

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POSITION SUMMARY

Queensborough Community College (QCC), a student-centered college in the City University of New York (CUNY), seeks an experienced leader to serve as Director of Auxiliary Food Services and Hospitality Operations. This is a college-employed management position-not a vendor-relationship or third-party contract-administration post. The Director provides hands-on leadership of the College's in-house dining, catering, and hospitality operations, leading College staff, College-controlled budgets, and College service standards to deliver high-quality food and hospitality for students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE ROLE

Direct operational leadership of campus dining and hospitality as a College enterprise, not a contracted vendor service.

Clear annual goals, measurable performance targets, and regular reporting to campus leadership.

Strong financial stewardship: budgeting, cost control, sales analysis, cash controls, and auxiliary revenue.

Ability to communicate across language and cultural differences on a highly diverse Queens campus, with calm problem-solving and a visible service presence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and People Management

Provide strategic direction and day-to-day leadership for all in-house dining, retail food, catering, and hospitality operations.

Recruit, train, supervise, and evaluate staff; set individual and unit goals; coach performance; and build a culture of accountability, teamwork, and service excellence.

Model professional communication with a multilingual, multicultural workforce and student body, and serve as the visible, approachable College leader for dining and hospitality.

Goal Setting, Performance, and Continuous Improvement

Establish annual operating goals and KPIs (customer satisfaction, health inspection results, food and labor cost ratios, catering volume and quality, revenue vs. budget, event turnaround).

Track results against goals; prepare concise management reports and recommend corrective action when targets are missed.

Improve service quality, speed, menu relevance, and the campus dining experience; lead after-action reviews of major catering and campus events.

Financial Management and Reporting

Develop, manage, and monitor operating budgets for dining, catering, and related auxiliary activity.

Oversee cash handling, point-of-sale activity, sales reconciliation, inventory valuation, and internal controls.

Analyze food cost, labor cost, waste, and sales mix; present findings and recommendations to Finance and Administration.

Prepare accurate monthly and ad hoc operational and financial reports, including performance metrics and variance explanations; support year-end close, audits, and auxiliary enterprise reporting.

Strengthen auxiliary revenue while remaining aligned with the College's student-centered mission; manage procurement, vendor relationships, receiving, and inventory.

Operations, Quality, Compliance, and Campus Partnerships

Oversee menu planning, food preparation, presentation, and service so quality and consistency meet College standards; direct all campus catering from planning and staffing through billing and client follow-up.

Ensure full compliance with New York City Health Department, State and Federal food-safety rules, OSHA, ADA, and College policy; maintain a clean, safe, inspection-ready operation.

Coordinate with Facilities, Campus Safety, Events, and Student Affairs so service supports the academic calendar and campus life.

Build productive relationships with academic departments, Student Affairs, student government, Athletics, and administrative units; handle complaints promptly, professionally, and fairly; represent dining and hospitality in campus planning and special projects.

Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree in hospitality management, food service management, business administration, or a related field, and at least eight (8) years of progressive experience in food service or hospitality operations, including at least five (5) years in a supervisory or management role - or a satisfactory equivalent (a minimum of ten (10) years of progressive food service / hospitality management experience will be considered in lieu of the degree).

Demonstrated experience directly managing dining and catering operations (in-house or comparable institutional setting), including staff supervision.

Proven experience with budgeting, financial oversight, inventory, procurement, and operational reporting; working knowledge of local, State, and Federal food-safety and workplace regulations.

Strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills, and demonstrated interpersonal skill leading diverse teams and working across departments.

Ability to communicate effectively with a multilingual campus community; proficiency in a language in addition to English is strongly preferred (languages commonly used at QCC and in Queens include Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Bengali, and Urdu).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience leading college, university, or public-institution dining operations as an institutional employee (not solely as a vendor-account manager).

Experience setting and reporting operational KPIs and financial targets; familiarity with POS and inventory systems and standard food-cost / labor-cost reporting.

SERV Safe Manager certification (or equivalent) and current knowledge of NYC food-service requirements.

Fluency in more than one language and experience supervising a multilingual workforce.

Why Join QCC: Queensborough is a mission-driven community college where dining and hospitality are part of student success and campus life. This Director will shape an in-house operation-setting standards, managing people and money, and measuring results-rather than administering an outside vendor contract. The College offers a collaborative environment, professional development, and the chance to build a service culture that reflects the diversity of Queens.

Pay Range:

Minimum - Maximum: $135,000.00

RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.