Catering Manager (Food Services Leader), IU Dining & Hospitality

Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

Full-time - Entry Level

Bloomington, IN

Ambulatory Health Care Services

About the position

The Catering Manager at Indiana University Bloomington plays a pivotal role in overseeing the catering operations within the IU Dining and Hospitality department. This position is responsible for the comprehensive supervision of catering staff and bartenders, ensuring that all aspects of employee management are handled effectively. This includes hiring, training, conducting performance reviews, and managing disciplinary actions, up to and including termination. The Catering Manager must communicate effectively with various departments, including the kitchen and sales teams, to ensure that all event and client needs are met in a professional manner. In addition to staff management, the Catering Manager is tasked with planning, organizing, and managing a variety of special events, both on and off campus. This includes everything from the initial setup to the final cleanup, ensuring that events are executed according to client specifications while maintaining operational efficiency. The role requires the completion of a weekly catering schedule to ensure adequate staffing and monitoring of labor costs. The Catering Manager also serves as a liaison with clients, addressing any concerns in a friendly and professional manner, and maintaining strong professional relationships through effective communication. The position also involves inventory management, ensuring that supplies such as decor, alcohol, and equipment are adequately stocked and compliant with legal regulations regarding alcohol service. The Catering Manager may participate in leadership team meetings to contribute to long-term planning and program enhancements, promoting the university's commitment to diversity and sustainability. Continuous assessment of departmental operations is essential to improve efficiency and effectiveness, making this role critical to the success of the catering services at Indiana University.

Responsibilities

• Perform all aspects of employee supervision of catering staff and bartenders.
• Responsible for personnel matters including hiring, training, performance reviews, and disciplinary action up to and including termination.
• Communicate timing and event/client needs to the kitchen, front of house, and sales in a professional manner.
• Plan, organize, and manage a variety of special events, from set up to clean up, both on and off premise.
• Complete a weekly catering schedule ensuring adequate staff coverage to meet special event needs, as well as monitoring labor costs.
• Ensure proper set up of events per the client's request while maintaining an effective, efficient, and economical operation.
• Communicate daily with the event planners to obtain necessary event information to both accurately adjust existing catering schedules and forecast upcoming schedules.
• Interact and serve as a liaison with all clients.
• Deal with client concerns in a friendly and professional manner.
• Maintain professional work relationships by communicating effectively with clients and providing optimal service, which includes seeking clients' opinions.
• Inventory supplies (decor, alcohol, linen, paper, equipment, etc.) for monthly inventory.
• Ensure legal compliance of alcohol services in accordance with liquor license, university policies and state laws.
• May serve as a member of the unit leadership team, collaborates on program enhancements, and promotes Indiana University's Diversity and Sustainability.
• Improve and streamline departmental operations through the continuous assessment of policies and procedures, work processes and program effectiveness/value.
• Participate in administrative staff meetings in order to assist in long-range unit planning activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in culinary, hospitality, or related field.
• 2 years food service experience.
• Food Safety (ServSafe) certification within 180 days of date of hire.
• Ability to lead/manage others.
• Demonstrates customer service skills.
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills.
• Ability to influence internal and/or external constituents.
• Ability to inspire staff and deliver constructive feedback.
• Knowledge of professional cooking principles.
• Ability to learn and use point-of-sale systems, and other university software such as TIME and FIS.
• Knowledge of current applicable food codes and other relevant safety regulations.

Nice-to-haves

• 1 year of management experience in relevant field.

Benefits

• Multiple plan options for medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Health Savings Account with generous IU contribution
• Life insurance, LTD, and AD&D options
• Base retirement plan contribution from IU, subject to vesting
• Additional supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition benefit for IU classes
• 10 paid holidays per year
• Generous Paid Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)