Cafe Shift Lead | DC | Chinatown

Chobani; United States; On-site; USD 23,419 - 34,440; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Accrued PTO and FTO

Leadership training opportunities

Job summary

A popular café chain is seeking a Shift Lead responsible for leading teams, ensuring excellent customer experiences, and training new team members. The role includes coaching staff, maintaining operations, and executing inventory tasks in a dynamic environment. Ideal candidates will have strong communication skills, a Food Safety Manager Certificate, and experience in customer service or hospitality. This position offers leadership development opportunities and a supportive team culture.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to coach, direct, and lead a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience in customer service, retail, or hospitality, with a strong focus on customer-facing roles.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team on shift to create incredible customer experiences.
• Coach and direct team members in real time.
• Communicate expectations and facilitate ongoing training.
• Maintain a welcoming and safe work environment.
• Execute shift inventory tasks and maintain café organization.

Skills

Customer service

Team leadership

Communication

Safety management

Education

Food Safety Manager Certificate

Job description

As a Shift Lead you will be responsible for leading a team on shift to create and execute an incredible customer experience at every touch point of their experience at La Colombe.

During a typical shift, you will be flexing and moving about the café to meet business needs. You’ll spend most of your time on the floor, working side‑by‑side with the team to ensure seamless operations.

As part of your shift routines, you will be directing and coaching the team to meet business and customer expectations. You will be trained in all areas, and the Shift Lead role is a great opportunity for learning and development that may lead to other leadership positions within the company, such as Assistant Café Manager.

Responsibilities

What You’ll Do:

Hospitality

No matter where you are in the cafe, you will be able to pause and connect with our customers – that might be a hello, a thank you, or providing a recommendation, and these connections will always be a priority. We take food and coffee seriously, and you will be responsible for preparing and serving our cafe menu including working on the espresso bar. You will be the model and coach for the rest of the team on how to provide the best service for our customers.

Leader on Duty

You will set the tone for a shift while clearly communicating the expectations for the team and tasks to be completed. As a Shift Lead, you will coach employees in real time, provide constructive feedback, and facilitate ongoing training. You will also be responsible for directing employees, assigning and delegating tasks, ensuring all tasks are completed properly and correctly, and ensuring that our customers remain the focus throughout busy and slow periods alike. You will create a positive environment that allows for feedback delivered with candor and care, along with celebrating the wins. You’ll model best practices, resolve challenges, and encourage continuous learning for everyone.

Take Action

You will apply a practical approach and good judgment to tasks and issues. As needed, you must be comfortable taking on challenging situations and capable of reflecting on ways to improve next time. This is a leadership position that requires the use of independent judgement and comes with the responsibility and autonomy to make certain decisions, including but not limited to recommending corrective action and hiring decisions.

Creating a visually appealing experience within the retail space that includes stocking, receiving, organizing and resets in both front and back of the café. Execute shift inventory tasks including identifying potential issues, taking the first step to root cause and problem the issue, and communicating the actions and follow up to managers.

Requirements

• Lead by example to create a welcoming and safe work environment for our people and customers
• Educate and answer customer questions on La Colombe products - café and retail
• Ensure key business initiatives are offered to our customers
• Serve as a go‑to leader for cafe team members, in the absence of a manager, to assist and elevate as needed
• Assist in training new cafe team members during their onboarding, to build a top‑notch experience
• Complete cafe opening and closing tasks in detail and with thoroughness, serving as a trusted key holder
• Proven ability to coach, direct, and lead a team in a fast‑paced environment
• Experience in customer service, retail, or hospitality, with a strong focus on customer‑facing roles
• Demonstrates pride in being part of a team and consistently embodies the One Dove principles: Kindness, Respect, Deliciousness, Efficiency, and Cleanliness
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to motivate and support team members
• Ability to stand for extended periods and lift up to 50 lbs
• Must hold a valid Food Safety Manager Certificate
• Capable of frequent walking, bending, reaching, and twisting during shifts

Chobani is an equal opportunity employer. Chobani will not discriminate against any applicant for employment on any basis including, but not limited to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, military and/or veteran status, marital status, predisposing genetic characteristics and genetic information, or any other classification protected by federal, state, and local laws.

We offer up to 60 hours accrued PTO (which includes vacation and personal time off) and up to 60 hours accrued of FTO (which includes sick time).