Chick-fil-A Kitchen Manager

Cooper Connect; Jefferson City (MO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Paid Vacation

401K

Tuition Discounts

Never work Sundays

Overtime Available

Job summary

Chick-fil-A Jefferson City is seeking an experienced Kitchen Director to lead all back-of-house operations in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. This senior role requires hands-on leadership, food safety discipline, and the ability to coach a diverse kitchen team.

You will design systems that improve speed, accuracy, and guest experience, build accountability, and mentor restaurant leaders to deliver exceptional service aligned with Chick-fil-A's values.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of restaurant management experience.
• Experience leading a high-volume kitchen or food service operation in a Director or Manager position.
• Strong communication skills and ability to coach diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead all kitchen operations, including scheduling and labor stewardship.
• Ensure food safety standards are embedded in team culture.
• Manage food quality, costs, throughput, and speed of service.
• Maintain a positive, respectful, professional work environment.
• Provide ongoing coaching and development for junior kitchen leaders and team members.
• Troubleshoot operational challenges and make timely decisions.
• Oversee inventory management, facilities coordination, and related operations.
• Drive continuous improvement in systems, processes, and team performance.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

High-volume operations

Team development

Food safety

Operational excellence

Communication

Servant leadership

Job description

• Owner/Operator, Dennis Stevens, is a highly intentional leader who brings real-world senior director experience into the restaurant. His leadership style is built on accountability, professionalism, analytical decision-making, and genuine relationship-building.
  
• This restaurant offers a clear growth pathway for both team members and leaders, with each step providing increased responsibility and meaningful leadership development.
  
• Dennis’ vision is to be a daily example of service, excellence, professionalism, and integrity in all that his team does. His mission: “We don’t serve great food, we create experiences”, drives everything, as he builds a restaurant that leaves a lasting impact on both guests and the community.
  
• This store’s annual sales volume is around 10 million.
  
• Chick-fil-A has the highest customer satisfaction scores for 10 consecutive years
  
• Chick-fil-A is the fastest growing Quick Service Restaurant in the nation
  
• Chick-fil-A is on Forbes Lists for Best Customer Service (2025), Customer Experience All Stars (2024), America's Dream Employers (2025), Best Brands For Social Impact (2023), Best Employers for Women (2023), America's Best Large Employers (2023), The Halo 100 (2022)
  
• Chick-fil-A has awarded $191 million in team member scholarships since 1973, with $26 million total awarded to 14,000+ winners in 2024
  

Value and Appreciate Employees

• Health Insurance
  
• Paid Vacation
  
• 401K
  
• Tuition Discounts at Over 100 Colleges
  
• Never work on Sundays
  
• Overtime Available
  

We are seeking an experienced and high-capacity Kitchen Director to join our leadership team at Chick-fil-A Jefferson City. This senior leader will oversee all back-of-house operations in a fast-paced, high-volume restaurant environment, ensuring excellence in food safety, quality, team performance, and operational execution. This is a senior level position and is a leader of leaders while still being hands on.

This role is critical to our success—you will directly lead, manage, coach, and develop our kitchen leadership team and team members while building systems that support speed, accuracy, and exceptional guest experience.

Your Impact

• Lead all kitchen operations, including scheduling, labor stewardship, production, and daily execution
  
• Ensure food safety standards are consistently met and embedded in team culture
  
• Manage food quality, food costs, throughput, and speed of service
  
• Maintain a positive, respectful, and professional work environment
  
• Provide ongoing coaching and development for junior kitchen leaders and team members
  
• Troubleshoot operational challenges and make confident, timely decisions
  
• Oversee inventory management, food truck operations, and facilities coordination
  
• Drive continuous improvement in systems, processes, and team performance
  
• 5 years of Restaurant Management Experience
  
• Prior experience leading a high-volume kitchen or food service operation in a Director or Manager position
  
• Strong communicator capable of coaching diverse teams and handling challenging situations with professionalism
  
• Strategic thinker with a continuous improvement mindset
  
• Highly dependable, results-oriented, and detail-focused
  
• Ability to thrive in a team environment and lead by example
  
• High integrity, strong character, and a servant-leadership approach
  
• Passion for Chick-fil-A's values