Culinary & Workforce Development Operations Manager

Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 56,250 - 68,750; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Paid sick time

Medical

Dental

Vision

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

A community services organization is seeking a Culinary & Workforce Development Operations Manager in Chicago. This role involves supervising a café and kitchen while training individuals with disabilities. Ideal candidates will have a high school diploma and management experience in hospitality. Offering a competitive salary of $62,500, with comprehensive benefits and a signing bonus of $2,500 for immediate start.

Qualifications

• 6 months to 1 year experience in hospitality or retail management.
• 6 months to 1 year experience in financial management and budgeting.
• 18 years or older.

Responsibilities

• Supervise and motivate café staff.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Track sales performance and control costs.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Organizational skills

Customer service

Teamwork

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Point-of-sale (POS) system

Microsoft Office

Job description

Culinary & Workforce Development Operations Manager

Join to apply for the Culinary & Workforce Development Operations Manager role at Ada S. McKinley Community Services, Inc.

Basic Function

Within our Ada S. McKinley Community Day Services location, the Workforce Development Operations Manager will play a key role in our Workforce Development Training Program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This position is designed to foster an inclusive, supportive environment across both our café and commercial kitchen, where participants can develop meaningful, real-world job skills. The Manager will supervise the Workforce Development Coordinator (Barista) and will be responsible for leading and mentoring a team of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, modeling strong customer service, kitchen operations, and barista skills. This role ensures smooth café operations, oversees the commercial kitchen, and supports participants while meeting business goals and managing budgets.

Reporting Relationship

Reports To: Director of Workforce Development & Supportive Employment

Supervises: Workforce Development Café Coordinator & Participants of the Workforce Development training program

Schedule and On-Call Responsibilities

Monday – Friday 7 AM – 3 PM. Full-Time

• Occasional evening or weekend shift for special events

Principal Duties/Responsibilities

• Supervise and motivate café staff, including hiring, training, and scheduling.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, and hygiene regulations.
• Track sales performance, control costs, and work toward revenue targets.
• Develop and implement promotional activities and products to attract and retain customers.
• Oversee cleanliness, ambiance, and overall presentation of the café.
• Create and plan menu.
• Ensure high quality food preparation & food safety.
• Ensure & address high level customer satisfaction.
• Model professionalism, patience, and inclusivity while mentoring participants.
• Encourage independence, self-confidence, and teamwork among team members.
• Prepare and serve high-quality coffee, tea, specialty beverages, and pastries.
• Demonstrate proper techniques for brewing, steaming, and presentation.
• Oversee daily inventory of supplies, ingredients, and equipment.
• Model positive communication and service etiquette for participants.
• Delegate tasks based on skill level and growth opportunities.
• Monitor performance, provide constructive feedback, and celebrate progress.
• Collaborate with program staff to track participant goals and skill development.
• Complete scheduling and record keeping.
• Support program improvements and contribute creative ideas to enhance training.
• Maintain regular and consistent attendance and punctuality.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or general education equivalent.
• 18+ years old.
• 6 months to 1-year experience in hospitality or retail management (cafe/restaurant preferred).
• 6 months to 1-year experience in financial management and budgeting.
• 6 months to 1-year experience using a point-of-sale (POS) system.
• 6 months to 1-year experience in youth programming.

Skills, Knowledge, And Abilities

• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple priorities.
• Ability to exercise leadership, provide directions and guidance, and present a positive image at internal and external meetings, trainings, activities, and events.
• Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and awareness to the client population served.
• Strong interpersonal, coaching, and communication skills.
• Ability to model patience, empathy, and professionalism in a teaching environment.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Ability to learn quickly.
• Ability to build relationships.
• Willingness to foster agency, department, and program-wide cooperation and teamwork through positive/constructive communication techniques.
• Ability to facilitate a positive, integrated, cohesive, and supportive person-centered approach and attitude among all program personnel.
• Demonstrated verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficient in computer skills and mastery of Microsoft Office applications.

Compensation

$62,500. Annually with signing bonus $2,500 for immediate start.

Benefits

• Paid vacation
• Paid Sick Time
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 403(b) Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term & short-term disability
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• Family medical leave
• Tuition reimbursement

Benefit options and eligibility vary by Fulltime and Part-time positions. Compensation within the posted salary range varies based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, and performance at the time of the offer.

Mental/Physical Demands

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to stand on feet for extended periods. Can deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, and memos. Ability to write correspondence. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee must often lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Conditions

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Work is performed primarily indoors, but it occasionally requires exposure to outside weather conditions. Employees are occasionally exposed to moving machinery parts, such as floor cleaning equipment and a shrink wrap tunnel, and to fumes from cleaning products.

NOTE

This description documents the general contents and requirements of the job. It should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities, or requirements. The principal duties and responsibilities are all essential job functions except those indicated with an asterisk (*). The abovementioned requirements represent the required knowledge, skill, and/or ability. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.