Dining Operations Manager

Covenant Retirement Communities & Covenant Care; United States; On-site; USD 67,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

PTO

Holidays

401(k) Matching

Gym Access

Tuition Assistance

Employee Assistance

Legal Services

Home/Auto Insurance

Discounts

Pet Insurance

Job summary

Covenant Living in nationwide senior living and home health services is seeking a Dietary Manager to lead a healthcare dining operation across a primary dining room and three satellite locations. You will oversee food preparation, service, sanitation, and regulatory compliance, while guiding a team of cooks and dietary aides to deliver high-quality, therapeutic meals that support resident well-being.

Responsibilities include menu collaboration with the Executive Chef and Registered Dietitian,

Qualifications

• Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) credential, or eligibility and commitment to obtain certification.
• Healthcare food service leadership experience preferred.
• ServSafe certification, or ability to obtain within timeframe.
• Understanding of therapeutic diets, nutrition services, and regulatory requirements.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and financial management skills.
• Passion for serving older adults and enhancing dining experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead a fast-paced healthcare dining operation across multiple locations with focus on safety and quality.
• Hire, train, schedule, and coach cooks and dietary aides to maintain high performance.
• Ensure meals meet therapeutic diets, physician orders, and resident preferences.
• Collaborate on menu development with Executive Chef and Registered Dietitian.
• Maintain HACCP compliance and survey readiness; manage inventory and budgeting.
• Foster a positive team culture and engage residents to improve dining experience.

Skills

Leadership

Hiring

Training

Scheduling

Coaching

HACCP

Food Safety

Budgeting

Regulatory Compliance

Therapeutic Diets

Nutrition Service

Education

High School Diploma

Associates Degree

CDM Licensure Preferred

ServSafe Certification

Tools

ServSafe

Job description

We Are Inspired to Serve. Join us! Lead and oversee all operations of our Healthcare Kitchen, serving a primary dining room and three satellite dining locations across Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Memory Care. The Dietary Manager ensures high-quality meal service, regulatory compliance, therapeutic diet adherence, food safety, budget management, and a positive team culture while supporting the nutritional needs and dining satisfaction of residents.

What You'll Do

Lead a fast-paced healthcare dining operation, overseeing food preparation, meal service, and kitchen sanitation to ensure an exceptional resident dining experience. Inspire, mentor, and develop a dedicated team of cooks and dietary aides through hiring, training, scheduling, and ongoing coaching. Foster a positive, team-oriented culture where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to do their best work. Ensure residents receive safe, nutritious, and appealing meals that align with therapeutic diets, physician orders, and individual preferences. Collaborate closely with the Executive Chef and Registered Dietitian for menu development and dining programs that balance nutrition, quality, and resident satisfaction. Champion food safety and regulatory compliance by maintaining HACCP standards and ensuring survey readiness under state, federal, CMS, and health department guidelines. Take ownership of inventory management, purchasing, and budgeting to maintain efficient operations and strong financial performance. Build meaningful relationships with residents by seeking feedback, addressing concerns, and continuously enhancing the overall dining experience.

What We're Looking For

• Certified Dietary Manager (CDM) credential, or eligibility and commitment to obtain certification.
• Proven leadership experience in food service management, with healthcare, senior living, or long-term care experience preferred.
• ServSafe certification, or the ability to obtain certification within an established timeframe.
• Understanding of therapeutic diets, nutrition services, and regulatory requirements within a healthcare setting.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and financial management skills.
• A passion for serving older adults and creating a welcoming dining experience that supports quality of life and resident well-being.

Why You'll Love This Role

This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact every day by leading a dedicated team that serves residents across a primary dining room and three satellite dining rooms supporting Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living Memory Care. You'll play a key role in creating exceptional dining experiences that contribute directly to resident health, happiness, and quality of life.

Required Degree

High school diploma

Preferred Degree

Associates' degree

Certificate(s)

Food safety certification, renewed every 3 years or as required. CDM licensure preferred; Company will sponsor the educational program to get the candidate licensed as a CDM within the first 12 months of employment.

Experience

• 2+ years of work experience in dining
• 3+ year of experience leadership is preferred
• Exposure to dining room operations and kitchen operations is preferred (Experienced in both front of the house and back of the house operations).

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY

• Ability to motivate and energize teams.
• Ability to effectively navigate difficult conversations.
• Ability to effectively interact with staff and residents in order to positively influence staff retention and resident satisfaction.
• Effectively assists in sourcing, interviewing, training, onboarding, and retention of staff.
• Build the bench of qualified staff in order to minimize disruption of service related to fluctuations in staff.

#Dining Compensation Pay Range

$67,295.00 - $93,610.25 per year

Reasonable Pay Estimate A reasonable estimate of the pay range for this position is $67,295.00 - $93,610.25 per year. There are numerous factors taken into consideration in determining the actual offered rate of pay, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, experience, skills, education, geographic location, and consideration of internal and external equity.

For full time employees, we offer a generous benefits package that includes:

• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• Employer paid group term life and disability
• Paid Time Off (PTO) & six paid holidays
• 403(b) with a 3% employer match
• Fitness center use at most facilities
• Life, AD'D Tuition assistance and scholarships
• Employee assistance program
• Legal services, home/auto insurance, discount purchasing program
• Pet Insurance

For more information about Covenant Living and CovenantCare at Home, please visit www.covliving.org or www.covenantcareathome.org. Covenant Living and CovenantCare Home Health and Hospice are equal opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, disability, marital status, pregnancy, protected veteran status, protected genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by local laws, regulations, or ordinances.

We believe we are a great place to work. Covenant Living & CovenantCare at Home are faith-based Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) & Home Health organization. From the establishment of our first community – Covenant Home of Chicago in 1886 – to becoming the fifth-largest not-for-profit CCRC sponsor in the LeadingAge Ziegler Top 150, our goal has been to provide outstanding care and services to senior adults. We believe we are inspired to serve. We create joy and peace of mind for residents and their families by providing a better way of life. These are the standards of behavior we hold ourselves to in serving our residents.

• Safety I learn & follow safety policies & procedures. I immediately report unsafe conditions for staff, residents, & guests and fix when possible. I protect residents, co-workers, & myself from unsafe conditions and practices by reporting unsafe conditions and fixing it or having it fixed.
• Courtesy I smile & acknowledge everyone that I encounter. I carry myself in a manner that projects positivity, approachability, & respectfulness. I address the concerns of others by actively listening & seeking solutions.
• Responsiveness I take initiative to respond to the needs of others in a timely manner to achieve resolution. I anticipate the needs of others and respond in a timely manner. I communicate to others who need to join me in responding to the needs of others. I return phone calls within 24 hours. I identify action steps and communicate them to all vested parties.
• Image I ensure our environment is professional, welcoming, & clean. I follow CL policies, procedures, & all regulations.

We believe in making a difference in other’s lives. We have approximately 3,200 employees serving more than 5,000 residents in our nationwide family of continuing care retirement communities and home health. Construction and development continues on several of our 14 campuses, ensuring ever more exciting opportunities for employees to serve residents.