Food Service Trainer | Training & Operations

Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago; Great Lakes (IL); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Goodwill Great Lakes is seeking a Food Service Trainer to lead onboarding and development for Galley Food Service workers. You will deliver hands‑on training, ensure compliance with SOPs, and partner with Workforce Development to support AbilityOne programs.

The role includes nightly/weekend coverage and a focus on people development. Strong writing, training facilitation, and MS Office skills are required, along with ServSafe certification and a valid Real ID/driver's license.

Qualifications

• Experience in training and developing Food Service employees.
• Ability to facilitate orientation and ongoing training sessions.
• Strong writing and communication skills with attention to detail.
• ServSafe certification is required and maintained.
• MS Office proficiency, especially Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver on-the-job training for Galley Food Service hourly employees.
• Ensure training aligns with SOPs and contractual statements of work.
• Collaborate with Workforce Development and operational leadership.
• Lead change management and participate in improvement initiatives.
• Provide onboarding and ongoing training, including coverage during emergencies.

Skills

Training

Coaching

Facilitation

Writing skills

MS Office

Education

Two years of college or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Take your food service career in a new direction.

Are you an experienced food service professional who enjoys training, coaching, and helping others succeed? The Food Service Trainer at Goodwill Great Lakes is a hands‑on training role where you'll help onboard and develop Food Service employees while supporting safe, efficient, and high-quality galley operations.

In This Role, You'll

• Train and coach new and existing Food Service employees
• Lead hands‑on, day‑to‑day operational training
• Help employees build the skills they need to succeed
• Partner with Workforce Development and operational leadership
• Support Goodwill's AbilityOne program and mission
• Participate in process improvements and special projects
• Use your food service expertise in a role focused on people development and training

If you have a strong food service background and are ready to move beyond day‑to‑day operations into training and employee development, we'd love to hear from you.

The Food Service Direct Labor Trainer plays a pivotal role in the strategic implementation of organizational goals, providing comprehensive training for hourly Food Service Galley Employees at Goodwill Great Lakes.

Responsibility Level

The Food Service Direct Labor Trainer plays a pivotal role in the strategic implementation of organizational goals, providing comprehensive training for hourly Food Service Galley Employees at Goodwill Great Lakes. This position is responsible for the continuous development and execution of food service operations policies and procedures that ensure compliance with contract obligations and standard operational procedures. Engaging in projects and initiatives that span 3-18 months, this role oversees the training of all Food Service hourly employees, both during onboarding and as part of ongoing professional development. The work schedule is flexible and will include some nights, and weekends.

Principal Duties

• Develop and deliver expert on-the-job training to incoming and existing Galley Food Service hourly employees, with a focus on Food Service Workers, empowering them to realize their fullest potential while ensuring adherence to Food Service Operations contractual statement of work requirements.
• Ensure that Galley employees are thoroughly knowledgeable and adequately trained to meet all operational requirements, including Goodwill policies and Goodwill Great Lakes Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as it relates to serving sailors and recruits up to four (4) meals a day.
• Coordinate and partner with the Workforce Development Team to provide specialized training for our AbilityOne program participants.
• Strategically plan, execute, and oversee projects and improvement initiatives of moderate to high complexity pertaining to Galley functions. Lead change management efforts and actively participate in a leadership coalition that champions organizational transformation.
• Partner with the Process Review team to provide onboarding and training of all new employees.
• Serve as a backup for Process Review Evaluators in situations of emergency, illness, or PTO, stepping into leadership roles as necessary to maintain operational continuity.
• Project and Change Management: Effectively plans and manages own work to reliably complete routine job responsibilities and special assignments. May serve as a team member or subject matter expert on formal projects or within the department. Effectively engages in change affecting her/him, communicating appropriately with supervisor. Follows through on learning, skill building, and practice necessary to adapt to change.
• Project and Change Management: Effectively plans and manages own work to reliably complete routine job responsibilities and special assignments. Periodically serves as a team member or subject matter expert on formal or department projects. Effectively engages in change affecting her/him, communicating appropriately with supervisor. Follows through on learning, skill building, and practice necessary to adapt to change.
• Problem Solving: General supervision, regular review of work by manager or senior coworker. May be paired with senior team member for development purposes. Uses skills to solve problems of routine complexity; able to identify root cause, interpret data, and resolve issues.
• Technical Skills: Fundamental knowledge of professional principles and skills. Works in compliance with established procedures.
• Community Engagement: Serves as an ambassador for Goodwill in the wider community. Participates in volunteer opportunities as schedules and interest permit.
• Responsible for completing other duties/responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

• Two years of college education or experience equivalency, and a minimum of 1 year experience. Preferred 5 + experience in a large food service management capacity.
• Valid driver's license and Real ID required.
• Must successfully complete the ServSafe certification and maintain qualification.
• Exceptional writing skills with meticulous attention to detail (spelling, grammar, punctuation).
• Ability to facilitate training materials and deliver information during New Employee Orientation and in galley, day to day operational training.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office software, particularly Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Core Cultural Competencies

• Customer Focus: Independently anticipate and meet customer needs, while searching for ways to improve customer service. Internalize customer feedback, and follow up with customer to ensure problems are solved by providing innovative ideas to meet their future needs.
• Values Differences: Seeks out the diverse perspectives and talents of others, striving to work effectively with others who have different perspectives, backgrounds or styles. Behave with sensitivity towards differences in cultural norms, expectations, and ways of communicating. Challenge stereotyping or offensive comments.
• Communicates Effectively: Shares information and updates with others, while ensuring a clear, concise and professional communication through reports, documentation, written and other communications. Listens with interest to what others have to say.
• Situational Adaptability: Demonstrates flexibility of responses to different situations through adapting to the changing needs, conditions, priorities or opportunities. Monitors how well an approach is working to see if a change is needed, recognizing cues that suggest a change in approach or behavior is needed.
• Drives Results: Demonstrates a strong drive to achieve meaningful results, through driving tasks to successful completion and closure. Sets high standards for own performance, showing determination in the face of obstacles and setbacks.
• Ensures Accountability: Takes responsibility and ownership for successes and failures in own work. Monitors progress of performance and changes approach accordingly, following through on commitments.

Physical/Sensory Demands

Job requires the following: remain stationary for sustained periods of time; ability to move about to accomplish tasks; must be able to operate a computer or similar technology, which typically involves substantial motions of wrist, hands and/or fingers; visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing data, operating equipment or review thoroughness of work; ability to communicate with others and exchange information. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

When determining placement within the salary range for this position Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago considers education, experience, internal equity, market demands and other qualifying criteria. It is not typical for individuals to be hired at or near the top of the rage for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on facts and circumstances of each case.

Certain roles are eligible to participate in an incentive plan. Participation in this plan does not guarantee an incentive payment and is subject to the terms and conditions of the plan, which are subject to change.

In addition to compensation, we offer a competitive benefit program that may include medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, retirement plan, paid time off (PTO) and more. The specifics of each benefit package will vary depending on factors such as full or part time jobs, contracted, temporary, or other job categories.

Equal Opportunity Employer (SEW)