Hospitality Excellence Manager

Compass Group USA; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Restaurant Associates in the United States seeks a Hospitality Excellence Manager to elevate guest experiences across food and beverage operations. You’ll drive activations, merchandising, and hospitality standards, reporting to the District Manager and collaborating with the Regional Experience Director.

You will lead a team of food service managers and hourly staff, develop experiences that wow guests, and oversee CARE hospitality program with a focus on culture, innovation, and measurable

Qualifications

• 5+ years in food/beverage/hospitality focusing on guest experiences.
• Proven track record in developing and implementing guest experience strategies.
• Strong hospitality standards and best practices.
• Ability to work independently and align stakeholders across teams.
• Relentless passion for food/beverage and customer service excellence.
• Organized, with ability to plan ahead and adapt to change.
• Problem-solving mindset with strategic, concrete plans.

Responsibilities

• Implement regional strategies to deliver best-in-class food, service and hospitality experiences.
• Own the events calendar, activations, and content for daily hospitality experiences.
• Manage relationships with site leadership, operations, marketing, and client groups.
• Lead regular onsite training to ensure exceptional guest interactions.
• Support deployment of new technologies and digital experiences in operations.
• Create quarterly storytelling reporting on accomplishments and results.
• Foster a positive, empowering work environment and team pride.

Skills

Guest experience leadership

Hospitality standards

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Communication

Job description

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Become part of Restaurant Associates, the industry’s leading provider of dining and event catering for some of the nation's most prestigious museums, performing arts centers and corporations!Voted Glassdoor's Employee Choice Awards- Best Places to Work, This is R/A !

Job Summary

The Hospitality Excellence Manager role is responsible for cultivating a guest-centric culture that brings creativity, convenience, enjoyment, and a sense of community to our food program. As the Hospitality Excellence Manager, you'll be at the forefront of driving the local transformation of our food and beverage operations through engaging activations, enhanced merchandising, and best-in-class hospitality.

The Hospitality Excellence Manager will collaborate with and support a team of food service managers and hourly associates, guiding them toward excellence in hospitality, culinary innovation, digital engagement, and design. This role will report to the District Manager and work closely with the Regional Experience Director to spearhead the development and launch of our inaugural Experience Team, ensuring that every guest interaction, from the moment a guest enters to the time they leave, is positive, memorable, and aligned with the Food Program, Compass, and RA's brand image.

Job Description

The Great Things You Will Do

1. Implement regional strategies and identify new opportunities to deliver best-in-class food, service, and hospitality experiences, such as:

• Conduct weekly (or as needed) observational walkthroughs to ensure service standards in all food and beverage service areas are being met. Discuss findings with the GM, and follow‑up actions led by the Hospitality Manager (HM).
• Own the food program pop‑up and experiential events calendar and programming to deliver "wow factor" experiences.
• Manage the relationship with key stakeholder groups at the site level (e.g. Employee Resource Groups, Sustainability sub-committees, etc.) and support their objectives through unique food experiences.
• Be responsible for implementing client‑led, regional, or corporate initiatives throughout the year.
• Own the content creation of the daily "hospitality" experience for our employees, in collaboration with the GM and onsite management team.
• Monitor and evaluate hospitality performance at the site, while maintaining regional alignment; program manage the company's internal "CARE" hospitality program for your locations, creating messaging, novel engagements, and intentional ways to enhance our internal hospitality.

2. Manage the merchandising and visual experience of physical spaces to deliver an inviting and appealing user experience, including:

• Sensory experiences (music, scent, lighting, where appropriate)
• Signage and wayfinding
• Merchandising and visual enhancements
• Develop seasonal and cultural celebration visual styling toolkits for your location
• Collaborate with site leadership and operations teams to reconfigure and revamp our spaces, ensuring that flow, accessibility, convenience, and fun are all considered.

3. Relationships & Project Support:

• Work in partnership with key client groups to understand their needs and develop experiences that meet those needs.
• Partner with site managers, cafe managers, and marketing to drive strategic initiatives.
• Foster a culture of innovation by presenting industry trends, new concept ideas, and best practices in food and beverage on a quarterly basis to site and regional leadership.
• Lead regular training programs onsite to ensure teams are consistently delivering exceptional customer interactions, handling feedback effectively, and exceeding guest expectations.
• Support the Digital Experience and marketing team with deploying new technologies into the operation.
• Create quarterly storytelling reporting on accomplishments and results to share with internal and client leadership.
• Foster a positive and respectful work environment and work with teams to drive empowerment and pride in delivering exceptional food experiences.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications

Our Ideal Candidate:

• 5+ years of experience in the food, beverage, or hotel industry, with a focus on guest experiences.
• Proven track record of success in developing and implementing strategies to improve the guest experience.
• Strong understanding of hospitality standards and best practices.
• Ability to work independently without operating in silos. Exhibit strong ability to bring in key stakeholders as needed.
• Relentless passion for food and beverage and a commitment to providing exceptional customer service.
• Organized and enjoys future planning while remaining agile and adjusting plans as our environment changes.
• Ability to problem‑solve and tackle problems with objectivity and a “can‑do” attitude. Ability to think strategically and provide concrete plans and solutions.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills: capability to clearly convey program vision, expectations, and feedback. Encourage active listening to foster a space where new ideas are welcomed.
• Emotional Intelligence: drive self‑awareness of the team's behaviors and the impact it has on the surrounding community. Model empathy and authenticity amongst the team.
• Motivation and inspiration: understand what motivates the team and how to encourage them to drive their engagement and hospitality.

Restaurant Associates is a member of Compass Group USA

Compass Group is an equal opportunity employer. At Compass, we are committed to treating all Applicants and Associates fairly based on their abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by law.

Qualified candidates must be able to perform the essential functions of this position satisfactorily with or without a reasonable accommodation. Disclaimer: this job post is not necessarily an