Kitchen Manager

SSA Group; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off (up to 144 hours)

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) with 15% company match

On-Demand Pay Program

Meal Plan & Employee Discounts

Holiday pay

Job summary

SSA Group at Buffalo Zoo is seeking a capable Kitchen Manager to lead daily kitchen operations. You will oversee prep, staffing, safety, quality, and guest service standards across the BOH, ensuring efficiency and compliance with policies.

The ideal candidate has strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, with a proactive approach to problem-solving in a bustling hospitality environment at the Buffalo Zoo location.

Qualifications

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to articulate to leadership and staff.
• Proven leadership and team-building experience in a fast-paced kitchen.
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and HACCP practices.
• Ability to manage workload, schedule, and guest expectations in a hospitality setting.

Responsibilities

• Deliver warm, welcoming, and memorable experiences for every guest and client.
• Ensure kitchen is prepared and staffed for daily operations.
• Oversee kitchen duties, food safety, quality, availability, and guest service standards.
• Maintain safety logs, temperatures, rotation, and waste control.
• Ensure proper hygiene, handwashing, and use of gloves by staff.
• Lead knife handling safety training and supervise direct reports.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Food safety

Communication

Multi-tasking

Job description

SSA Group at Buffalo Zoo is looking for a talented Kitchen Manager to join our team!

Who are we

At SSA, we're Unapologetically Family — it's who we are and how we show up for each other, for our 90+ cultural attraction partners, and for the more than 100 million guests we welcome each year. We laugh, we celebrate our wins, and we learn from our mistakes together.

That family mindset shapes 452 Hospitality, the heartbeat of everything we do: creating special moments of hospitality that have a lasting impact, before, during, and after every guest visit. We bring together admissions, culinary, and retail— to shape one seamless guest experience across the full Hospitality Experience Journey.

Whether you're looking for your first job, building your career, or bringing years of experience to a new role, you'll be part of a team that values your ideas, supports your growth, and encourages you to make an impact. More than 54% of our leaders are promoted from within — proof that when we say we invest in people, we mean it.

Position Title

Kitchen Manager

Reports to

Food Service Operations Manager(s) and Executive Chef

Responsibilities

• Live out 452 Hospitality by delivering warm, welcoming, and memorable experiences for every guest and client.
• Ensure restaurant is adequately prepped and staffed (BOH) for daily operation.
• Oversees location kitchen duties, ensuring quickservice, food service, safety and quality, availability, merchandising, and guest service standards are all met and exceeded.
• Oversight of safety logs, including food temperatures, rotation, and waste.
• Ensures proper uniform, hygiene, handwashing, and glove use with staff.
• Responsible for supporting SSAfety training with knife handling skills, ensuring all direct reports display proper use of knife and slicers.
• Creates daily prep and items lists, delegating to employees as necessary.
• Actively helps to support operations and fill holes as necessary to ensure smooth service.
• Maintains a checklist of routine or daily cleaning tasks and ongoing projects or menu planning.
• Assigns associates to duties, coaching through projects daily tasks and guest interaction.
• Actively and efficiently responds to guest and client feedback, with report to the operations manager to ensure that any potential complaints are mitigate against further occurrence.
• Oversees personnel duties, including but not limited to:
• Training new employees and issuing performance reviews.
• Actively managing and issuing progressive documentation to coach and counsel the employee on performance with oversight from operations manager.
• Reports employee attendance and any hour discrepancies to the payroll department. Oversees break and rest break management for BOH employees.
• Inspects equipment and performs routine maintenance and cleaning as necessary.
• Assists team to ensure all tasks are completed in a timely manner through helping complete daily tasks as necessary.
• Communicates up to the Regional Executive Chef and Food Service Operations Manager in regard to any issues seen with daily service or quality.
• Works directly with restaurant supervisor(s) to ensure respective locations are operating to standard.
• Remains knowledgeable of and supervises in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal laws.
• Perform other tasks as deemed necessary.
• Maintain a clean, safe and organized work environment.
• Uphold and demonstrate a complete understanding of company policies and procedures.

Job Requirements

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to articulate to our General Manager and personnel.
• Proven leadership skills with an understanding of the importance of team building/development, while fostering partnerships with other branch managers.
• Exceptional problem solving/decision making skills combined with the ability to be organized.
• Demonstrates multi-tasking, detail, analytical, planning and leadership skills.
• Demonstrates the ability to remain flexible in a fast-paced environment.
• Ideal candidate is a team player, personable, professional, upbeat and energetic, takes initiative, uses tact and diplomacy.
• Computer knowledge and skill level for basic office functions.
• Physical ability to stand for extended periods and to move and handle boxes (10-35lbs) as necessary to operation, which entails lifting, and perform all functions as set forth above.
• Ability to work varied hours/days, including nights, weekends and holidays, as needed.

IDEA + Belonging

• Promote an inclusive & supportive approach within the Brand team, with networking continuing at all units.
• Focuses on removing barriers and empowering growth and opportunity for team members at all levels.
• Leads by example through Sustainability/Conservation efforts; displays knowledge of efforts in business application as well as giving adequate opportunity for teaching to unit staff as necessary.
• Engages with SSA/Unit in driving community effort through engagement activities and focus. On opportunities of giving back.

Previous Experience

• Three years supervisory experience.

Compensation And Benefits

• Full-Time, non-exempt, eligible for overtime pay.
• Paid Time Off plan: up to 144 hours based on tenure.
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and other voluntary benefits for you and your family; employee premiums applicable.
• Participation in a 401(k) program with a 15% company match (must be 21 years or older, eligible after one year of employment with 1,000 hours worked, available to enroll during Open Enrollment Periods).
• SSA Paid Benefit: Up to 120 hours of Paid Leave for qualifying reasons, including Parental Leave and your or your family’s serious medical conditions.
• Up to 40 hours Paid Bereavement.
• On-Demand Pay Program: Get access to a portion of earned wages before payday.
• Meal Plan & Employee Discounts where applicable
• Tuition Discount through Partnership College
• Holiday pay of 1.5× the regular rate is provided for hours worked on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day.
• Paid sick leave is provided in accordance with applicable state and local laws. Accrual rates, caps, and usage rules vary by location.

Locations include

Arizona, California, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C.. Colorado: Employees accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours per year, under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA). Maryland: Employees accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick and safe leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, as required under the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act. Washington: Employees accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, in accordance with the Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Time.

SSA Holdings and its affiliated companies, including SSA Group, A&F Souvenir, Cinchio Solutions, and Behavioral Essentials, are equal opportunity employers. We are committed to diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. A diverse team strengthens our collective impact.

All California Residents: By submitting your job application, you agree you have reviewed the SSA Group California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Candidate and Employee Privacy Notice ("Notice").

San Francisco Residents: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Please see the "Fair Chance Ordinance - Know Your Rights" documentfor more information. By submitting your job application, you agree you have reviewed the "Fair Chance Ordinance - Know Your Rights" document.