Senior Director, Campus Dining

Vanderbilt University

Nashville (TN)

On-site

USD 180,000 - 240,000

Full time

10 days ago

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Job summary

The Senior Director of Campus Dining at Vanderbilt University leads a self-operated residential dining enterprise serving approx. 2.5 million meals annually across 20 operations, with about 450 employees and $47 million in annual revenue.

The role drives culinary excellence, financial stewardship, workforce leadership, and student-focused dining innovations, aligning dining strategy with Vanderbilt’s residential mission and university priorities.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration, food service management, culinary management, or related field.
Progressive leadership experience in large-scale dining, hospitality, or auxiliary services.
Experience leading large organizations through multiple management levels.
Experience managing complex operating budgets with accountability for financial and operational performance.
Ability to lead workforce strategy and complex employee and labor-relations matters.
Strong understanding of high-volume food-service operations.
Demonstrated success leading organizational change, continuous improvement, and complex cross-functional initiatives.
Strong financial, analytical, organizational, communication, and decision-making capabilities.
Demonstrated ability to build effective relationships and influence employees, institutional partners, union representatives, students, and senior leaders.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership for Vanderbilt’s self-operated residential dining enterprise.
Translate university priorities into operating plans, performance expectations, resource strategies, and measurable outcomes.
Lead organizational and operational change, building alignment among leaders, employees, students, and university stakeholders.
Establish operating standards, performance measures, and management practices across Residential Dining.
Develop and monitor budgets, forecasts, labor plans, and financial targets with disciplined oversight.
Oversee workforce strategies addressing recruitment, retention, scheduling, overtime, training, and succession planning.
Partner with Finance, Procurement, and other university functions on sourcing strategies and major decisions.
Foster an inclusive, high-performing workplace culture and ensure alignment with student experience and safety.

Skills

Leadership

Financial management

Strategic planning

Communication

Labor relations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration, food service management, culinary management, or related field

Master’s degree in business administration, hospitality management, organizational leadership

Job description

Senior Director, Campus Dining

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Campus Dining provides strategic, operational, financial, and organizational leadership for Vanderbilt University’s self-operated residential dining enterprise and reports to the Chief Operating Officer of the Division of Operations and the Campus Network.

Campus Dining serves approximately 2.5 million meals annually across 20 operations, including four All-You-Care-To-Eat dining halls, three retail operations, four cafés, three markets, and six third-party dining partners. The program also provides daily lunches for The Acorn School and Vanderbilt’s childcare centers and supports a growing summer conference program. Campus Dining generates approximately $47 million in annual revenue through 6,300 meal plans and is supported by approximately 450 employees, including 50 management and professional staff and 400 hourly employees comprised of union-represented, student, and temporary employees.

The Senior Director is accountable for the overall performance of Campus Dining, including culinary and operational excellence, financial stewardship, workforce and labor leadership, food safety, nutrition and dietary accommodations, student experience, technology, facilities and capital planning, and continuous improvement. The position leads through a multi-layered management structure and is responsible for building the leadership capability, systems, culture, and operating discipline necessary to sustain a high-performing organization.

Campus Dining is an integral part of Vanderbilt’s residential experience. Dining spaces serve as community environments where students gather, build relationships, explore cultures and traditions, and develop a sense of belonging. The Senior Director ensures Campus Dining delivers an inclusive, innovative, and high-quality experience that supports student well‑being and advances Vanderbilt’s educational and residential mission.

The Senior Director connects the daily execution of a complex, high-volume hospitality enterprise with Vanderbilt’s longer-range strategies for dining, workforce, facilities, technology, and student experience. The role requires strong relationships across the university and direct, empathetic engagement with students and families, including sensitive matters involving food quality, service, dietary needs, meal‑plan options, and exemption requests. The Senior Director maintains clear communication with senior university leadership and provides visible, steady leadership through periods of organizational change and operational challenge.

Key Functions and Expected Performance

Strategic & Enterprise Leadership

Provide strategic leadership and executive-level oversight for Vanderbilt’s self-operated residential dining enterprise, translating university and Campus Dining priorities into operating plans, performance expectations, resource strategies, and measurable outcomes.

Connect day-to-day operational execution with long-range strategies for dining, workforce, facilities, technology, and student experience.

Establish operating standards, performance measures, accountability systems, and management practices that drive consistent execution across Residential Dining.

Evaluate organizational structure, operating models, staffing strategies, technology, and service delivery to ensure Dining is positioned to meet current and future university needs.

Lead significant organizational and operational change, building alignment among leaders, employees, students, and university stakeholders.

Serve as a senior member of the Campus Dining leadership team and contribute to broader divisional and university planning and priorities.

Benchmark Vanderbilt against leading collegiate dining and hospitality organizations and identify opportunities to strengthen Vanderbilt’s nationally recognized dining program.

Financial & Operational Performance

Maintain accountability for the financial and operational performance of an approximately $47 million annual residential dining portfolio, balancing financial stewardship with expectations for food quality, employee experience, student experience, accessibility, and service excellence.

Lead Residential Dining as a self-sustaining auxiliary, delivering financial performance sufficient to fund operations and capital investments without reliance on central university support.

Develop and execute annual operating budgets, forecasts, labor plans, financial targets, and multi-year financial strategies, with disciplined oversight of revenue, food and labor costs, overtime, productivity, purchasing, and operating expenses.

Establish and monitor key performance indicators for financial results, operational efficiency, service delivery, workforce productivity, and organizational health.

Evaluate the relationship among meal‑plan design, student utilization, pricing, operating capacity, food and labor costs, and financial performance. Vanderbilt’s residential meal‑plan model includes all students living on campus, including those in residence halls and Greek housing, with plan participation based on cohort year and value available across multiple dining operations.

Use financial, transaction, participation, workforce, and operational data to identify trends, manage risk, allocate resources, and drive continuous improvement.

Partner with Finance, Procurement, and other university functions on sourcing strategies, contract management, financial planning, and major business decisions.

Workforce, Labor Relations & Organizational Leadership

Provide organizational leadership for approximately 450 employees, including 50 management and professional staff and 400 hourly employees comprised of union‑represented, student, and temporary employees, through a multi-layered leadership structure.

Build, develop, and retain a high‑performing leadership team capable of managing complex, high‑volume operations, with clear expectations for leadership effectiveness, communication, accountability, performance management, and operational execution.

Provide senior operational leadership for labor‑management relations and the consistent administration of applicable collective bargaining agreements, maintaining constructive relationships while upholding performance and operational standards.

Partner closely with People Operations and Labor Relations on grievances, investigations, performance management, arbitration, collective bargaining, and other complex workforce matters.

Develop comprehensive workforce strategies addressing recruitment, retention, scheduling, overtime, attendance, training, productivity, employee engagement, succession planning, and organizational continuity.

Develop directors, managers, chefs, supervisors, and emerging leaders through coaching, performance management, succession planning, internal mobility, and career development.

Champion Vanderbilt’s Culinary Academy and other workforce‑development initiatives that strengthen culinary expertise, professional certification, job‑embedded learning, internal career pathways, and advancement opportunities.

Foster an inclusive, respectful, accountable, and service‑oriented workplace culture and ensure leaders have the skills and resources to effectively manage people, operations, labor relationships, financial performance, and student experience.

Culinary Excellence, Student Experience & Inclusive Dining

Provide strategic leadership for the culinary direction of Residential Dining, ensuring menus, concepts, and service models reflect Vanderbilt’s expectations for quality, variety, value, nutrition, innovation, and guest experience.

Partner with culinary leaders and chefs to develop globally inspired menus reflecting the cultures, backgrounds, preferences, and evolving expectations of Vanderbilt’s diverse student community while promoting responsible purchasing and thoughtful use of fresh and locally sourced ingredients.

Position Residential Dining as an integral component of Vanderbilt’s residential experience, creating environments that foster community, connection, belonging, and student well‑being.

Establish meaningful mechanisms for student voice—including advisory groups, surveys, focus groups, operational feedback, and direct engagement—and use feedback and utilization data to improve menus, service models, facilities, hours, programming, and dining experiences.

Partner with student organizations and university leaders to develop culinary programming that celebrates culture, tradition, student life, and culturally and religiously significant observances.

Provide senior leadership for nutrition, dietary accommodation, allergen management, and inclusive dining strategies, ensuring students with allergies, intolerances, medical dietary requirements, religious dietary practices, and other food‑related needs have meaningful access to safe, high‑quality options.

Coordinate the work of Dining’s registered dietitian, culinary leadership, Student Access, and other university partners to strengthen dietary accommodations and champion diverse offerings, including vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, and allergen‑conscious options.

Maintain rigorous allergen‑management practices, including ingredient controls, employee training, testing protocols, cross‑contact prevention, operational safeguards, and accurate communication of nutrition, ingredient, and allergen information.

Maintain a visible and responsive leadership presence within Vanderbilt’s residential community and engage directly and professionally with students and families regarding dining experiences and concerns.

Safety, Technology, Facilities & Long-Range Planning

Ensure dining operations meet or exceed applicable food safety, sanitation, public health, workplace safety, allergen safety, and regulatory requirements through effective controls, audits, training, documentation, accountability, escalation, and corrective action.

Maintain organizational readiness for emergencies, business interruptions, supply disruptions, and other events affecting dining operations.

Champion effective use of transaction systems, mobile ordering, nutrition platforms, operational technology, and data analytics to improve student convenience, accessibility, operational efficiency, and decision‑making.

Partner with Campus Dining and university technology teams to evaluate emerging technologies and ensure digital dining experiences evolve with student expectations while supporting reliability and operational effectiveness.

Provide operational leadership for long‑range dining facility planning, renovations, equipment replacement, and capital investment, developing multi‑year priorities for facility renewal, kitchen infrastructure, equipment, technology, and operational improvements.

Partner with Finance, Facilities, Campus Planning, and university leadership to ensure dining environments and capital investments support operational efficiency, safety, sustainability, accessibility, workforce needs, student experience, and future growth.

Represent Dining’s operational needs in major construction, renovation, and capital‑planning initiatives and assess capacity and infrastructure requirements as Vanderbilt’s residential population, meal‑plan participation, and service expectations evolve.

University Leadership & Partnerships

Build strong partnerships across Vanderbilt, including People, Culture and Belonging, Finance, Procurement, Facilities, Student Affairs, Housing and Residential Experience, Student Access, Risk Management, and other university functions.

Partner closely with the division’s shared‑services teams, including People Operations, Operational Excellence, and Communications and Marketing, to advance Dining’s workforce, operational, strategic, change‑management, and communications priorities.

Leverage shared‑services expertise and resources while maintaining clear ownership and accountability for Dining outcomes and organizational performance.

Represent Dining on university committees, institutional initiatives, planning efforts, and major projects.

Build trusted and effective working relationships with students, families, faculty, staff, union stewards and representatives, vendors, and external partners.

Serve as a visible and accessible senior leader within dining operations, maintaining meaningful engagement with managers and frontline employees and clear communication with senior university leadership.

Supervisory Relationships

The Senior Director of Campus Dining reports to the Chief Operating Officer of the Division of Operations and the Campus Network.

The Senior Director provides leadership and organizational oversight for approximately 450 employees, including 50 management and professional staff and 400 hourly employees comprised of union‑represented, student, and temporary employees, through a multi‑layered leadership structure.

The position is accountable for organizational design, leadership effectiveness, workforce planning, succession planning, employee engagement, performance management, and overall organizational capability across Campus Dining.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration, food service management, culinary management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and significant relevant experience.

Significant progressive leadership experience in large-scale dining, hospitality, food service, auxiliary services, or a similarly complex operating environment.

Demonstrated experience leading large organizations through multiple levels of management.

Experience managing complex operating budgets with accountability for financial and operational performance.

Demonstrated ability to lead workforce strategy and complex employee and labor‑relations matters.

Strong understanding of high‑volume food‑service operations, including labor management, food cost, productivity, operational controls, food safety, and service delivery.

Demonstrated success leading organizational change, continuous improvement, and complex cross‑functional initiatives.

Strong financial, analytical, organizational, communication, and decision‑making capabilities.

Demonstrated ability to build effective relationships and influence employees, institutional partners, union representatives, students, and senior leaders.

Preferred Qualifications

Master’s degree in business administration, hospitality management, organizational leadership, or a related discipline.

Senior leadership experience within a self‑operated higher education dining program or similarly complex institutional hospitality organization.

Significant experience leading a union‑represented workforce and administering collective bargaining agreements.

Experience leading an operation with annual revenue or expenditures exceeding $30 million and an organization consisting of several hundred employees and multiple management layers.