Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Position Type: Full-Time, Exempt
Salary Range: $60,000–$70,000 annually, based on experience
Bonus Eligible: Yes
Position Summary
We are seeking an experienced Director of Dining Services to lead dining operations within a skilled nursing community in Colorado Springs. This position requires a leader who brings a strong combination of healthcare food service knowledge, culinary and operational expertise, regulatory awareness, and resident-centered hospitality.
The Director of Dining Services is responsible for the overall performance of the dining program, including food production, clinical and therapeutic diet execution, resident meal service, team development, financial performance, food safety, sanitation, regulatory compliance, and resident satisfaction.
This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position. The successful candidate must understand the unique requirements of dining within a skilled nursing and healthcare environment, while also recognizing that dining is an important part of each resident's quality of life.
Healthcare & Clinical Dining Leadership
- Lead dining operations in accordance with skilled nursing and healthcare food service requirements.
- Demonstrate a strong understanding of therapeutic diets, physician-ordered diets, food allergies, texture-modified diets, and thickened liquids.
- Ensure diet orders and menu modifications are accurately communicated and executed throughout the dining operation.
- Partner closely with Registered Dietitians, Nursing, Clinical Leadership, and other interdisciplinary team members to support resident nutritional needs.
- Understand the importance of accurate tray service, meal identification, diet compliance, and appropriate substitutions.
- Support residents with varying levels of acuity, cognitive ability, and physical limitations while maintaining dignity and choice.
- Maintain strong processes for food safety, sanitation, temperature control, infection prevention, and documentation.
- Ensure the department is prepared for state and federal surveys, inspections, and audits.
- Respond quickly to identified compliance concerns and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Resident Experience & Hospitality
- Maintain a visible presence throughout the community and during meal service.
- Build relationships with residents and understand individual preferences whenever possible.
- Conduct regular resident visits and table touches to gather feedback.
- Balance clinical and dietary requirements with resident choice, dignity, preferences, and quality of life.
- Respond promptly and professionally to resident and family concerns.
- Participate in Resident Council and other community meetings as appropriate.
- Lead service recovery and ensure concerns are followed through to resolution.
Operational & Culinary Leadership
- Direct daily food production, tray service, dining room service, and overall dining operations.
- Ensure consistent food quality, presentation, portioning, temperatures, and service standards.
- Maintain strong culinary standards while meeting therapeutic and texture-modified diet requirements.
- Oversee purchasing, receiving, inventory, sanitation, and food safety.
- Ensure accurate production based on census, diet orders, and resident needs.
- Maintain clean, organized, safe, and survey-ready kitchen and dining environments.
- Identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, consistency, and resident satisfaction.
Team Leadership & Accountability
- Recruit, train, coach, develop, and retain dining team members and supervisors.
- Establish clear expectations and hold team members accountable for food safety, diet accuracy, service, attendance, and performance.
- Ensure employees understand the importance of following diet orders and healthcare dining procedures without exception.
- Lead ongoing training related to sanitation, therapeutic diets, texture modifications, resident rights, hospitality, and service standards.
- Foster a culture of teamwork, ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Develop supervisors and frontline associates to create a strong and sustainable dining team.
Financial Management
- Manage food, labor, supplies, inventory, and departmental operating expenses.
- Monitor departmental budgets and key performance indicators.
- Maintain appropriate staffing and labor productivity based on operational and resident needs.
- Manage purchasing and inventory controls.
- Identify efficiencies while ensuring cost decisions do not compromise resident safety, regulatory compliance, food quality, or service.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is an experienced healthcare or skilled nursing dining leader who understands both the clinical responsibilities and hospitality expectations of senior living food service.
This individual should be:
- Knowledgeable about skilled nursing and healthcare dining regulations.
- Comfortable working with therapeutic and texture-modified diets.
- Experienced partnering with Dietitians, Nursing, and Clinical Leadership.
- Confident with survey preparation and regulatory compliance.
- A visible, approachable leader who enjoys interacting with residents.
- A self-starter who takes ownership of the operation.
- Comfortable establishing expectations and holding employees accountable.
- An effective coach who enjoys training and developing others.
- Financially disciplined and comfortable managing labor, food costs, inventory, and budgets.
- Organized and able to manage the documentation and attention to detail required in a healthcare environment.
- Passionate about creating a dining experience that supports both resident safety and quality of life.
QualificationsRequired
- Minimum 5 years of progressive food service management experience.
- Previous dining leadership experience within Skilled Nursing, Long-Term Care, Healthcare, or a comparable clinical food service environment.
- Strong working knowledge of therapeutic diets, texture-modified diets, food allergies, diet orders, and healthcare food service requirements.
- Demonstrated understanding of healthcare regulatory compliance, sanitation, food safety, and survey readiness.
- Experience collaborating with Registered Dietitians, Nursing, and other clinical partners.
- Experience managing supervisors and frontline dining associates.
- Demonstrated experience managing food costs, labor, budgets, purchasing, and inventory.
- Proven ability to coach, develop, and hold teams accountable.
- Strong communication, organization, documentation, and interpersonal skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and food service management systems.
- ServSafe Manager Certification or ability to obtain within the required timeframe.
Preferred
- Associate's degree in Hospitality Management, Food Service Management, Culinary Arts, Nutrition, Business Administration, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
- Five or more years of professional culinary or high-volume healthcare food service experience.
- Experience supporting state and federal healthcare surveys.
- Experience with skilled nursing resident meal service and clinical dining systems.
- Experience with IDDSI or other standardized texture-modified food and liquid guidelines.
- Experience working with Resident Councils and family feedback processes.
What Success Looks Like
Success in this role will be demonstrated through:
- Accurate execution of prescribed and therapeutic diets.
- Strong regulatory and survey performance.
- Consistent food safety and sanitation results.
- High resident and family satisfaction.
- Strong food quality and meal service execution.
- Effective collaboration with Nursing, Clinical Leadership, and Registered Dietitians.
- Development and retention of a strong dining team.
- Effective food and labor cost management.
- Visible leadership and meaningful resident engagement.
- A culture of accountability, hospitality, safety, and continuous improvement.
Our Service Philosophy
In skilled nursing, dining is both a healthcare service and an important part of a resident's daily quality of life. We believe successful dining programs do both exceptionally well—protecting resident safety and meeting clinical needs while creating meals and experiences residents genuinely enjoy.
We are looking for a leader who understands that balance and can build a team that delivers it consistently.
Pay: $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Opportunities for advancement
- Professional development assistance
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
