Are you an experienced kitchen professional who loves great food, enjoys working with people, and takes pride in running a clean, organized, and positive kitchen?
We’re looking for a Kitchen Manager to lead the daily kitchen operations at a private school serving 300+ children. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who wants the pace and responsibility of a professional kitchen without the nights, weekends, and restaurant schedule.
You’ll play an important role in making sure hundreds of students receive delicious, nutritious lunches and snacks every school day—and that the kitchen runs smoothly from prep through cleanup.
Why You’ll Love This Job
- 30–35 hours per week
- Monday–Friday school schedule
- Summers off
- School holidays and scheduled school breaks off
- No late-night restaurant shifts
- A positive, team-oriented work environment
- The opportunity to build relationships with students and school staff
- A hands-on leadership role where your experience and ideas matter
About the Role
As Kitchen Manager, you’ll be responsible for keeping the kitchen running efficiently and maintaining a high standard of food quality, cleanliness, organization, and service.
This is a hands-on management position. You’ll lead by example, jump in wherever needed, and make sure the entire team is prepared to deliver lunch and snacks on time every day.
You will:
- Oversee daily food preparation and meal service for 300+ students
- Cook and prepare food in a professional kitchen environment
- Organize daily prep and assign responsibilities to kitchen staff
- Manage, train, support, and motivate team members
- Keep the kitchen moving efficiently during busy service periods
- Help plan menus, quantities, portions, and production
- Order and receive food and kitchen supplies, as needed
- Monitor inventory, food usage, portion control, and waste
- Use basic math skills to accurately calculate quantities and portions
- Maintain excellent standards for food quality and presentation
- Ensure proper food handling, storage, temperatures, and sanitation
- Maintain a spotless, organized, and well-run kitchen
- Follow allergy and special-dietary protocols carefully
- Communicate positively and professionally with school administrators, teachers, staff and students
- Step in and help with prep, dishes, cleaning, or service whenever needed
The Person We’re Looking For
The perfect candidate is more than a great cook. You’re a leader, a problem solver, and someone who genuinely enjoys being part of a school community.
You are:
- Experienced working in a professional kitchen
- Comfortable managing or leading a kitchen team
- Fast, efficient, and able to move swiftly when the kitchen gets busy
- Calm under pressure and able to keep a positive attitude when things don't go according to plan
- Highly organized and able to prioritize multiple tasks
- Confident with measurements, quantities, portions, and kitchen math
- Physically capable of standing for extended periods and lifting/moving heavy items
- Someone who notices when something needs to be done and takes ownership
- A strong communicator who knows how to give direction while treating people with respect
- Patient, friendly, and comfortable being around children
- Someone who believes that cleanliness isn't optional—it’s part of doing the job well
- A team player who is willing to roll up their sleeves and do whatever is needed to get the job done
- Someone who brings energy, warmth, and a positive disposition to work every day
Food Safety & Cleanliness
When you're feeding more than 300 children every day, there is no room for shortcuts.
We’re looking for someone who takes food safety and sanitation seriously and understands the importance of:
- Proper food handling and storage
- Temperature control
- Preventing cross-contamination
- Allergy awareness and preventing cross-contact
- Maintaining clean and sanitized workspaces
- Proper labeling and organization
- Following established food-safety procedures
- Leaving the kitchen cleaner and more organized than you found it
- Food Manager/Food Safety certification and background check are required.
What Success Looks Like
At the end of the day, a successful Kitchen Manager will have a kitchen that feels organized, calm, clean, and prepared.
Lunch is served on time. The food is delicious. The team knows what they're doing. Supplies are where they belong. Safety and cleanliness standards are being met. And the students and staff feel welcomed and well cared for.
Most importantly, you’ll create a kitchen culture where people enjoy coming to work and take pride in what they do.
Schedule & Compensation
Schedule: 30–35 hours per week, Monday–Friday, following the private school calendar, 8am-2pm
Summers: Off
Compensation: $25/hour
If you’re an experienced kitchen professional who is ready for a rewarding leadership role, loves working with people, and wants a school-year schedule with summers off, we’d love to hear from you.
Come lead a kitchen where what you do every day makes a difference in the lives of hundreds of children.
Pay: $25.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Flexible schedule
- Food provided
- Paid training
- Professional development assistance
Work Location: In person
