Food Service Manager/Chef

Job Summary

Reporting to the VP of Culinary Operations, the Food Services Manager/Chef holds primary responsibility for food service operations supporting PACE-RI programs, ensuring meals are nutritious, culturally responsive, and aligned with participant needs and regulatory requirements. This role provides hands-on culinary leadership, oversees daily kitchen operations, and supervises food service staff to deliver consistent, high-quality service in all 4 locations and home delivered meals. In addition to PACE-RI responsibilities, the position provides as needed operational and culinary support to programs operated by or affiliated with Canopy Care Solutions, including residential care settings to promote consistency, shared resources, and best practices across all programs.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Effectively oversees and leads food service operations supporting PACE-RI and Care Meals programs across all sites, ensuring meals are nutritious, safe, culturally responsive, and aligned with participant needs and regulatory requirements.
• Provides hands-on culinary leadership, including cooking and meal production as needed while supervising cooks, food preparers, and kitchen staff.
• Collaborates with the VP of Culinary Operations, Lead Cook and Registered Dietitians to plan, develop, and adjust menus, including nutritional analysis and documentation required for clinical and regulatory compliance.
• Participate in nutrition meetings and interdisciplinary discussions to review changes in participant needs. Plans and supports nutrition education initiatives for participants across all sites.
• Works closely with Social Work, clinical, and interdisciplinary team members to address food insecurity concerns and participant-specific dietary needs and makes recommendations to leadership to support access and nutrition.
• Plans, organizes, and oversees food service support for special events, celebrations, and program activities across PACE locations. N/A I ME EE
• Oversees food purchasing, inventory management, and distribution processes, including maintaining appropriate emergency food supplies across all sites.
• Oversees food deliveries to all PACE sites to ensure that they are efficient, expeditious and meet required temperature check and record-keeping procedures. Proactively resolves issues that might result in a compromise to quality.
• Ensures compliance with CMS dietary documentation requirements and Rhode Island Department of Health regulations, including proper cleaning and sanitation standards, food safety practices, temperature monitoring, menus on site, and required recordkeeping.
• Maintains accurate and timely departmental records related to food production, inventory, meal counts, income and expenses, and regulatory documentation.
• Prepares routine and timely operational and cost reports.
• Maintains quality food service operations in alignment with approved budget parameters.
• Makes recommendations regarding food equipment needs across all sites to VP of Culinary Operations.
• Attends Participant Advisory Committee meetings and collaborates with kitchen and service staff to ensure a positive and responsive dining experience for all participants.
• Collaborates with and supports Canopy Care Solutions residential and affiliated programs by providing operational, culinary, and leadership support as needed, including filling in to ensure continuity of food service coverage, consistency of standards, and uninterrupted service across all organizations.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with food service vendors and partners; addresses service issues promptly and ensures contractual and operational expectations are met.
• Ensures that the food stock meets adequate levels of nutrition and sustenance for participants.
• Utilizes menu and nutrition software to provide accurate nutritional information for residents, dietitians, and clinical teams.
• Prepares and submits weekly invoicing and routine operational and cost reports, including cost-per-participant data, to the VP of Culinary Operations.
• Addresses participant and customer preferences and grievances in a timely, respectful manner, utilizing strong customer service skills.
• Effectively collaborates with other departments in a professional, positive, and constructive manner to proactively problem solve any issues.
• Oversee all deliveries for MOWPP program and CARE MEALS programs to ensure that they are efficient, expeditious and meet required temperature check and record-keeping procedures. Proactively resolves issues that might result in a compromise to quality.
• Manages all CARE MEALS kitchen production weekly; provides weekly inventory and data reports to CARE MEALS Coordinator and VP of Culinary Operations.
• Coordinates all in house catering requests; providing confirmation of requests; timely setup and break down of events.
• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

Leadership & Communication

• Meets regularly one-on-one with staff to provide performance-based feedback and support professional growth.
• Conducts regular department meetings to communicate goals, deliverables, progress, and Senior Leadership updates.
• Attends and actively participates in management meetings; shares relevant information with other managers to support alignment and collaboration.
• Ensure clear, timely communication of organizational updates and departmental expectations.
• Demonstrates a proactive, growth-oriented mindset focused on continuous improvement over task completion.
• Maintains professionalism and fosters an approachable environment where staff feel comfortable seeking guidance.
• Models and promote company culture by encouraging engagement in organizational initiatives, events, and groups.

Staff Management & Development

• Delegates tasks and projects appropriately, fostering accountability and employee growth.
• Supports employee development by helping staff achieve goals identified in their evaluations.
• Provides role-specific orientation for new hires and arranges regular training in identified areas.
• Holds staff accountable for performance and conduct; collaborates with supervisors for consistency and fairness; promptly addresses issues with HR support when needed.
• Completes staff evaluations and competency assessments as required; submit thorough documentation to HR on time.

Operational Oversight

• Oversees timely, accurate completion of employee timecards.
• Monitors and manages staff PTO to ensure compliance with rollover deadlines; manages overtime within budget limits.
• Prepares and maintains departmental reports with key metrics, improvement areas, and learning opportunities based on data analysis.
• Identifies quality improvement (QI) activities, risk areas, and compliance concerns; contributes to projects and ensures alignment with departmental reporting.
• Maintains current and relevant departmental policies and SOPs in Policy Manager.
• Ensures assigned grievances are resolved thoroughly and on time; delegates as appropriate and completes required documentation promptly.

Organizational Engagement & Representation

• Actively supports recruitment efforts to ensure the selection of qualified candidates aligned with organizational needs.
• Promotes staff participation in educational initiatives; ensures compliance with required trainings.
• Supports the organization’s internship program by hosting interns, promoting placements, and/or engaging in other supportive activities with students within areas of accountability.
• Represents the organization to external stakeholders as needed and participates in organizational initiatives & events.