Position: Food Service Director
Role: The primary purpose of the Food Service Director (FSD) is to provide leadership, direction, and management of Camp Arcadia’s food service department. The FSD will ensure that Camp’s meals and meal experience continues to be a highlight of the Camp Arcadia experience. Excellence in food quality, preparation and service are expected. The mealtime at Camp Arcadia is crucial to carrying out Camp’s mission to foster the renewal of the whole person – spirit, mind, and body – amid the beauty of God’s creation and in fellowship with other Christians. While the Camp Arcadia season is from the end of May through the end of October, the FSD is a year-round position. The FSD will work in the Camp office in the off-season. The FSD will work with the management team in the overall management and leadership of Camp Arcadia.
Reports to: The Food Service Director is a member of the management team and reports to the Executive Director.
Skills & Characteristics:
Education: Bachelor’s level degree, culinary degree (or equivalent experience).
Management & Leadership: Most of our seasonal kitchen staff come in with little or no kitchen experience so it is vital that the FSD has the ability to train, supervise and mentor college-aged staff members in addition to staff of all ages during the fall season.
Quality Control: We have a history of exceeding our guest expectations and have redefined what our guests think of when they think of “camp food”, so a desire and the ability to produce a very high quality meal experience is vital.
Budget Management: Experience with managing a food budget – ordering, tracking expenses, using Excel spreadsheets, databases, etc.
Other characteristics we are looking for include: hard-working, creative, flexible, servant-hearted and a team-player. The FSD must also appreciate and support Camp Arcadia’s mission.
Office Skills: In the off-season the FSD will be serving in the office, assisting with registering guests, hiring summer staff, and other office tasks like answering phones.
Supervisory Responsibilities: The Food Service Director supervises a 16 member summer season college-aged staff. Four of those staff are in kitchen leadership positions. During the fall season there are approximately 12 – 16 people to supervise in the kitchen.
Compensation Package: Salary, health, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement benefits, vacation, paid holidays, Meals are provided for the staff members and immediate family during the summer when guests are provided with meals. You are eligible for the sabbatical program. Housing is not provided.
Work Flow: This is a general idea as to the hours and days worked throughout the year. The actual hours and days might vary. The Food Service Director will start working in the kitchen in early May and work through early November. During this time they usually work 5 – 7 days a week with 10 – 14 hours a day. At the start of the season on Memorial Day Weekend there are not many days off since we are training staff. Once the family retreat season begins in late June the FSD normally has two days off a week (Sunday & Wednesday) through the middle of August. As the college staff return to college in the middle of August we bring in fall staff to fill their spots. Depending on their skills, experience, and the number of staff, the FSD’s days off and hours will vary. During our fall season we mostly serve guests on the weekends, so our days off are during the week. Once the kitchen is closed in early November the FSD will move to the office where they will work 5 days a week and around 32 hours a week. The FSD normal work day in the off-season is 9 – 4 pm and 9 – noon on Friday. This continues until early May when they need to return to the kitchen to prepare for the start of the season.
Major Responsibilities:
Manage the Camp Arcadia kitchen and dining room including:
- Satisfy all requirements of applicable rules and laws for foodservice
- Plan all menus for Camp Arcadia
- Develop and implement system for effective planning and delegation of all food service work
- Help hire foodservice staff
- Train summer and fall season foodservice staff and manage them
- Inventory and order all food and supplies for foodservice
- Prepare food service budget
- Work with caretakers to maintain all kitchen equipment
- Maintain kitchen and dining room sanitation and professional atmosphere
- Participate in professional development.
- Create several new meals each season
- Communicate frequently with guests of all ages
- Plan for and accommodate guests with restricted diets including vegetarians and vegans, allergies of all types, etc.
- Involved in creating and implementing Camp’s strategic plan with staff and board.
- In the off-season, the FSD will be serving in the office assisting with registering guests, hiring summer staff, and other office tasks like answering phones.
- Other duties might be added or changed depending on the person’s skills and desires.
