Catering Manager - Universities

Sodexo is seeking a Senior Catering Manager for University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire located in Eau Claire, WI. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is consistently rated among the top 10 public Midwestern universities and recognized nationally for quality academics. With the most beautiful campus in the UW System as your backdrop, you will have hundreds of different lanes to explore and make friendships to last a lifetime.

Blugold Dining creates exceptional experiences that exceed our customers’ expectations and supports a healthy learning environment. Each day, we strive to ensure the Quality of Life services we provide have a positive effect on our entire campus community. Efforts, like engagement of students through programming, nutritious healthy meals, a strong commitment to sustainability and a better tomorrow, reinforce our commitment to support the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.

We have many different dining locations on campus: Resident Dining in Riverview Café, Marketplace in Davies Center with multiple cuisines, Einstein Bros. Bagels in Centennial Hall, The Cabin serving Starbucks Coffee and much more. We take great pride in the many ways in which we enhance Quality of Life on our campus.”

The successful candidate will:

• identify customer needs and expectations;
• ensure that Sodexo and customer goals are aligned and met;
• educate and develop rapport with clients and promote partnerships;
• promote a customer/client centered culture that strives to exceed customer and client needs;
• coordinate all unit catering initiatives to drive sales growth and track results.
• maintain and improve service level resulting in increased customer satisfaction;
• ensure all HACCP standards are followed;
• demonstrate resourcefulness and quick responsiveness to client and customer requests.

We are looking for candidates who:

• Have a work history demonstrating strong employee engagement leadership skills, as well as previous supervisory experience and the ability to work collaboratively
• Manage multiple priorities, demonstrate professional communication skills, and a passion for high level customer service
• Prioritize tasks and exhibit flexibility to take on additional responsibilities as needed
• High volume catering management experience
• Extensive formal training in catering services, with particular emphasis on customer service, event planning and presentation, and event management
• Strong focus on food quality and presentation as well as high end catering experience
• Previous success managing a university campus account
• Strong leadership skills, computer skills, and culinary knowledge
• Technical competence in unit financial management, pricing, menu development and will be responsible for the training and development of front line hourly employees
• Exceptional time management skills and will be able to juggle multiple priorities. 

Position Summary

Oversight of catering activities for a small to mid-size location/unit with $500k-$1M in managed catering volume. Medium complexity with a high degree of hands-on involvement in catering events. Strong client interaction.

Key Duties:

• Oversight of Sodexo resources, recipes, systems and use of catering programs to direct daily catering events including; food production, inventory, product deliveries, invoices, and procurement operations.
• Oversight of the sales process for catering and/or conference service events. Works with clients and customers to design events.
• Ensures employees have appropriate equipment, supplies and resources to perform their job, and meet goals, cost controls and deadlines as assigned.
• Establishes and maintains a safe work environment including both food and physical safety in order to comply with all regulatory and Sodexo standards in various environments. Drives the Zero Harm mindset.
• Complies with budget requirements by controlling costs (i.e. labor, inventory, equipment, materials) and making adjustments when necessary
• Supervises employees by delegating, assigning and prioritizing activities, and monitoring operating standards

Qualifications & Requirements

Basic Education Requirement – High School Diploma or GED

Basic Management Experience – 1 year