Director, Dining & Auxiliary Services

American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University

Time Type:

Job Type:

FLSA Status:

Summary:

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Business Services, the Director of Dining and Auxiliary Services is responsible for providing day to day operational leadership of the University’s contracted and auxiliary services on all campuses. The Director develops and implements the operational strategy for dining and auxiliary services, including management of service delivery from vendors and dining construction projects. The Director will have primary responsibility for all food service and catering operations, including management of dining plans and management of contracted service providers. The Director regularly measures and monitors performance, program execution, food and beverage quality, customer experience, and asset maintenance/upkeep. In addition, the Director oversees auxiliary services daily operations, including vending, mail services, one card, and licensing, among others.

Essential Functions:

• Operations Management: Lead direct and indirect reports to ensure performance of duties and quality customer service. Visit and walk through all dining locations regularly to interact with customers and contractors. Visit and walk through other business operations as needed to interact with customers and assess the overall success of the operation. Incorporate best practices in sustainability, health, safety and food preparation, where appropriate in coordination with the campus partners and contracted service providers. Serve on University-wide committees and task forces as requested. Develop strategies to improve technology, enhance customer service, and improve service delivery through technology systems.

• Customer Experience Assessment and Oversight: Manage aspects of operations as they pertain to the customer experience, including working with staff and contracted service providers to ensure timely response to customer inquiries, resolution of customer complaints. Monitors all customer response data for performance trends and develops actions as necessary to continuously improve customer satisfaction. Develops appropriate SLAs and KPIs for each vendor agreement and measures performance. Actively seeks feedback with individual students, committees, and student organizations, as well as with faculty, staff, and key stakeholders -all toward looking at ways to improve the customer experience, drive satisfaction, and increasing revenue across all facets of dining and auxiliary services.

• Contract Administration: Continually review contracts to ensure the terms and conditions are being met. When applicable, oversee dining and auxiliary construction projects and work as a liaison between vendors and university partners. Support vendor relationships and serves as the front line liaison between vendors and campus stakeholders. Oversee equipment inventory and asset tracking for all auxiliary and dining assets and coordinator preventative maintenance, repair and service requests with service providers and campus partners.

• Revenue Growth Strategy, Innovation and Marketing: Investigate new services, technology and offerings to develop new revenue opportunities. Working with the AVP for Business Services, Auxiliary Technology team, service providers and campus stakeholders develop new business plans that harness innovative technologies, services and products to drive improvement in customer satisfaction, revenue and operating performance. Manage all aspects of the dining and auxiliary services marketing and communications plan for the year, including drafting and development of materials and collateral as needed.

• Supervision and Management: Oversee one direct report and two indirect reports across auxiliary services and one card operations. Develop staff development and performance plans.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Supervises the Associate Director of Auxiliary Services.

Competencies:

• Developing Plans.

• Driving Continuous Improvement.

• Building a Customer Focused Organization.

• Managing Talent.

• Acquiring and Analyzing Information.

• Championing Customer Needs.

• Collaborative Leadership.

• Thinking Broadly.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

• Full-time.

• Exempt.

• 35 hours/week.

• 4 day per week campus presence/1 day remote hybrid.

Salary Range:

• UPDATED: $125,000 - $140,000 annually.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree.

• 8-10 years of relevant experience.

Travel Required:

• Occasional travel may be required.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package including a 200% matching retirement plan, tuition benefits for full-time staff and their families, several leadership development certificates, and has been recognized by the American Heart Association as a fit-friendly worksite. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options.

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.

• Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.

• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

• American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

American University current employees must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.

Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email theworkline@american.edu.

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.