Culinary Services Leader (Executive Chef) at Wellstar Health Systems in Marietta, Georgia

Job Description:

Facility: Kennestone Hospital



Job Summary:

Culinary Services Leader (Executive Chef)



Responsibility for a large group of FTEs (up to 90 FTEs/120 positions across all shifts) and oversight of multi-unit Nutrition & Food Service operations for patients, employees, and visitors in a multi-faceted and high-volume (up to 12,000 meals daily) complex healthcare environment. Kennestone is a tertiary medical center with Level 1 trauma designation, a high-volume Emergency Department, behavioral health population, pediatrics, labor & delivery, and various critical care services. The nutrition and dining needs for patients, staff, and visitors is dynamic and demanding. Primarily responsible for directing the culinary operations and functions for the campus, including, but not limited to: training, leadership, and management of culinary teams, policy/process improvement, menu and recipe development, procurement, inventory control, cost control, food quality and presentation, and food safety. Must ensure detailed and perpetual readiness for surveys and inspections by accrediting and regulatory agencies. Additional responsibilities include planning, managing, and coordinating the development and deployment of processes and initiatives to maximize patient and customer satisfaction, in alignment with foodservice safety and clinical nutrition best practices. Must possess in-depth knowledge of emerging foodservice systems and processes, including the ability to plan for and manage growth. Will create strong relationships and partner with others to advance the food and nutrition program in order to meet business objectives, ultimately in support of the mission to deliver world-class healthcare of every person, every time.



Core Responsibilities and Essential Functions:




Dept. Operations Oversight and Stewardship:
* Ensures the success of area(s) of responsibility including procedures, productivity, and equipment.
* Monitors daily operations and procedural adherence, with limited to no downtime as department operates 24/7/365. Requires oversight of weekend and holiday staff. May require oversight of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shift (overnight) operations.
* Area of responsibility includes a large footprint with a variety of commercial food production and service equipment. Conducts space needs or space planning efforts within N&FS; ensures equipment is maintained in proper working order as well as proper staff training for safe operation.
* Defines and tracks effective operational metrics and KPIs, such as overtime, budget adherence, employee trust/satisfaction, turnover/retention, patient satisfaction, and other quality metrics.
* Ensures fiscal responsibility of multi-million-dollar department budget, including non-staffing expenses such as: capital equipment assessment/purchase/installation/training, grocery purchases, waste reduction and product utilization, etc.
* Oversees staff scheduling to meet productivity targets, minimizes overtime, and ensures efficient coverage.
* Assesses processes and implements improvements that drive enhanced performance, incorporating innovation and cycles of improvement.
* Implements necessary redundancy mechanisms to reduce risk; establishes emergency plans. Requires strategic thinking to plan for interruptions to service while minimizing impact to operations.
* Employs creative thinking to tackle unexpected changes; utilize DMAIC and other Lean principles to maximize operational efficiencies. May be expected to take on ad-hoc responsibilities in emergency/disaster situations, including coordination and communication with Hospital Incident Command and external emergency teams.
* Ensures internal customers and other stakeholders are rounded upon to gain customer feedback and bolster patient/customer experience.
* Monitors weather, local and international activity that may affect staffing, supply chain, etc. to minimize threats to operational reliability.

Oversight of Culinary and Kitchen Operations support staff and management:

* Assesses service offerings and operations for improvement. Ensures thorough training and planning to deploy improvements to drive results.
* Maximizes patient/guest satisfaction through creative menu and recipe development / improvement for quality, waste and cost control, cross-utilization, and consistency, while maintaining adherence to therapeutic diet restrictions, allergy considerations, and other special diet needs.
* Oversees catering and special events, such as physician, community, executive leadership, and VIP events, in concert with service (front-of-house) leadership.
* Collaborates with clinical nutrition leadership as appropriate to maximize nutritive value of recipes and maintain compliance with diet manual and clinical standards.
* Acts as the owner for DPH compliance and survey-readiness for the department, overseeing safe food handling practices and facility cleanliness and overall safety.
* Oversees the hiring, training, and retention of kitchen staff, including diverse teams with various functions:
* High-volume hot line production
* "On stage" cooking
* Scratch cookery
* Catering production
* Cook-chill production for food-bank operations, requiring in depth knowledge of HACCP standards.
* Oversees the presentation of recipes and dishes; instills a sense of presentation, quality and attention to detail to kitchen management team and staff.
* Maintains a current knowledge of a wide variety of culinary styles and cooking techniques to appeal to a broad patient/customer preferences, requiring strong culinary skill.
* Maintains thorough knowledge of all commercial and specialty equipment within the areas of responsibility; ensures the safe and efficient operation of equipment.
* Uses effective delegation to oversee the timely, efficient, accurate, and consistent production in all areas of responsibility.

Leadership:

* Provides leadership to area(s) of responsibility within the N&FS department, ultimately
supporting service to the campus: patients, visitors, providers, and team members.
* Establishes strategic goals and short-term plans that align with and support division, hospital, and
system priorities. Aligns team appropriately to meet relevant deadlines.
* Fosters and enhances relationships to maximize organizational effectiveness and partnerships across facilities/entities.
* Provides coaching and mentoring of direct reports; leads timely conflict resolution; practices effective and concise communication and decision making.
* May function as formal or informal leader to support the N&FS System Council, N&FS
taskforces/subcommittees such as Partners, or sister site colleagues by establishing or deploying
best-practices.
* May act as the spokesperson or otherwise represent the company to vendors or at GPO and
community events.
* Provides support and resources, while challenging the team and ensuring accountability for behaviors and engagement.
* Leads or advises as a Subject Matter Expert for special projects, such as construction/renovations or purchasing projects. May play integral role in large construction projects to support strategic growth.
* Exhibits the highest levels of integrity and leads others in a positive, energetic manner.
* Demonstrates a strong work ethic and models the Trust behaviors; is an owner.
* Encourages and sustains an inclusive, team-oriented culture that celebrates respect, operational
excellence, and integrity; fosters a safe and welcoming workplace.
* Upholds a professional image; inspires a high degree of professionalism and pride for work produced by staff.
* Acts courteously and with integrity; represents self, department, hospital, and organization well when interacting with staff, guests, and patients.
* Seeks feedback from providers, team members, patients, etc.
* Responds to opportunities, questions, and complaints with proficiency.
* Demonstrates strategic thinking and planning skills, while collaborating with other department and organization leaders

Compliance & Survey-Readiness:

* Maintains a working knowledge of and monitors departments compliance against applicable regulatory expectations, including Joint Commission, DPH (county health dept.), etc.
* Employs reliable measures to ensure department workflows and employee training support rigorous life safety survey-readiness expectations.
* Designs work processes that meet quality and safety standards (example: HACCP guidelines
compliance or time as a public safety measure for food safety)
* Activates and oversees emergency plans in concordance with hospital leadership.
* Supports successful department inspections by preparing team and self to interact with surveyors.
* Ensures annual competencies are completed in full and on time, with proper documentation.

Human Resources Management:
* Manages the position fulfillment activities necessary to efficiently staff the departments: interviewing, selection, and onboarding/orientation.
* Creates thorough training programs to maximize team member contribution and reduce turnover.
* Manages, in concert with HR, appropriate corrective actions and individual development plans.
* Conducts team member performance evaluations; ensures subordinate evaluations are completed
properly to support consistency across the department.
* Ensures succession plans are established by evaluating individual strengths and capabilities.
* Champions safety, reliability, and excellence by fostering a culture that cares for people.
* Responds to feedback through thoughtful employee rounding.

Financial Management:

* Assesses trends, anticipated changes, and prior period to help build operational budget; evaluates
performance against budget; adjusts expenditures and resources to meet FY targets.
* Assesses capital needs and priorities; composes capital justifications; ensure proper installation and performance qualifications are met.
* Tracks volumes and ensures accounting activities are completed with accuracy and reliability;
proactively adjusts to accommodate anticipated volumes.
* Ensures N&FS team members have the tools needed to perform their roles efficiently.
* Interprets and utilizes benchmarking data.


Performs other duties as assigned
Complies with all Wellstar Health System policies, standards of work, and code of conduct.



Required Minimum Education:



Associate's Degree in Culinary Arts required. Bachelor's degree in Food & Nutrition or Business Administration / Management preferred.



Required Minimum License(s) and Certification(s
):

Food, Beverage & TobaccoFood Protection Manager Certification required.


Certified Dietary Manager preferred.



Required Minimum Experience:

Minimum 6 years in the culinary or back-of-house operations in the foodservice industry required.
Minimum 4 years in management or leadership required.
Minimum 2 years in high-volume, multi-unit, regulated healthcare environment highly preferred.



Required Minimum Skills:

Performance management, problem-solving, strategic planning, excellent written and verbal communication, leadership, interpersonal, analytical, abstract reasoning, teamwork, culinary arts, and customer service skills are required. Compliance/regulatory adherence with in-depth knowledge of foodservice safety standards is mandatory. Financial and process improvement acumen are key to success. Must lead a diverse work group and collaborate with peers in a positive manner. Knowledge of menu planning, and facility renovation or building projects is highly preferred.