Director of Hospitality and Resident Experience for NJ-PA-MD Market
hace 3 días
Cassville
Job Description Director of Hospitality and Resident Experience Independent & Assisted Living Communities About the Role We are seeking a hospitality-driven leader to elevate the resident and family experience across our independent and assisted living communities. This role bridges the gap between traditional hospitality service standards and senior living operations — training, coaching, and guiding front-line staff, department managers, and community leaders to deliver consistently exceptional, warm, and dignified service. The ideal candidate brings a strong front-of-house management background (hotels, resorts, fine dining, or private clubs) and is passionate about translating those service standards into a senior living setting where residents call their community “home.” Key Responsibilities Training & Development • Design and deliver hospitality-based service training programs for dining, concierge, front desk, activities, and care-adjacent staff, • Create onboarding curricula that instill a “resident-first” service culture from day one, • Lead ongoing coaching sessions, service audits, and role-play scenarios to reinforce standards, • Develop training materials, service scripts, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) Culinary & Dining Service Excellence • Train dining and culinary staff on proper food presentation, plating techniques, and portioning consistent with fine-dining standards, adapted for resident dietary needs, • Partner with Executive Chefs and dining services managers to align front-of-house service with kitchen execution, ensuring food arrives to the table at the right temperature, timing, and presentation, • Coach servers on menu knowledge, ingredient familiarity, and the ability to speak confidently about dishes, preparation methods, and dietary accommodations, • Establish plating and presentation standards that elevate the dining experience while respecting texture-modified and special dietary requirements common in senior living, • Lead pre-shift dining meetings to review daily menus, plating expectations, and service flow, • Conduct regular dining room and kitchen-pass audits to ensure consistency between plate presentation and service delivery Leadership & Coaching • Partner with community Executive Directors, Department Heads, and Managers to identify service gaps and build improvement plans, • Serve as a mentor and resource for front-line staff, modeling best-in-class hospitality behaviors, • Coach managers on team accountability, service recovery, and leading by example Standards & Quality Assurance • Establish and monitor service quality benchmarks across communities (dining, housekeeping, transportation, front desk, activities), • Conduct regular walkthroughs, secret-shopper style evaluations, and resident/family satisfaction reviews, • Track and report on service metrics; recommend corrective action plans where needed Culture Building • Champion a culture of warmth, dignity, and personalized service appropriate for older adults and their families, • Collaborate with HR and community leadership on recognition programs that reinforce service excellence, • Support change with management as new service standards or programs are rolled out Cross-Community Collaboration • Travel between communities to deliver consistent training and standards company-wide, • Act as a liaison between corporate hospitality vision and on-the-ground community execution Qualifications Required • 5+ years of front-of-house hospitality management experience (hotel, resort, restaurant, club, or similar guest-services environment), • Strong working knowledge of culinary fundamentals, menu composition, and food plating/presentation standards, • Demonstrated experience training, coaching, or developing service staff and/or managers, • Strong presentation, facilitation, and public speaking skills, • Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust with staff at all levels, from front-line associates to executive directors, • Deep understanding of what exceptional service looks and feels like — and the ability to teach it, • Comfortable working in and adapting hospitality standards for a healthcare-adjacent, senior living environment, • Willingness to travel between communities as needed Preferred • Prior experience in senior living, assisted living, or healthcare hospitality, • Culinary training, culinary arts education, or back-of-house kitchen experience, • Certification or coursework in hospitality management, training and development, or adult learning, • Experience developing SOPs, training manuals, or service playbooks, • Familiarity with resident/family satisfaction survey tools and service quality metrics, • Working knowledge of texture-modified diets, dietary accommodations, and food safety standards relevant to senior living dining Core Competencies • Service Mindset: Genuine passion for hospitality and elevating the guest (resident) experience, • Culinary & Dining Acumen: Strong eye for food presentation, plating, and the details that turn a meal into an experience, • Coaching & Mentorship: Ability to develop others through modeling, feedback, and encouragement — not just instruction, • Empathy & Emotional Intelligence: Sensitivity to the unique needs of older adults and their families, • Communication: Clear, warm, and persuasive communicator across all levels of an organization, • Adaptability: Comfortable adjusting polished hospitality standards to fit a residential, non-transactional care setting, • Accountability: Holds self and others to high standards with consistency and follow-through What Success Looks Like • Front-line staff consistently deliver warm, attentive, and dignified service across all resident touchpoints, • Dining service reflects consistent, elevated plating and presentation standards across all communities, • Managers and community leaders feel equipped and confident to reinforce service standards independently, • Measurable improvement in resident and family satisfaction scores, • A recognizable, consistent service culture across all communities