Kitchen Manager

The Salvation Army is a globally recognized charitable organization dedicated to meeting human needs without discrimination. Founded in 1865, The Salvation Army operates in communities around the world, providing vital services such as shelter, food, rehabilitation, and disaster relief. The organization’s mission focuses on offering compassionate support to those experiencing homelessness, poverty, addiction, and crisis, helping individuals and families rebuild their lives with dignity and hope. At its core, The Salvation Army strives to create sustainable, positive impacts on the lives of vulnerable populations through community engagement and comprehensive care programs.

This particular position is for a Kitchen Manager at The Salvation Army, overseeing the Colorado Kitchen operations. The kitchen serves between 200 to 300 meals daily, catering to the Family Housing Center (FHC) shelter residents, the Red Shield program participants, veterans living on campus, and the general public. The role is full-time and exempt, reporting directly to the Operations Director. The Kitchen Manager supervises a small team of full-time and part-time cooks, along with up to five volunteers daily, ensuring smooth kitchen operations aligned with the organization’s standards and USDA food program requirements.

As the Kitchen Manager, the incumbent is responsible for managing all facets of the kitchen’s daily functions. This includes staffing duties such as hiring, training, and supervising both staff and volunteers while maintaining compliance with the Salvation Army’s strict health, safety, and food service policies. Menu planning is a critical aspect of the role, requiring the manager to develop nutritious and cost-effective menus that adhere to designated budgets and program needs, including those of USDA food programs such as shelter and Red Shield.

Additionally, the Kitchen Manager handles purchasing and inventory control, negotiating with vendors for cost-efficiency, and ensuring consistent inventory quality and availability. The role demands meticulous attention to health and safety compliance, guaranteeing all health codes and necessary licenses are upheld. Engaging with the local community is also vital, fostering partnerships for food donations and securing opportunities to support kitchen operations financially or through in-kind contributions.

The Kitchen Manager plays a key role during emergency events by coordinating with the Emergency Disaster Services director to provide kitchen support during disasters. Maintaining functional kitchen equipment and facilities involves both regular preventive maintenance and prompt repairs when necessary. Overseeing the dining room to ensure a positive guest experience is another important responsibility, including coordinating volunteer efforts effectively.

This position also entails planning for holiday and special event meals across site locations, assisting with cooking, set-up, clean-up, and maintaining rigorous cleanliness and sanitation across the kitchen, dining, and food delivery areas. Compliance with local and state laws is mandatory for all kitchen operations, accompanied by accurate record keeping related to donations, billing, budgeting, and statistics.

In collaboration with the Volunteer Coordinator, the Kitchen Manager ensures that volunteer and community service worker hours are documented properly, and all necessary paperwork is completed. Participation in staff meetings and other related duties as assigned rounds out the scope of the position.

The employment benefits are comprehensive, including health, vision, dental, life and disability insurance, sick leave, vacation, floating days off, a pension plan after one year, and voluntary tax-deferred annuity options. The salary range for this role is $58,000 to $62,000 annually, reflecting the position's responsibility and full-time exempt status. This role not only requires culinary and managerial competencies but also a strong alignment with The Salvation Army’s mission to serve and uplift those in need.