General Manager

The General Manager is responsible for the leadership, operational oversight, and financial performance of a diverse campus dining portfolio that includes a allergen friendly dining location and multiple retail locations (markets/cafés). This role provides hands‑on, visible leadership to ensure a high‑quality, inclusive dining program that meets guest expectations while maintaining strict adherence to food safety, allergen controls, operational standards, and University policies.

The General Manager fosters a culture built on integrity, accountability, respect, and continuous improvement while balancing the unique operational needs of retail convenience dining and allergen‑aware food service. This position manages managers and hourly staff, oversees budgets and labor, and partners closely with culinary, nutrition, facilities, HR, and central dining leadership.

About the Campus Dining Department:

Vanderbilt Campus Dining takes pride in the culinary creations served from our kitchens. Our Dining program is highly decorated, the winner of many prestigious awards in the food service industry, including Best On-Site Food Service Operation the Nation, Best Food Service Operator, the prestigious Ivy Award, and many more. We have main dining centers, restaurants and cafes, convenience stores, and we employ over 350 employees.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Leadership

• Provide strategic vision and leadership for assigned campus dining hall and all campus market/retail locations, ensuring alignment with Campus Dining goals, student needs, and financial objectives.

• Own the overall concept, design direction, and guest experience strategy for the campus markets, ensuring they are visually appealing, intuitive to navigate, and supportive of convenience, inclusivity, and quality.

• Lead the development and execution of market and dining hall concepts, including new openings, renovations, redesigns, seasonal refreshes, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Use student and customer feedback, sales trends, and utilization data to shape offerings, layouts, and service models that meet evolving needs.

• Communicate expectations clearly and consistently, ensuring managers understand the vision for both dining halls and markets and are equipped to execute it.

• Develop, coach, and support managers responsible for dining hall and market operations, fostering accountability, professional growth, and strong team engagement.

• Serve as a collaborative partner with Campus Dining leadership, culinary, nutrition, marketing, facilities, and finance teams to advance long‑term retail and dining strategies.

• Champion an inclusive dining culture by ensuring allergen‑aware principles, accessibility, and guest trust are embedded into both residential and retail dining programs.

Operational Management

• Oversee daily operations of assigned dining halls and campus markets, ensuring consistent execution of service, food quality, safety, and customer experience standards.

• Ensure markets are effectively designed and merchandised, including layout, product mix, signage, menu boards, and displays, to drive usability, aesthetics, and financial performance.

• Maintain accountability for the financial performance and budget management of both dining halls and markets, aligning product assortment, labor models, pricing, and operating hours with budgetary goals.

• Analyze food, retail, and labor data to identify opportunities for efficiency, sales growth, and cost control without compromising quality or service.

• Ensure strict compliance with food safety, sanitation, allergen controls, and regulatory requirements across all service models.

• Monitor inventory management, ordering, receiving, and waste‑reduction practices to support operational efficiency and sustainability goals.

• Ensure dining halls and markets are clean, organized, visually appealing, and well‑maintained, both front and back of house.

• Oversee equipment functionality, space utilization, and facility condition; submit and track maintenance and capital requests as needed.

• Ensure accuracy and consistency across POS systems, pricing, menus, signage, and digital platforms.

• Implement operational audits and action plans to improve efficiency, service consistency, and guest satisfaction across both retail and residential dining environments.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position has management responsibility over managers in location; this position reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Director (or other position, depending on location)   

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience is necessary.

• At least 5 years of management experience in food service management is necessary.

• Proficiency in (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and POS System is necessary. 

• Strong communication (verbal, written, interpersonal) skills and an ability to communicate effectively with a diverse population is necessary. 

• Strong time management, organizational and multi-tasking skills and an eye for detail is necessary. 

• Demonstrated ability to deliver exceptional customer service is necessary. 

• Ability to manage people and have accountability for Vanderbilt assets is necessary.