Senior Director of West Coast Operations

About the Chef Ann Foundation

Founded in 2009, the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) believes that all children should have equal access to fresh, healthy, delicious food providing them the foundation to thrive and meet their true potential. We ensure that school food professionals have the resources, funding and support they need to provide cook-from-scratch meals that support the health of children and our planet. To date, we’ve reached over 14,100 schools and over 3.4 million children in all 50 states.

Job Description

This position reports directly to the Chief School Food Operations Officer and oversees the West Coast School Food Operations team, including assessment, technical assistance, driving strategy, and program success while holding team members accountable for individual deliverables. Responsibilities include ensuring the delivery of high-quality programs, education, and training- around CAF’s 5 key areas of focus; food, finance, facilities, human resources, and marketing, all aimed at supporting school food professionals in offering fresh, healthy, scratch-cooked meals. Key programs include Healthy School Food Pathways (HSFP) for workforce development, and Custom Implementation work that supports districts in increasing their scratch cooking, alongside our Specialized Programming for districts in various states west of Colorado. This position requires up to 25% travel, including attending and presenting at conferences, workshops, and other events. Candidates should be comfortable with public speaking and engaging with diverse audiences, as well as representing the organization in various professional settings. Travel may also include site visits and meetings with stakeholders to support program goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Builds, drives, and implements technical support strategy for all West Coast school district partners, increasing their scratch-cooking methods
• Oversees and guides all operational support resources developed for school food teams, with a particular focus on technical assistance throughout all West Coast programs
• Oversees the workflow/processes for the West Coast team, focusing on continuous improvement and efficiency
• Manages, hires, trains, and develops all West Coast school food operations team members
• Partners with the Sr. Director of East Coast Operations to create programming that drives towards CAF’s strategic plan, mission, and vision
• Provides technical assistance to food service professionals based on district needs;
• Maintain understanding and awareness and ensure the team has an understanding of federal and state NSLP policies as they relate to program and organization strategy/operations
• Develop relationships with state-based agency leads in departments of Agriculture and Education to ensure our work is incorporated into state goals and outcomes
• Represent CAF at trade-based channels, conferences, and collaboratives
• Develop and present presentations for webinars, conferences, and other public presentation opportunities that are focused on specific areas of school food expertise
• Ability to conduct on-site assessments of a school food department's operations
• Support team members through recruitment, hiring, onboarding, professional development, performance evaluations and oversight of the team
• Ensure proper training and professional development for all team members to meet goals
• Other duties as assigned

Position Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education and work experience
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience leading a K-12 NSLP school food program in a district of at least 12 schools, serving at least 30% scratch cook food with a proven track record in driving strong MPLH and local procurement
• Travel up to 25%
• Must live west of Colorado
• Ability to work virtually
• Serve Safe Manager Certification
• Strong project management skills, including time management and clear communication
• Ability to balance and prioritize competing timelines/deliverables

Essential Traits

• A passion for food systems and a strong interest in childhood wellness; demonstrated commitment to school food reform;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including editing
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills
• Flexible mindset and innovative thinker
• Willingness to engage in continuous learning and training
• Ability to build new programming and manage implementation
• Ability to learn and engage with learning technology programs
• Resourcefulness in finding solutions to unique problems and making pivots to ensure outcomes