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About Ashoka University:
Role and Responsibilities:
The Head Dining Services will lead all aspects of dining and food operations across Ashoka University's campus, ensuring a high-quality, safe, and delightful dining experience for students, faculty, staff, and guests. This role combines strategic planning, operational excellence, hands-on culinary leadership, vendor management, and customer experience design in a dynamic, high-volume environment.
The incumbent will oversee multiple dining facilities, cafeterias, event catering, and retail food outlets, responsible not only for operational delivery but also for menu curation, food quality and taste, nutritional standards, and culinary innovation aligned with Ashoka's values of diversity, sustainability, and wellbeing.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Operational Leadership
- Oversee all campus dining operations, including student dining halls, faculty/staff cafeterias, guest house dining, and on-campus eateries.
- Develop and implement a comprehensive dining strategy that supports the university's growth and enhances the campus experience.
- Plan and supervise daily operations to ensure food quality, service standards, and hygiene protocols are consistently met.
- Lead dining operations for events, conferences, and VIP visits with meticulous service planning.
Menu Design, Culinary Quality & Taste
- Own menu strategy and design across campus outlets, set seasonal menu cycles, signature offerings, and thematic menus that reflect student/staff preferences and cultural diversity.
- Lead recipe standardization, portioning, and plating standards to ensure consistent taste and presentation across vendors and outlets.
- Convene and manage regular tasting panels (including students and faculty representatives) to validate menu changes and new offerings.
- Set and monitor culinary benchmarks for taste, texture, seasoning, and overall food experience; initiate corrective actions when standards waver.
- Ensure availability of diverse dietary options (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergy-aware, religious dietary needs) and transparent labeling.
Nutrition, Food Safety & Compliance
- Ensure all menus meet basic nutritional standards and align with wellness guidelines where applicable.
- Enforce FSSAI norms, HACCP principles, food sampling, storage protocols, and waste management practices.
- Oversee regular kitchen audits, hygiene checks, and vendor compliance with food safety standards.
Vendor & Contract Management
- Manage dining vendors and service partners through SLAs, performance reviews, and feedback mechanisms.
- Lead tendering, negotiation, and renewal of dining contracts in coordination with Procurement and Finance.
- Source quality ingredients and work with suppliers to maintain freshness, ethical sourcing, and cost-effectiveness.
- Encourage partnerships with local and sustainable food suppliers where feasible.
Experience, Feedback & Community Engagement
- Build systems for continuous feedback and dining satisfaction measurement, act on inputs from student bodies, faculty committees, and staff groups.
- Design food festivals, cultural food weeks, and special menus that celebrate diversity and engage campus life.
- Communicate menu updates, nutrition information, and dining initiatives effectively to the campus community.
Financial & Resource Management
- Prepare and manage dining budgets, drive cost control through menu engineering, yield management, and waste reduction.
- Track consumption patterns and make data-led decisions on menu optimization and pricing.
- Approve and certify vendor invoices, monitor cost variances, and support financial reconciliations.
Team & Stakeholder Management
- Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary team: kitchen managers, culinary leads, vendor supervisors, service staff, and diet/nutrition advisors.
- Coordinate with Campus Operations, Events, Student Affairs, and Finance for integrated delivery.
- Build in-house culinary capability via training, standard operating procedures, and operational playbooks.
Key Skills
- Strong culinary sensibility and hands-on experience in menu design, recipe development, and food quality control.
- Operational leadership in large-scale dining environments.
- Proficiency in vendor management, contract negotiation, and SLA governance.
- Good understanding of nutrition, dietary considerations, and food safety regulations (FSSAI, HACCP).
- Data-driven decision-making for menu engineering, yield, and cost optimization.
- Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and team leadership.
- Creative mindset with an appetite for culinary innovation and cultural sensitivity.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in hospitality management, Food & Nutrition, or a related field (master's preferred).
- 1015 years of relevant experience managing high-volume dining operations, preferably in institutional, hospitality, or large corporate environments.
- Proven track record in menu design, recipe standardization, and delivering consistent food quality.
- Certifications in Food Safety, HACCP, or similar are advantageous.
