JOB SUMMARY

Central Washington University is recruiting a Catering General Manager to join our Dining Services team in Ellensburg, Washington. This role is an important member of our team as they enhance the vision for the University. The role is a campus-based position, which means you get to see the lives you are impacting. We’re offering a salary, depending on experience, from $64,974 - $94,213 annually plus the awesome CWU benefits.

WHO WE ARE:

We are a team of individuals committed to Changing Students’ Lives. No matter what job, each of us plays a part in supporting and empowering our students to fulfill their dreams.
Working in higher education provides career growth and career choice. Think of a university campus like a mini city, operating across 380 acres. You’ll find diverse academics, libraries, athletics and sporting events, full service and quick serve dining, conferences and events from small to large, recreation centers, housing, health services, police and public safety for the campus population of ~10,000 students.
Central Washington University has been named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. In addition, for the seventh time in eight years, CWU is a recipient of the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. RentCafe has also named CWU #13 of the Top 20 Best College Towns in the U.S. in 2025.
Come join us on our journey to encourage, inspire, and create spaces where all identities thrive on campus.
Tour our campus in Ellensburg here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdhOegDa9A

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of three to five years of proven event management experience within the food service industry.
• Position requires a flexible schedule with availability for nights, weekends, mornings, and holidays.
• Extensive successful progressive management experience that includes:
• Supervisory experience:
• 3-5 years banquet operations experience
• Management of catering operations for a large business or hotel.
• Successfully overseeing multiple operations, events and teams simultaneously.
• Experience in writing and managing schedules while adhering to strict labor standards.
• Competence in hiring, firing, training, scheduling, evaluating employees and building teams.
• Interpersonal success:
• Demonstration of successful collaboration and partnerships with a wide range of operations, services, colleagues, programs, and clients.
• Track record of creating authentic and meaningful partnerships.
• Strong skills in customer service, communication and problem solving and experience in planning and coordinating future events.
• Successful collaboration with Chefs and Culinary managers.
• Assessment, training, quality assurance, and audits:
• Experience in developing and implementing catering focused training and quality improvement initiatives.
• Establishment of catering standards, service training requirements, and compliance audits.
• Administration of multiple major systems that support a dining, or similar retail operation.
• Proficiency in coordinating deliveries, managing event timelines, and operating point-of- sale systems.
• Executing pertinent policies, procedures and training materials.
• Project Management, Critical & Strategic Thinking:
• Proven ability to analyze complex systems.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness with a high degree of flexibility in problem- solving.
• Demonstrated ability and/or experience fostering a supportive and effective workplace while working with students and/or colleagues to uphold institutional excellence.
• OR applicable combination of education and/or experience which demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, business administration or related field.
• Must have or be eligible to obtain a WA State Class 12 Liquor License with 90 days of initial hire date.
• Working in leadership capacity within the food and beverage/restaurant industry.
• Record of strict adherence to company and local health, safety, and hygiene policies.
• Managing inventory and preventing product loss.
• Ability to understand business needs, communicate and translate them into operational requirements.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Project.
• Demonstrated participation in programs designed to promote inclusion.
• A record of promoting inclusivity in the work environment.

COMPETENCIES

• Accountability/Dependability: Accepts responsibility for quality of own work; acknowledges and corrects mistakes. Shows up on time, meets standards, deadlines, and work schedules.
• Judgement: Makes timely, informed decisions. Analyzes options and determines appropriate course of action.
• Teamwork: Promotes cooperation and mutual support to achieve goals. Encourages participation and mutual support.
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Responds positively to changing business needs and responsibilities. Adapts approach and methods to achieve results; recovers quickly from setbacks and finds alternatives.
• Commitment to Belonging: Values the uniqueness of every individual and fosters an environment where everyone feels respected and empowered to thrive.
  Don’t meet every single requirement? At CWU, we’re committed to creating a welcoming and genuine workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification, we still encourage you to apply. This could be the opportunity you’re looking for!

THE ROLE:

The Catering Manager role entails providing leadership, guidance, training, and setting customer service standards for the entire staffing hierarchy supporting CWU Dining Services 1891 Catering Operations. These operations play a pivotal role in catering to external guests who engage with the diverse services offered by this segment of Dining Services. Our catered events extend across a spectrum of on and off-campus locations, encompassing Athletic concessions, mobile dining operations, and major campus events. This demands a continual adaptation to available resources in varying event spaces. As the leader of this role, you will spearhead planning efforts and offer direct support for high-profile and impactful campus events. These include functions at the CWU President’s residence, Board of Trustees Meetings, Legislative Events, CWU Foundation and Donor events, Executive Leadership activities, and other events spread across the expansive 380 acres of our Ellensburg CWU Campus. Your responsibilities extend to serving a diverse guest base, comprising internal and external CWU members, current students, prospective students, and their support networks, aligning directly with campus admissions and enrollment initiatives. Event sizes under your purview will range from intimate, high-profile dinners at the President’s residence for a select few to large-scale campus events accommodating over five thousand attendees. This role demands meticulous organization and execution of all such events, requiring a comprehensive understanding of the food service business, staff training, and development. Effective management of multiple intricate projects concurrently is essential. The demands of this position transcend regular working hours, necessitating management of continuous services seven days a week from early morning until late night. Irregular shifts are anticipated to ensure optimal managerial coverage. Given the nature of catering, flexibility in scheduling is crucial to meeting customer needs, and active participation in all facets of delivery and event production is expected.
In alignment with Central Washington University’s vision, mission, and values, CWU Dining Services plays a key role in supporting these principles while also upholding our department’s own vision, mission, and values. Our vision is to be a key campus partner in promoting the growth of our diverse community through shared culinary and educational experiences. As a member of Dining Services, you will be directly involved in these efforts and are expected to embody both the university, and department, vision, mission, and values in your work. All employees are expected to uphold and contribute to CWU’s vision, mission, and values, fostering a culture of student success and institutional excellence.

Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily indoors with occasional outdoor events. At times work is performed in hot/cold/noisy/wet areas with some exposure to hazardous equipment and products. Working in temperatures from 0 degrees (freezer) to 350+ degrees (around cooking equipment) is common. Work requires walking and/or standing (often in a stationary position) for much of each shift. Bending/climbing/carrying/pulling/pushing/lifting associated with loading/unloading of supplies and preparation, plating and serving of food is required. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform basic scheduling, payroll entry and other computer-related tasks. Additional physical requirements of the position include: pushing utility and hand carts with up to 150 lbs. of supplies to various workstations; correctly lifting up to 35 lbs. individually from the floor or shelf locations to heights of 48” so products can be poured into smaller containers or put on worktables.

• This position requires working a schedule that varies based on business needs. This entails attending and participating in events that occur seven days a week and outside normal business hours. Flexibility is an expectation