Executive Vice President of Culinary Operations at SAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK INC

San Antonio, Texas, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

25 Mar, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

25 Dec, 25

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Culinary Leadership, Operational Oversight, Financial Stewardship, Team Development, Food Safety, Menu Development, Culinary Innovation, Community Engagement, Budget Management, Nutritional Standards, Regulatory Compliance, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Social Enterprise, Problem Solving, Communication, Relationship Building

Industry

Non-profit Organizations

Description

Job Details Job Location: San Antonio Food Bank - Culinary Building - San Antonio, TX 78227 Education Level: Bachelors Degree The San Antonio Food Bank Executive Vice President, Culinary Operations leads the creative, operational, and financial stewardship of our culinary programs. This role provides strategic leadership across SAFB kitchens and initiatives, setting a clear culinary vision and standard. The leader in this role ensures our food is mission-aligned and community-centered, while also financially viable, scalable, and operationally sound. The result is high-quality, nutritious, and culturally responsive meals for children, adults, and seniors. The Executive Vice President, Culinary Operations works closely with senior leaders overseeing nutrition and community health, meal programs and compliance, and farm and food resilience to advance SAFB’s Food for Today, Food for Tomorrow, Food for a Lifetime strategy. The role balances culinary creativity and food quality with financial discipline, nutrition standards, regulatory requirements, and operational realities. Reporting to the Chief Programs Officer, this highly visible role blends strategic leadership with operational and financial rigor. Success requires the ability to see the big picture while managing complex details, including leading and developing culinary teams, strengthening cross-functional partnerships, and exercising sound judgment around budgets and operational decisions. Key Responsibilities Culinary Vision & Leadership Set and advance a mission-driven culinary vision that reflects creativity, cultural relevance, nutrition goals, and financial sustainability across all culinary programs. Provide strategic leadership across SAFB culinary programs, ensuring food is high-quality, skillfully prepared, scalable, and aligned with community needs. Champion culinary innovation and continuous improvement while maintaining consistency and quality. Serve as a visible culinary ambassador through partner engagement, events, demonstrations, and food-centered storytelling. Culinary Operations, Menus & Standards Oversee culinary operations across SAFB’s three Community Kitchens and related initiatives. Maintain an active, on-site leadership presence in Mays Kitchen, providing day-to-day operational oversight, real-time problem solving, and visible support to culinary teams while ensuring alignment with broader organizational standards and goals. Direct meal planning, preparation, and production to meet programmatic, nutritional, and service goals at scale. Establish and uphold culinary standards for food quality, preparation, and presentation in partnership with nutrition and compliance leadership. Serve as a collaborative partner in menu development with nutrition, compliance, and program leaders, supporting shared decision-making and consistent meal offerings. Develop and refine operational processes to support efficiency, consistency, and scalability. Oversee the culinary processing of donated proteins through Hunters for the Hungry, ensuring food safety, quality, and alignment with program needs and operational capacity. Financial Stewardship & Social Enterprise Provide financial oversight for culinary operations, including budgeting, cost management, and operational decision-making. Oversee Catalyst Catering as a mission-aligned social enterprise, balancing culinary excellence, earned revenue, and brand integrity. Ensure culinary programs are financially viable and support long-term organizational sustainability. People, Compliance & Food Systems Collaboration Lead, mentor, and develop culinary teams, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and creativity. Ensure compliance with all food safety and regulatory requirements, in partnership with compliance leadership. Partner with farm and food resilience leadership to integrate farm-grown foods and seasonal planning where feasible. Qualifications Qualifications Significant experience leading large-scale culinary operations, preferably across multiple sites or programs serving diverse populations. Demonstrated success managing high-volume meal production while maintaining food quality, safety, and consistency in fast-paced, regulated environments. Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop culinary teams, including supervisors and frontline staff, in mission-driven settings. Strong working knowledge of food safety, sanitation, and regulatory requirements, with experience operating within highly regulated food programs. Experience collaborating across disciplines, including nutrition, compliance, agriculture, operations, and development, to deliver integrated food programs. Ability to balance creative culinary leadership with operational rigor, financial discipline, and scalability, including experience managing budgets and cost controls. Experience with earned revenue or social enterprise models, such as catering or mission-aligned food service operations, preferred. Familiarity with nutrition standards and menu analysis, and experience partnering with nutrition professionals to develop compliant, health-forward menus. Experience integrating locally sourced or farm-grown foods into large-scale meal programs preferred. Experience supporting or leading culinary education, workforce development, or training initiatives preferred. Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with experience engaging community partners, donors, volunteers, and internal stakeholders. Demonstrated experience representing an organization externally through culinary demonstrations, events, or public-facing engagements. Demonstrated ability to operate effectively at both the strategic and on-the-ground operational levels within complex organizations. Culinary degree, certification, or equivalent professional experience preferred; ServSafe or equivalent food safety certification required or ability to obtain. Formal training in leadership, management, or operations a plus. A solutions-oriented, collaborative leadership style grounded in operational realities, with high emotional intelligence and a commitment to continuous improvement. Strong alignment with SAFB’s mission and community-centered values. Physical Demands The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is constantly required to sit, stand, talk, hear, reach, and utilize fine manipulation and near visual acuity. The employee is frequently required to walk, utilize gross manipulation, push, pull, stoop, and keyboard. The employee must occasionally lift, and/or move up to 50 pounds. Work Environment This job is performed in an indoor environment and occasionally may require attendance at outdoor events. You may be required to drive to various locations with varying conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and levels of work to be performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and duties.

Responsibilities

The Executive Vice President of Culinary Operations leads the culinary programs, ensuring high-quality, nutritious meals while balancing creativity and financial viability. This role involves overseeing culinary operations, meal planning, and maintaining compliance with food safety standards.