Culinary Workforce Manager

Food Bank of the Rockies Community Culinary Pathways Workforce Development program trains low‑income and adults with barriers to employment for careers in the food service industry. In our service area hunger is largely driven by poverty; the 24‑week training program focuses on teaching participants both culinary and kitchen management skills such as knife skills, cooking methods, safe food handling, costing, menu planning, and more.

By teaching professional culinary and kitchen‑management skills, the Culinary Workforce Manager helps break this cycle: participants earn industry credentials and prepare healthy meals for local community programs, while building job readiness.

The Culinary Workforce Manager plays a vital role in the Food Bank of the Rockies Community Culinary Pathways Workforce Development program. This position teaches professional culinary and kitchen‑management skills to program participants working toward industry credentials and job readiness. Working closely with the Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations, the Culinary Workforce Manager develops and delivers a hands‑on curriculum in the commercial kitchen, ensuring that program participants learn both culinary techniques and kitchen business skills, while providing mentorship in professional development.

• Create, maintain, and update lesson plans for the Culinary Workforce Development Program, ensuring curriculum aligns with program goals, adult learning principles, and the skills needed for entry‑level food service employment.
• Teach core culinary modules, including knife skills, safe food handling, sanitation, cooking techniques, recipe reading, portioning, nutrition, menu planning, and balanced meal preparation.
• Provide hands‑on demonstrations and guided practice in a commercial kitchen setting, modeling proper technique, pace, organization, and professionalism.
• Supervise trainees during all practical kitchen sessions to ensure safety, quality, consistency, and adherence to recipes, production standards, and food safety protocols.
• Train participants in large‑scale meal production for the Food Bank of the Rockies after‑school meal programs and other future food production initiatives, reinforcing accuracy, efficiency, teamwork, and accountability.
• Integrate instruction on kitchen operations, including equipment use, workstation organization, cleaning procedures, storage practices, and production flow.
• Provide foundational training in food business concepts such as budgeting, purchasing through Food Bank of the Rockies supply channels, inventory control, portion costing, and cost‑conscious menu planning.
• Deliver job readiness instruction, including resume writing, interview preparation, workplace communication, professionalism, punctuality, teamwork, and conflict resolution.
• Support participants in building confidence and readiness for employment through one‑on‑one coaching, structured practice, and feedback.
• Prepare participants for Serv Safe or equivalent food safety certification, including instruction, review sessions, and exam administration or proctoring where applicable.
• Work with Learning and Development or other internal partners to identify, create, and distribute supplemental learning resources, including handouts, visual aids, digital materials, and skills practice tools.
• Coordinate and support guest speakers, demonstrations, and field trips that expose participants to a range of food service environments and career pathways.
• Present program information and participant progress updates during internal and external program presentations, community events, partner meetings, and graduation activities as needed.

• Build positive, respectful, and professional relationships with participants, creating a supportive learning environment that promotes trust, accountability, and growth.
• Serve as a consistent point of contact for trainees throughout the program, maintaining a strengths‑based approach that recognizes each participant’s experience, barriers, and goals.
• Collaborate closely with the Executive Chef, People and Culture, Learning and Development, and other internal team members to…