Workplace Specialist

About Albert Uster Imports, Inc. ("AUI") is a privately held gourmet food company headquartered in the Washington, DC area (Gaithersburg, MD) with warehouse locations in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gurnee and Gaithersburg. AUI falls under the Vestar Capital Partners portfolio with affiliate organization, Roland Foods, LLC.

Founded in 1968, the company offers over 1,400 products from around the world. We serve leading hotels, restaurants, casinos, cruise lines, airlines, and manufacturers with innovative, high quality products and solutions to their most demanding culinary challenges. We operate a network of distribution centers across the U.S. and serve select international markets as well. AUI has a national direct selling organization of over 60 sales professionals and a staff of culinary experts (chefs and food scientists) adept at custom product solutions.

The Employee Experience and Workplace Specialist is a highly visible, in-office role responsible for creating a positive, engaging, and highly functional workplace environment at AUI Fine Foods. This position is responsible for planning and executing monthly employee engagement programming as well as managing workplace operations to ensure that the Gaithersburg Headquarters office runs smoothly day to day. This role sits at the intersection of employee experience, events, workplace operations, and hospitality.

The ideal candidate is organized, service‑oriented, proactive, and energized by creating thoughtful experiences—from large‑scale engagement events to daily office operations—while partnering closely with internal teams and external partners. This is an exciting opportunity to join an innovative, food‑focused organization passionate about the diversity of cuisines and the power of food to bring people together.

As a response to the pandemic, Albert Uster Imports office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in‑person Monday through Wednesday, with the option to telework on Thursday and Friday each week. Due to the collaborative, cross‑functional nature of the organization, employees at the Gaithersburg office are required to work in‑person for the above mentioned days, outside of any People & Culture‑approved disability accommodation request.

This role is a flexi‑hybrid and at times may require more in office days outside of the aforementioned hybrid work schedule depending on business needs.

• Workplace Operations
  • Serve as the primary point of contact at the front desk by welcoming and assisting visitors, managing deliveries, sorting and distributing mail, coordinating outgoing shipments, and maintaining a professional, positive, and well‑kept front‑of‑house environment that reflects our company culture.
  • Manage in‑office needs by coordinating meetings, preparing conference rooms, and assisting with team lunches and on‑site gatherings to ensure smooth execution. Responsible for restocking, tidiness, and cleanliness of communal spaces, including the employee dining room, dishwashers, fridges, snacks and bathroom amenities.
  • Coordinate and day‑to‑day manage office facilities including maintenance requests, building security, vendor interactions, and ad‑hoc requests.
  • Maintain office supplies and serve as a point of contact for ad‑hoc office and operational requests.
  • Work closely with IT to ensure all office technology is operational and running smoothly, including new‑hire setup and support for employee events.
• Employee Engagement
  • Execute a broad range of office activities and events in accordance with the annual engagement calendar that positively influence our company culture such as planning the annual holiday party, monthly food celebrations, employee engagement initiatives, internal office meetings, etc.
  • Partner with P&C to deliver an elevated employee recognition and experience program, including anniversary and birthday gifts, life‑event recognition, and internal communications and posts for holidays, updates, and events.
  • Manage and deliver recruitment marketing posts on Linked In, focused on sharing the employee experience and culture with…