Area Director; District Manager) Education

Join a mission-driven hospitality organization where transformational partnerships, not transactions, are at the heart of everything we do.

Creative Dining Services is seeking an enterprise-minded hospitality leader with a proven track record in multi-site higher education dining who can translate strategy into execution, develop exceptional leaders, and deliver outstanding campus experiences. Clients choose us because they value a trusted, transparent hospitality partner who delivers operational excellence with heart. As an Area Director (District Manager), you will play a pivotal role in fulfilling that promise, by strengthening client partnerships, growing leaders, and driving results across multiple campus dining programs.

If you're the ideal team player, hungry, humble, and smart, and thrive in a culture that values people-first leadership, extreme ownership, and operational excellence, we'd love to connect with you.

Creative Dining Services is experiencing exciting momentum in our Higher Education sector. While we do not have an immediate opening for an Area Director (District Manager), we're building relationships with exceptional leaders as we prepare for future growth. This posting is intended to identify and engage talented candidates for a future Area Director opportunity. Timing will be based on business growth and new partnership developments.

Reporting to the Regional Vice President of Operations, the Area Director will provide leadership for a multi-state portfolio of college and university dining programs representing approximately $15-$20 million in annual managed volume. This leader will coach and develop Food Service Directors, strengthen client partnerships, and drive operational, financial, and hospitality excellence across multiple campuses.

Candidates should be based near a major airport within our higher education portfolio footprint and be able to travel extensively to support campus teams and client partners.

As an Area Director, you'll be responsible for helping campus dining programs thrive by balancing people leadership, client partnership, operational excellence, and business performance.

You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Lead & Inspire: Build, mentor, develop, and support a team of Food Service Directors and campus leaders while fostering a culture of engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Ensure consistent execution of food quality, culinary and marketing standards, guest satisfaction, safety initiatives, and hospitality programs across multiple higher education locations.
• Think Strategically: See the big picture, identify opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and effectively communicate plans that drive results.
• Develop Future Leaders: Create strong talent pipelines through coaching, succession planning, performance management, and professional development.
• Support Client Success: Build trusted relationships with college and university stakeholders while proactively addressing challenges and identifying opportunities for growth.
• Manage the Business: Monitor financial performance, analyze key metrics, develop action plans, and teach leaders how to maximize profitability and operational efficiency.
• Leverage Technology: Utilize operational, culinary, financial, and people management systems to drive informed decision-making and effectively support teams across multiple locations.
• Champion Innovation: Partner with campus leaders to enhance dining programs through evolving student expectations, emerging food trends, sustainability initiatives, and creative hospitality solutions.
• Lead Through Change: Navigate complex environments with confidence while helping teams adapt, remain focused, and achieve their goals.

We're seeking a leader who combines higher education dining expertise, strong business and financial acumen, emotional intelligence, and a passion for developing people by modeling the way.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Hospitality Management, Culinary Management, or a related field required; equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered in lieu of a degree;
  Advanced degree preferred
• Previous multi-site (multi-client) contract food service experience within colleges and universities, higher education dining
• 10+ years of related operations experience
• 7-10+ years of progressive leadership experience
• At least 3 years overseeing multiple locations and client…