Sr Regional Chef - 90364323 - Wilmington

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As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.

Are you ready to join our team?

Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:
The Senior Regional Chef is responsible to ensure that food services provided to customers meet all standards and requirements established by Amtrak Food and Beverage Operations. This position will be responsible to provide training (both ongoing and recurrent), coaching, and redirecting of on-board service personnel (Chefs & LSAs) relative to the food service requirements on Amtrak trains. This position coordinates menu planning and implementation efforts and is a key source of information and recommendations from Division Staff, on-board employees, and customers. This position is responsible for defining and implementing a plan to improve the quality, consistency, and delivery of F&B services on assigned routes. This position frequently acts as a conduit for information with the Transportation and Mechanical Engineering Staff on design modifications and development of specifications for new rolling stock and on-board equipment. This position frequently may supervise up to seven OBS personnel on a training trip or in a classroom environment. The Senior Regional Chef must be fluent in the menus and operation of Long Distance menus for both Traditional and Flexible meal options, Auto Train dining and café services, Acela First Class dining, Acela and Northeast Regional café service, and National Café service. This position will also work with Amtrak’s state partners developing menus for all eight (8) state supported services.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Works closely with Amtrak’s Executive Chef and F&B Team on menu development, service modeling, introduction of new menu items on board trains and facilitating culinary training programs.
• Interacts with on-board employees to solicit constructive feedback for use in future menu programming and equipment planning.
• Provides expertise as required in the development of training programs, service guides, printed collateral, videos, and in the implementation of new menus and service programs.
• Ability to perform in front of camera for orientation videos and properly communicate information to the crews. 
• Develops travel schedules to observe on-board F&B services and coach / redirect employees relative to compliance with standards and other appropriate policies and procedures.
• Evaluates skill levels of on-board culinary personnel and provides necessary training relative to culinary techniques, food handling, plating and presentation, and public health/sanitation standards compliance.
• Assess, evaluate, and troubleshoot problems while performing observations enroute and provides direction, coaching and counseling when observed performance does not meet the standard.
• Works with on-board personnel to improve sales and enhance revenues while maintaining strict controls over inventory, condemnation and product usage.
• Attend Food and Beverage trade shows to generate meal and service options for all services, as well as finding products to push the Amtrak initiative of lowering our carbon footprint.
• Conduct onsite inspections of Amtrak commissaries to confirm approved products are in stock and notate any non-approved substitutions.
• Creates an environment of teamwork and collaboration that drives continuous improvement and cost recovery strategies.
• Completes detailed reports for Mechanical, FDA, Public Health, Division Management and related stakeholders as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Seven (7) years of industry experience, culinary degree from an accredited college level institution, or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• Culinary experience including commercial cooking and kitchen supervision.
• Knowledge and experience operating commercial cooking equipment typically used on board trains. 
• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills to enable interaction with Amtrak’s senior leadership and all levels of personnel.
• Ability to travel for onboard inspections and to various food and beverage trade shows, vendor locations and Amtrak commissary facilities.
• Excellent skills in developing culinary solutions, ensuring accurate documentation, and conducting coaching of on-board service crews.
• Knowledge, exposure, and proven understanding of on-board service operations, FDA requirements; F&B cost controls and revenue generation, and the ability to instill these concepts in others.
• Proficiency in MS Office Word, Outlook, and recipe costing programs.
• ServeSafe certified or Accredited Certified Food Protection Manager certification.

MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Demonstrated ability to assess people, operations, equipment, and revenue opportunities. 
• Demonstrated ability to work with on-site teams to implement change and illustrate results.
• Demonstrated project management skills.
• Knowledge of supply chain management related to procurement and warehousing.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite applications.
• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills (effective communication is crucial for collaborating with cross-functional teams, providing clear instructions to service providers, and conveying information to divisional leadership and state partners).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Seven (7)+ years of culinary management experience.
• Culinary Arts Degree or BS Degree – Food Service, Food Science or Hospitality Management Program.
• Knowledge of current food trends, and food safety culture or active managerial controls as related to food safety. 
• Knowledge of nutritional labeling, ingredient tracking requirements and allergen awareness.
• Good communications skills with the ability to facilitate culinary training programs and menu change presentation materials to on board service crews.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with FDA and HACCP standards.
• Ability to record orientation videos and speak in front of other employees.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Typical office environment when not traveling on train.
• Travel =up to 50%, will include some evenings and weekend assignments. Travel may include multiple locations nationally and may require air flight.
• Position will be based in Wilmington, DE.
• Frequently travels on train in overnight status, including working in an on-board kitchen environment.
• Frequently works in Amtrak test kitchen involving extended standing, bending, and lifting, carrying, moving, and positioning objects under 50 lbs.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:
Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.

The salary/hourly range is $72,910 - $94,500. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, internal equity, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position and/or long-term incentive plan compensation. In addition to your salary, Amtrak offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes health, dental, and vision plans; health savings accounts; wellness programs; flexible spending accounts; 401K retirement plan with employer match; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; paid time off; back-up care; adoption assistance; surrogacy assistance; reimbursement of education expenses; Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility; Railroad Retirement sickness and retirement benefits; and rail pass privileges. Learn more about our benefits offerings here.​

Requisition ID:159675
Posting Location(s):Delaware
Job Family/Function:Customer Service 
Relocation Offered:Yes 
Travel Requirements:Up to 50% 
 

You power our progress through your performance.
 

We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions. 

Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen. 

Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.  

In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.

In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses. 

Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Amtrak is an EOE/Affirmative Action Minority/Female employer, and we welcome all to apply. We consider candidates regardless of race/color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), national origin/ethnicity, age, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.