Director of Operations - Mississippi State University

Proof of the Pudding is an award-winning catering company throughout the Southeast with a commitment to creating quality culinary concepts from scratch. This standard was upheld through the expansion into Sports and Entertainment Hospitality Services by providing elevated concessions and premium offerings to collegiate stadiums, PGA golf tournaments, International Boat Shows, Professional Sports Teams, & more.

We are seeking a Director of Operations to oversee the food service at Mississippi State University located in Starkville, MS. This position will be responsible for leading and overseeing day-to-day planning and event day execution of the premium hospitality department, student athletic training table program, and athletics concessions operations. This position will hold all oversight of events, staffing matrixes, hiring, inter-departmental communications, logistics/operations, and financial management. The ideal candidate has a strong background in high volume food service leadership, is detailed in budget management, and has passion for sports & entertainment event execution.

Mississippi State University is a large campus in the heart of Mississippi where the Bulldogs reign supreme. Football games bring in 65,000 adoring fans while baseball games bring in 16,000 fans to cheer on their College World Series Champs.

Responsibilities:

• Overseeing and effectively managing all day-to-day duties to ensure that each event is executed flawlessly from start to finish.
  • Football: [includes 80 suites, 5,000 of guests per game, plus 6 large clubs] Baseball: [includes 25 suites, 1,500 of guests per game, plus three large clubs].
• Responsible for communication between Proof of the Pudding and the client. Serves as the first point of contact for all inquiries from the center. Responsible for nurturing this relationship.
• Maintains a safe, secure, and healthy environment by establishing, following, and enforcing sanitation standards and procedures; complying with legal regulations; securing revenues; and maintaining security systems.
• Meets venue financial objectives by forecasting requirements; preparing an annual budget; scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; initiating corrective actions.
• Communicating financial statements, P&L Reports, and other requested documents to Proof of the Pudding Corporate.
• Managing existing and developing leadership team, encouraging growth and mentorship with all managers and hourly staff.
• Organizing frequent meetings and open lines of communication with sales, operations, concessions, and culinary team in preparation for each event.
• Responsible for setting the precedence that all staff will follow including but not limited to: uniform expectations, customer service policies, uniformity in buffet aesthetics and creating a positive and productive workplace culture.
• Lead person on revocation capital projects.
• Managing the team that is scheduled to run each event. Leading by example and developing employees to reach their full potential.
• Attending and executing each event to ensure that it runs smoothly from the set-up to the break-down.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Hospitality, Management, or related field.
• 10+ years of leadership experience in Sports & Entertainment Operations, Food & Beverage, Operations Management – experience in high volume man