Job Description

Director of Hospitality and Resident Experience

Independent & Assisted Living Communities

About the Role

We are seeking a hospitality-driven leader to elevate the resident and family experience across our independent and assisted living communities. This role bridges the gap between traditional hospitality service standards and senior living operations — training, coaching, and guiding front-line staff, department managers, and community leaders to deliver consistently exceptional, warm, and dignified service.

The ideal candidate brings a strong front-of-house management background (hotels, resorts, fine dining, or private clubs) and is passionate about translating those service standards into a senior living setting where residents call their community “home.”

Key Responsibilities

Training & Development

•Design and deliver hospitality-based service training programs for dining, concierge, front desk, activities, and care-adjacent staff

•Create onboarding curricula that instill a “resident-first” service culture from day one

•Lead ongoing coaching sessions, service audits, and role-play scenarios to reinforce standards

•Develop training materials, service scripts, and standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Culinary & Dining Service Excellence

•Train dining and culinary staff on proper food presentation, plating techniques, and portioning consistent with fine-dining standards, adapted for resident dietary needs

•Partner with Executive Chefs and dining services managers to align front-of-house service with kitchen execution, ensuring food arrives to the table at the right temperature, timing, and presentation

•Coach servers on menu knowledge, ingredient familiarity, and the ability to speak confidently about dishes, preparation methods, and dietary accommodations

•Establish plating and presentation standards that elevate the dining experience while respecting texture-modified and special dietary requirements common in senior living

•Lead pre-shift dining meetings to review daily menus, plating expectations, and service flow

•Conduct regular dining room and kitchen-pass audits to ensure consistency between plate presentation and service delivery

Leadership & Coaching

•Partner with community Executive Directors, Department Heads, and Managers to identify service gaps and build improvement plans

•Serve as a mentor and resource for front-line staff, modeling best-in-class hospitality behaviors

•Coach managers on team accountability, service recovery, and leading by example

Standards & Quality Assurance

•Establish and monitor service quality benchmarks across communities (dining, housekeeping, transportation, front desk, activities)

•Conduct regular walkthroughs, secret-shopper style evaluations, and resident/family satisfaction reviews

•Track and report on service metrics; recommend corrective action plans where needed

Culture Building

•Champion a culture of warmth, dignity, and personalized service appropriate for older adults and their families

•Collaborate with HR and community leadership on recognition programs that reinforce service excellence

•Support change with management as new service standards or programs are rolled out

Cross-Community Collaboration

•Travel between communities to deliver consistent training and standards company-wide

•Act as a liaison between corporate hospitality vision and on-the-ground community execution

Qualifications

Required

•5+ years of front-of-house hospitality management experience (hotel, resort, restaurant, club, or similar guest-services environment)

•Strong working knowledge of culinary fundamentals, menu composition, and food plating/presentation standards

•Demonstrated experience training, coaching, or developing service staff and/or managers

•Strong presentation, facilitation, and public speaking skills

•Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust with staff at all levels, from front-line associates to executive directors

•Deep understanding of what exceptional service looks and feels like — and the ability to teach it

•Comfortable working in and adapting hospitality standards for a healthcare-adjacent, senior living environment

•Willingness to travel between communities as needed

Preferred

•Prior experience in senior living, assisted living, or healthcare hospitality

•Culinary training, culinary arts education, or back-of-house kitchen experience

•Certification or coursework in hospitality management, training and development, or adult learning

•Experience developing SOPs, training manuals, or service playbooks

•Familiarity with resident/family satisfaction survey tools and service quality metrics

•Working knowledge of texture-modified diets, dietary accommodations, and food safety standards relevant to senior living dining

Core Competencies

•Service Mindset: Genuine passion for hospitality and elevating the guest (resident) experience

•Culinary & Dining Acumen: Strong eye for food presentation, plating, and the details that turn a meal into an experience

•Coaching & Mentorship: Ability to develop others through modeling, feedback, and encouragement — not just instruction

•Empathy & Emotional Intelligence: Sensitivity to the unique needs of older adults and their families

•Communication: Clear, warm, and persuasive communicator across all levels of an organization

•Adaptability: Comfortable adjusting polished hospitality standards to fit a residential, non-transactional care setting

•Accountability: Holds self and others to high standards with consistency and follow-through

What Success Looks Like

•Front-line staff consistently deliver warm, attentive, and dignified service across all resident touchpoints

•Dining service reflects consistent, elevated plating and presentation standards across all communities

•Managers and community leaders feel equipped and confident to reinforce service standards independently

•Measurable improvement in resident and family satisfaction scores

•A recognizable, consistent service culture across all communities