Senior Director of Dining Services

Sonida Senior Living is one of the nation’s leading operators of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities for senior adults. The Company operates 97 communities that are home to nearly 12,000 residents across 20 states providing comfortable, safe, affordable communities where residents can form friendships, enjoy new experiences and receive personalized care from dedicated team members who treat them family.

Job Description:

The Senior Director of Dining provides strategic leadership and operational oversight of dining services across multiple regions within the organization. This role is responsible for leading and developing Regional Dining Directors and ensuring consistent execution of culinary excellence, regulatory compliance, resident satisfaction, and financial performance across all senior living communities. The Senior Regional Director of Dining partners closely with Operations, Procurement, Nutrition, and Human Resources to elevate the overall dining experience and align culinary operations with the organization’s mission and business goals.

This role drives systemwide consistency in dining standards, supports integration during acquisitions or leadership transitions, and ensures dining operations align with company wide quality, hospitality, and financial objectives.

Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Regional Dining Directors overseeing multiple communities across assigned states.
Establish and communicate strategic priorities, ensuring alignment with company standards for quality, hospitality, and fiscal performance.
• Partner with senior leadership to develop and execute dining strategies that support resident satisfaction, brand differentiation, and financial sustainability.
• Champion a culture of culinary excellence, innovation, and service.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to operations leadership, identifying opportunities to enhance resident experience through dining innovation and service model refinement.
• Provide input on long‑range dining initiatives, capital planning, and organizational growth strategies.

• Oversee consistent implementation of dining programs, menus, and nutritional standards across communities.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local health, safety, and food handling regulations.
• Evaluate regional and community-level dining operations through audits, site visits Directive, and performance reviews.
• Lead process improvements that enhance operational efficiency, reduce waste, and optimize food and labor costs.
• Collaborate with Procurement and Supply Chain to ensure quality sourcing, vendor performance, and date control.
• Partner with the operational excellence and quality teams to standardize best practices, enhance performance monitoring, and drive continuous improvement.
• Support readiness for regulatory and internal audits, providing guidance and follow‑up training where needed.
• Develop and monitor dining budgets for assigned regions, ensuring achievement of financial and operational goals.
• Analyze financial performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities to improve profitability.
• Provide guidance to Regional Dining Directors on forecasting, staffing, and expense management.
• Collaborate with finance to align dining budgets and labor models with organizational benchmarks and performance expectations.
• Review and validate pricing, menu cost analysis, and inventory management practices to ensure financial accuracy and efficiency.

• Recruit, train, and retain top dining leadership talent across regions.
• Provide coaching, performance feedback, and succession planning for Regional Dining Directors and key culinary leaders.
• Foster professional growth and leadership capability across the dining organization.
• Partner with learning and development to create leadership pathways and training for future culinary and dining leaders.
• Promote a culture of accountability, engagement, and recognition across dining teams.

• Partner with Operations and Resident Browsing, Care teams to deliver high‑quality, resident‑centered dining experiences.
• Monitor and respond to…