Food Service Supervisor Job Description

Salary Range

$35,980 - $54,570

Experience

Some crew experience

Work Environment

Dining halls, snack bars and food outlets

What Does a Food Service Supervisor Do?

Hungry students, busy staff, and the crew on the line depend on food service supervisors to ensure the pace and quality of every shift. They make sure that food safety rules are followed, and stations are stocked and staffed on time. Many run a single outlet, such as a campus snack bar, coffee kiosk or retail food shop, and report to a cafeteria or dining manager.

Also known as: Snack Bar Supervisor, Retail Food Sales Supervisor

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Cafeteria Manager, Dietary Supervisor, Dining Services Director, Food and Beverage Director, Food and Nutrition Services Supervisor, Food Production Supervisor, Kitchen Manager, Kitchen Supervisor.

Food Service Supervisor Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a food service supervisor include:

• Assign stations and breaks to cooks, servers and cashiers at the start of each shift.
• Open and close the outlet, including cash counts, equipment checks and security steps.
• Monitor food quality, portion sizes and holding temperatures throughout service.
• Step in on the line or register when the rush builds or someone calls out.
• Count inventory and place orders for food, packaging and retail snack items.
• Balance registers, prepare bank deposits and investigate cash shortages.
• Train new workers in food safety, customer service and point-of-sale procedures.
• Resolve customer complaints and meal plan or payment problems at the counter.
• Enforce sanitation schedules and correct problems found during health inspections.
• Record attendance and performance notes and share them with the manager.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a food service supervisor, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• ServSafe Food Protection Manager certification
• Cash handling and deposit procedures
• Point-of-sale and inventory systems
• Scheduling and delegating on a busy shift
• Food safety and sanitation rules
• Calm, clear direction during the rush
• Coaching new and part-time workers
• Customer service and complaint handling

Education and Training

While most food service supervisors are promoted from the crew after learning every station, it is a good idea to earn a food manager certificate early to show you are ready to run a shift alone. A diploma is usually enough. In large campus or hospital dining programs, progression to assistant manager may be more structured.

Salary and Job Outlook

The BLS projection for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers shows employment growing about 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. In fact, BLS expects roughly 171,500 openings a year across the group, since many supervisors move up into management or leave food service. Promotion from the crew is common.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers.

Food Service Supervisor Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Food Service Supervisors

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Washington ($59,400), District of Columbia ($57,170), Connecticut ($52,940), Colorado ($50,550), Vermont ($49,820). Pay is lowest in Oklahoma ($35,420), Arkansas ($33,800), West Virginia ($33,070).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 96% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 92% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 80% are on the phone every day
• 69% speak in front of groups at least once a week
• 45% wear safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses or a hard hat every day
• 44% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Food Service Supervisors Use

Tools and equipment

• Barcode scanners
• Card readers
• Cash registers
• Credit card processing machines
• Desktop computers
• Linear imaging scanners
• Long range charged coupled device CCD barcode scanners
• Notebook computers
• Point of sale POS printers
• Point of sale POS terminals

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Project
• Microsoft Word
• ADP Workforce Now
• CaterPro
• CBORD Foodservice Suite
• CBORD Group Menu Management System
• Compeat Restaurant Accounting Systems
• Compris Advanced Manager's Workstation

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Management of Personnel Resources, Speaking, Monitoring, Coordination, Active Listening, Instructing.

Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Food Production, English Language, Production and Processing.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

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Applying for a Food Service Supervisor Job

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