Production Sous Chef

About the role

Join our team and become a part of something bigger – a force for change in the fight against hunger. The Community Foodbank of New Jersey is more than just a food bank – we champion healthier lifestyles and positively impact social and economic change. Together we can create a stronger, more resilient New Jersey for everyone.

The Community FoodBank of New Jersey seeks an experienced, mission-driven Production Sous Chef to support daily Community Kitchen operations. This hands-on leadership role leads daily meal production activities, supervises production staff and volunteers, manages workflow and inventory, and ensures compliance with quality and food safety standards.

Working closely with the Culinary Operations Manager, the Production Sous Chef supports programs including Kids Cafe, Summer Food Service, Medically Tailored Meals, emergency feeding efforts, and other meal initiatives. The ideal candidate brings strong culinary expertise, organizational skills, attention to detail, and a commitment to continuous improvement in a high-volume production environment.

What you’ll do in your role

• Lead high-volume food production operations in a commissary, institutional, co-manufacturing, or centralized production environment, with a focus on efficiency, quality control, food safety, and meeting production deadlines.
• Lead daily meal production operations to ensure production schedules, quality standards, and distribution deadlines are met.
• Execute menus and production plans while maintaining established nutrition, food safety, and presentation standards.
• Supervise production staff, volunteers, trainees, and temporary employees to ensure efficient and productive kitchen operations.
• Create daily production schedules, assign responsibilities, and communicate priorities through regular team meetings.
• Monitor inventory levels, support purchasing activities, and communicate shortages, substitutions, and product quality concerns.
• Ensure proper receiving, storage, organization, and FIFO inventory practices to maintain product quality and minimize waste.
• Verify meal counts, packaging, labeling, and delivery documentation to ensure order accuracy and compliance with program requirements.
• Conduct quality control reviews of staged orders and resolve discrepancies prior to distribution.
• Collaborate with Child Nutrition, Catering, Warehouse, Volunteer Services, and other departments to support organizational goals.
• Provide training, instruction, and oversight to volunteers and staff while fostering a safe, collaborative, and mission-driven work environment.
• Maintain accurate production records, inventory data, and operational reports while identifying opportunities for process improvement and increased efficiency.
• Serve as the kitchen leader in the absence of the Culinary Operations Manager.
• Lead production meetings and debriefs to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

What you’ll need to be successful in this role

• Minimum of 8-10 verifiable years of industry experience as a Sous Chef, Kitchen Manager or equivalent in a high-volume kitchen environment.
• Verified ServSafe Certification.
• Degrees in Culinary Arts or Food Service Management from an accredited university or equivalent industry experience required with 3-5 years of experience in Food Service coupled with an agility and emotional intelligence to lead a complex and geographically diverse team.
• Collaborative people leader with strong vision to deliver profitable business results.
• Able to influence and inform strategic development for function and business.
• Demonstrated project management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite applications.

Pay Transparency

The salary range for this position is $63,982 - $86,583. The final rate may be influenced by factors such as the position's scope and responsibilities, work experience, training, job-related skills, internal equity, and market conditions.