Associate Director, Hospitality & Engagement

About the Opportunity

JOB SUMMARY

The Associate Director of Hospitality & Engagement is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing guest experience, service analytics, catering operations, and financial planning within Campus Dining. This position requires a candidate who can operate at the intersection of hospitality management and data-driven strategy.

Scope of Role:

• Budget Oversight: Manages a combined annual operating budget of approximately $56.9M, inclusive of $54M in Campus Dining Operations and $2.9M in Catering.
• Organizational Impact: While this role currently has no direct reports, it carries significant cross-functional influence across multiple dining units, catering teams, and campus partner departments. Future organizational growth may include direct supervisory responsibilities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree required in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Food Service Management, or Data Analysis. Other relevant experience may be considered.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive leadership experience in large-scale hospitality, food service, or dining operations.
• Demonstrated financial acumen with experience managing multi-departmental operating budgets of $5M or greater, including forecasting, variance analysis, and cost controls.
• Ability to lead data analytics or guest feedback initiatives and translate findings into operational improvements.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with experience working across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience with catering operations, event management, and elevated dining programs preferred.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

Sentiment Feedback & Guest Experience Program

Manage and advance the Sentiment Feedback Program to continuously improve guest satisfaction across all campus service venues. This function operates at the intersection of data analytics, customer engagement, and operational strategy, and is currently supported by a dedicated Sentiment Feedback Program Specialist, co-op student, reporting to this role.

A. Sentiment Analysis & Data Oversight

• Direct the monitoring and analysis of guest feedback across all channels, including online reviews, surveys, comment platforms, and customer support interactions.
• Oversee the use of sentiment analysis tools, AI, and large language models (LLMs) to assess overall guest sentiment, identify emerging trends, and surface key themes across service units.
• Ensure consistent application of data analysis best practices, including dashboard creation, automated reporting, and visualization tools such as Tableau, Google Analytics, and Excel.
• Establish quarterly benchmarks for guest satisfaction scores and present findings with actionable, data-informed recommendations.

B. Feedback Management

• Oversee the collection, organization, and categorization of feedback data to ensure it is accessible, accurate, and actionable across the department.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams — including unit managers, culinary leads, and campus partners — to ensure timely and thoughtful responses to guest feedback and service inquiries.
• Maintain data integrity and accuracy standards across all feedback systems and reporting outputs.

C. Insights Generation & Reporting

• Extract actionable insights from guest feedback to drive improvements in dining products, service delivery, and overall campus experiences.
• Prepare and present regular reports summarizing sentiment analysis findings, trend analysis, and strategic recommendations for key stakeholders.
• Translate data-driven insights into concrete operational and programming adjustments across campus service venues.

D. Guest & Community Engagement

• Lead proactive guest engagement efforts, including the design and deployment of surveys, focus groups, and other feedback mechanisms to gather meaningful input from students, faculty, and the broader campus community.
• Oversee in-person tabling and engagement initiatives that connect directly with the student community to gather real-time feedback and foster positive relationships.
• Ensure that guest interactions reflect a high standard of empathy, professionalism, and responsiveness in alignment with campus service hospitality values.

E. Continuous Improvement

• Partner with the marketing and communications team to refine promotions, campaigns, and messaging based on sentiment trends and guest behavior insights.
• Continuously evaluate and optimize the Sentiment Feedback Program itself, incorporating new tools, methodologies, and best practices as they emerge.
• Goal: Achieve and sustain a guest satisfaction rating of 75% or above across all dining units, with measurable year-over-year improvement driven by data-informed action.

Catering Operations Oversight

Oversee all aspects of Campus Dining's catering operations, ensuring quality, profitability, and strong client relationships. Responsibilities include:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the catering department, managing an annual budget of $2.9M.
• Ensure consistent execution of events ranging from departmental meetings to large-scale university events and ceremonies.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for client relations, resolving issues and identifying opportunities to grow catering revenue.

Cross-Divisional Engagement & Campus Partnerships

Lead cross-divisional engagement efforts to strengthen Campus Dining's role as a collaborative campus partner. Responsibilities include:

• Build and maintain relationships with key university stakeholders including Student Affairs, Facilities, Athletics, Academic Departments, and Residence Life.
• Represent Campus Dining in university-wide planning initiatives, committees, and sustainability efforts.
• Identify opportunities to integrate dining services into broader campus programming, events, and student success initiatives.
• Serve as a Campus Dining ambassador at university events, orientations, and community engagement functions.

Meal Plan Growth & Strategy

Identify and develop Meal Plan growth strategies to increase participation, retention, and overall program value.

Responsibilities include:

• Analyze current meal plan enrollment trends, pricing structures, and participation rates across student, faculty, and community populations.
• Develop and execute marketing and outreach strategies in collaboration with university communications and student affairs teams to drive new participation.
• Evaluate and propose new meal plan tiers, flex spending options, or value-added features to meet evolving student needs.
• Target: Increase meal plan participation by 5% annually, with a focus on voluntary (non-mandatory) enrollments and retention.
• Report on program performance and ROI on a semester basis.

Elevated Dining Experiences

Oversee all elevated dining experiences, upholding the highest standards in culinary quality, service excellence, and hospitality. This is the core function of the role and encompasses the following areas:

A. Program Leadership & Standards

• Monitor service, presentation, and culinary standards across all elevated dining venues and experiences (e.g., The Faculty Club, VIP events, presidential functions, donor events, and specialty dining concepts).
• Develop and implement elevated dining programming that reflects the university's culture, values, and brand identity.

B. Menu & Concept Development

• Collaborate with the Executive Chef and culinary team to develop seasonal menus, special dining concepts, and event-specific offerings.
• Ensure menus reflect dietary diversity, local sourcing initiatives, and sustainability goals.
• Incorporate guest feedback and industry trends to evolve offerings and maintain competitive relevance.

C. Financial Stewardship

• Monitor food and labor costs, identify efficiencies, and ensure programs are operating within or below budget targets.
• Develop annual budget proposals and financial forecasts for elevated dining operations.

D. Data-Driven Decision Making

• Use analytics tools and guest sentiment data to evaluate the performance of dining experiences and identify areas for improvement.
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) including participation rates, per-meal costs, satisfaction scores, and event feedback.
• Present regular performance reports with data-informed recommendations.

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.