Company description

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, widely recognized as one of New York’s premier human services providers, is a settlement house founded in 1894 that provides an extensive array of effective and integrated services—social, educational, health, housing, mental health, nutritional and fitness—which significantly improve the lives of 16,000 people in need each year, ages 3 to 103, on the East Side of Manhattan. Our clients include older adults, unhoused and formerly unhoused adults, children and families, disabled persons, adult learners and more. For more information on Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, please visit lenoxhill.org and check us out on Facebook or Instagram.

The Neighborhood House has transformed our institutional food services to a farm-to-table model so that our clients across programs can eat, access and learn to use healthy, fresh, locally sourced and sustainable foods to improve their overall health and well-being. We serve 250,000+ meals annually to clients throughout our programs including three meals a day in our Women's Mental Health Shelter, Early Childhood Center and Older Adult Centers. For more information on our innovative program, The Teaching Kitchen® and Food Services Model, visit www.lenoxhill.org/teachingkitchen.

Job description

We are seeking an innovative, ambitious, and mission-driven Head Chef to join our Food Services team. Reporting to the Executive Chef & Director of Culinary Programs, the Head Chef will oversee the daily operations of the Food Services Department, providing hands-on leadership to a dynamic culinary team in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. Working collaboratively with the Teaching Kitchen® and Facilities teams, the Head Chef will support our mission by delivering exceptional food service while advancing our farm-to-institution model.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oversee the management and operations of our institutional kitchen, including the creation and management of program menus in accordance with all nutrition and funder requirements
• Lead and work closely with the Sous Chefs, Chef Tournant and all Food Services team members for effective daily operations, including overseeing schedules, hiring, onboarding, and training
• Collaborate with chefs to develop, test, and introduce culturally responsive, farm-to-institution recipes that are scalable for institutional food service
• Support the expansion of healthy food initiatives, including coordinating meal production, distribution logistics, and community partnerships
• Utilize technology and data systems to track food costs, inventory, and production quantities while ensuring compliance with government funding requirements
• Evaluate costs, negotiate prices with vendors, and develop relationships with potential new sourcing opportunities
• Facilitate routine team training, facility self-inspections, and inventory
• Assist with all daily food operations, as well as in-house special events (menu prep, event set-up and breakdown, etc.)
• Lead the ongoing improvement of kitchen standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring clear systems for production, sanitation, inventory, and team workflows
• Maintain compliance with all food handling procedures, including those of the Department of Health as well as those of the Neighborhood House
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary staff across departments at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and ensure streamlined communication related to menus and in-house meal service
• Complete all other responsibilities and duties as assigned by the Executive Chef & Director of Culinary Programs

Qualifications:

• Chef who thrives in a highly social, fast-paced community and institutional kitchen environment
• Bachelor’s degree, with 5+ years of culinary, food production, or restaurant management experience
• Experience operating community food programs and managing high-volume meal production kitchens and food service teams
• Be certified, or become certified, to make and serve food in New York City and ensure compliance with NYC Food Standards
• Food Protection Certificate from the New York City Department of Health, or ability to obtain
• Commitment to food equity, sustainable food systems, and social justice
• Strong management, organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Computer literacy, including Excel and relevant culinary or food service software
• Experience working with government agencies, such as NYC Aging and Child and Adult Care Food Program strongly preferred
• Fluency in Spanish is preferred to support effective communication with staff and community members
• Flexible and dependable, with the ability to work holidays as needed to ensure uninterrupted meal service

Salary: $80,000 annually

What We Offer

• Comprehensive health insurance choices for staff and their families

• Extensive paid time off – 25 days’ vacation time; 12 holidays; and sick time

• Matching contributions to Retirement Plan

• Wonderful paid parental leave policy for all staff

• Professional Development Opportunities – conferences, trainings, lectures and more

• Free Life Insurance – 3x annual salary

• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts for Medical, Dependent Care and Parking/Mass Transit

• Supplemental Insurance Coverage (Accident, Hospital and Critical Illness)

• We like to have fun! Monthly Film and Dinner nights, bowling parties, Mets and Yankee games, cruises, food trucks, holiday parties, parties on our two Green Roofs, chocolate event for Valentine’s Day and ice cream socials, and much more.

• State-of-the Art Fitness Center, Gym and Swimming Pool

• PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Eligible Employer

• The best colleagues in New York!

At Lenox Hill Neighborhood House we value respect, integrity, diversity and integrity. We are an equal opportunity employer. Lenox Hill Neighborhood House prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. Lenox Hill Neighborhood House conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations. The policy of equal employment opportunity (EEO) and anti-discrimination applies to all aspects of the relationship between Lenox Hill Neighborhood House and its colleagues.

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $75,000 - $100,000

Application instructions

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Deadline

November 08, 2026