Kitchen Floor Manager

Open Arms of Minnesota (OAM) is a nonprofit that prepares and delivers healthy, nutritious food to people living with life-threatening illnesses. Our mission: by providing food as medicine, we nourish our clients and build community. In our two state-of-the-art kitchens, OAM staff members and more than 6,500 volunteers create meals specifically designed for our clients’ nutritional needs. We use fresh and, whenever possible, organic ingredients, including produce from our own 5 Open Farms urban garden locations. Volunteers deliver meals throughout the Twin Cities metro area to approximately 3,687 clients, caregivers, and dependents annually, providing nourishment and hope for families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. In addition, families in need throughout Minnesota receive meals shipped to them weekly. There are no fees for any of Open Arms’ services. Open Arms is a volunteer-driven organization and is culturally unique in our high commitment to an excellent volunteer experience

To learn more, visit www.openarmsmn.org

Open Date: January 20th, 2026 Closing Date:

Position Overview:

This is a full-time, salaried, benefits-eligible position in a high-volume production kitchen preparing and packaging ready-to-eat meals. Working as part of a team at Open Arms of Minnesota – St. Paul campus, the Kitchen Floor Manager is responsible for working with staff and volunteers to ensure the accurate packaging of our made-from-scratch meals. The Kitchen Floor Manager will oversee the daily meal packaging, ensuring efficiency and volunteer engagement through proper distribution of tasks. The Kitchen Floor Manager is responsible for managing a team of packaging associates, overseeing the volunteer meal packaging shifts, kitchen safety, sanitization, and organization. The Floor Manager oversees the daily operational flow of food production, packaging, and storage. This position ensures efficient coordination between kitchen, packing, and freezer operations while maintaining organization, food safety, and accurate inventory management in collaboration with all OAM staff positions, this position is responsible for helping ensure volunteers and interns have an exemplary experience during all interactions with Open Arms and is expected to consistently maintain a high level of customer service to all guests, clients and fellow team members.

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate for this position:

• An experienced FOH Manager or Restaurant Manager, who is organized, detail-oriented, 100% committed to continuous improvement, and strives for the highest quality services to clients, staff, and volunteers.
• A manager of people who understands how to motivate team members, but is knowledgeable about, and comfortable in HR, and can follow employment processes from beginning to end.
• A curious, operational thinker who is also a creative problem solver , unafraid to use unorthodox methods, quick and decisive, and seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
• A hands-on team player who is comfortable at the leadership level, but is not afraid to get their hands dirty in organizational operations.
• A tone setter that pursues everything with positivity, energy, and a need to finish, even in the face of resistance or setbacks; steadfastly pushing self and others for results.
• A warm, authentic team manager and leader with excellent interpersonal skills, who is proactive and forward-thinking, bringing emotional intelligence to their work.
• Someone with high cultural competency , a passion for diversity in the workplace, experience, and commitment to creating and maintaining an equitable and inclusive environment for staff and volunteers.
• A collaborative, inclusive peer who responds and relates well to people in all positions; manages both up and down, is seen as a team player who looks for common ground
• A culture influencer who understands that Open Arms’ unique, relational culture is the key to our success and growth.
• Someone who excels in a rapidly changing, fast-paced environment with extremely diverse and distinct organizational departments.
• Someone who can manage operations by designing practices, processes, and procedures necessary to get things done; simplifying complex processes; maximizing fewer resources; creating systems that manage themselves.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

• Responsible for packaging in a large production kitchen, ensuring correct amount and type of meals are ready for delivery to clients on a daily basis.
• Provides direct supervision to Meal Expediter and Packagers.
• Communicate and organize packing priorities to Meal Expediters and volunteers.
• In the absence of the Production and Menu Operations Manager , communicate with the Senior Manager of Kitchen Operations on issues that require management attention.
• Oversee the flow of food from coolers to packing lines, into the freezer, and through bagging shifts.
• Lead and coordinate bagging shifts, ensuring accurate packing and adherence to production timelines.
• Maintain organization and staging of all coolers, freezers, and dry storage areas.
• Oversee freezer organization and efficient product rotation.
• Put away deliveries and assist in verifying order accuracy.
• Assist with entering and maintaining orders.
• Support and assist with inventory counts and reconciliation.
• Maintain accurate inventory of packaged meals.
• Oversee transfers from the warehouse to the kitchen.
• Responsible for creating labels for all meals.
• Lead the substitution process, communicating changes and securing approval from the Registered Dietitian (RD).
• Ability to open and close the kitchen following standard operating procedures.
• Uphold all food safety, quality, and organizational standards across departments.
• Maintains food quality, safety, and presentation standards using portion control and appropriate cooling, storage, and packing procedures.
• Ensure accurate labeling of all items produced in the kitchen, including sub-ingredients, allergens, product dating, etc., seeking guidance or clarification as needed from the Production and Menu Operations Manager and RD Menu Specialist.
• Ensure that high standards of sanitation, cleanliness, and safety are maintained throughout the kitchen, following safe food handling guidelines and all applicable state and local food safety regulations.
• Ensures paperwork accuracy, such as daily meal inventory and payroll records
• Train new staff and provide ongoing guidance to the team.
• Support the Production and Menu Operations Manager with ongoing training and procedural changes with volunteers and staff.
• Demonstrate a high level of customer service and professional behavior within the kitchen.
• Help to identify and resolve ongoing issues with production or waste.
• Assists in preparing for and catering in-house special events.
• Provide positive experience to volunteers and other guests in the kitchen, interacting regularly with staff, volunteers, and the public while modeling the highest level of customer service by maintaining a positive, friendly, and helpful attitude at all times, and representing Open Arms with integrity.
• Direct upbeat and positive organized interactions with volunteers in the kitchen, including large groups.
• Use computer as needed.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Volunteer Engagement:

• Provides an outstanding environment and experience for all volunteers by
• Setting an example to other kitchen staff by consistently providing high-quality customer service and modeling positive conflict resolution.
• Regularly seeking out meaningful and positive interactions with volunteers.
• Ensuring volunteers have access to tasks and projects.
• Working with the Volunteer Engagement Team to be prepared for volunteer arrivals and departures.
• Meeting regularly with Volunteer Engagement Leadership to discuss ongoing volunteer needs in the kitchen and resolve volunteer-related issues.

Staffing Expectations for all Managers/Supervisors: Managers and Supervisors are role models for all staff and volunteers and are responsible for conforming to a high standard for work performance, ethics, integrity, collaboration, positive respective communication, and problem-solving. Open Arms is a dynamic, high-change environment which demands that Managers and Supervisors not only effectively manage their own department but also work collaboratively with other departments and employees to constantly improve systems and operations. The Kitchen Floor Manager will perform the following functions of staff management as it relates to kitchen operations:

• Provides direct supervision to Meal Expediter and Packagers.
• Ensures proper staffing in the kitchen by scheduling staff members based on production needs and volunteer schedules.
• Fosters a team-centered work environment and provides mentorship to staff.
• Interacts positively with Kitchen management, coworkers, and the public to promote a team effort and maintain a positive and professional approach.
• Identifies and makes recommendations to the Production and Menu Operations Manager regarding staffing needs.
• Leads a collaborative interview process for filling vacancies in the kitchen.
• Provides effective training and ongoing performance coaching to ensure that each team member is meeting the expectations of their position and are recognized for their achievements.
• Champions OAM mission and gets Team’s buy-in on organizational changes that might impact the day-to-day Kitchen operations.
• Ensure kitchen staff are active participants in communications of the broader organization, such as All Staff meetings, weekly Staff News, and emails.
• With the support of HR, provides disciplinary action when necessary and works within OAM guidelines on when to seek assistance of HR or senior management on employee or volunteer relations issues.
• Ensures a high level of customer service and professional behavior by the kitchen staff.

Requirements:

• At least 5 years of experience in a high-volume, large restaurant or banquet operation.
• At least 2 years of management experience preferred.
• Experience in an institutional kitchen with special medical diets is a plus.
• ServSafe certified.
• Strong leadership and communication skills.
• Great organizational skills and ability to adapt quickly to the changing needs of the business.
• A demonstrated commitment and understanding of high customer service
• Ability to be energizing and contribute to a positive team environment.
• The ability to maintain a positive attitude and cheerful demeanor in stressful situations.
• Ability to multitask and keep composure while working under pressure during busy periods.
• The drive and ability to learn new techniques and skills.
• Ability to work independently, as part of a team, and across departments.
• High work ethic and demonstrated reliability.
• Ability to work in two different sites as needed.
• Requires availability during hours of operation , including weeknights or weekends.
• Ability to adhere to attendance and punctuality requirements, to meet time-sensitive client and business needs.
• Sensitivity and commitment to diversity and ability to work respectfully with a wide array of co-workers and members of the community.
• A passion for the mission and values of Open Arms.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to communicate verbally and in writing in English.
• Able to frequently lift and carry food, beverages, and other items greater than 35 pounds, stand for long periods of time, and able to transport up to 70 pounds.
• Able to stand, sit, walk, bend, stoop, and twist. Requires full range of motion, manual dexterity, and eye-hand coordination. Requires corrected vision, full color vision, sense of smell and taste, and hearing to normal range.
• Able to operate a variety of kitchen appliances, tools, and utensils, and to operate office equipment and software programs.
• Able to operate standard office equipment such as telephone, computer, printer, and copy machine.

Reports To: Production and Menu Operations Manager