Kitchen Manager

Company: Mercy Home For Boys and
Location: Chicago
Posted on: February 16, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description Join our team today! At Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, we are dedicated to empowering youth, fostering hope, and creating brighter futures. Our mission is to be advocates, educators, coaches, and role models for the youth we serve. We strongly believe that every young individual deserves a chance to thrive and reach their full potential. As one of the Top 100 Places to Work in Chicago according to the Chicago Tribune for the past 13 consecutive years, Mercy Home prides itself on prioritizing the growth and well-being of our team. We provide comprehensive training as well as ongoing professional development opportunities throughout your time here. If you're passionate, driven, and dedicated to making the world a better place, then we want you on our team. The committed workers at Mercy Home provide healing, guidance, and opportunity to young men and women in need. How You’ll Make an Impact: You will plan and provide well-balanced, nutritious meals for youth and staff, including purchasing and organizing food supplies, providing food and setting up service for internal events, establishing weekly menus, and supervising kitchen staff on the West Loop campus. In This Role, You Will: - Lead the preparation of nutritious and appealing meals for youth and staff. - Conduct regular, detailed line checks, facility reviews, and kitchen audits to correct deficiencies before official city inspections. - Develop dietitian-approved weekly menus in compliance with USDA food guidelines while using food items on hand and minimizing waste. - Train, develop, and supervise all kitchen staff and assist in food preparation. - Ensure kitchen staff are complying with all applicable sanitation, health, and personal hygiene standards as well as department and agency policies and procedures. - Ensure cleanliness and organization of the kitchen, dining room, stockroom, and adjoining areas, and schedule regular times for deep cleaning. - Work collaboratively with, and effectively communicate with (in both verbal and written form), Special Events coworkers on the planning and execution of special events. - Work collaboratively with, and effectively communicate with (in both verbal and written form), Youth Programs and Education & Career Resources Directors and coworkers regarding youth working in the kitchen, youth-related events, activities, and issues. - Minimize waste and maximize utilization of in-kind food donations, and competitively shop and negotiate for best food prices to remain fiscally responsible. - Coordinate or complete all non-delivered food purchases and donation pick-ups. - Establish a good working relationship with vendors and all agency coworkers. - Ensure adequate kitchen staffing at TV Mass tapings. What We Need From You: Minimum of 5 years’ experience as a chef. - Current sanitation certification from the Chicago Department of Public Health and compliance with state, local, and regulatory agencies in relation to food service. - Valid driver’s license and ability to drive a van. - Experience in managing and organizing food service for a large number of people. - Knowledge of meal planning, with child nutrition knowledge preferred. - Ability to safely use all food service equipment. - Ability to maintain kitchen sanitation and safety standards. - Ability to work with online ordering systems. - Ability to prepare reports. - Ability to work both independently and as an active team member. - Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills. - Excellent organizational skills. - Maturity and sensitivity to cultural and individual differences. - Ability to maintain a professional demeanor while exercising judgment and discretion in work. - Ability to follow oral and written instructions. - Ability to read and interpret documents such as operating and maintenance instructions, procedure manuals, recipes, menus, warning labels, packing slips, and supply orders. - Ability to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. - Ability to stand for extended periods of time, bend, and reach. - Flexibility in scheduling and willingness to cover other shifts and work occasional evenings and weekends for events. - Regular and predictable attendance. - Commitment to the mission, values, and goals of the agency. Basic Information / Schedule Details: Monday to Friday and some weekends Flexible Hours: 6am–4pm, 9am–6pm Pay: $60,000 to $65,000 annually For information on benefits, please follow this link: https://www.mercyhome.org/working -mercy-home-2/benefits/ Why You Will Love Working Here: At Mercy Home, our commitment to providing the best care for the youth we serve extends to ensuring our team receives top-of-the-line training and professional development. We are a Top Workplace as awarded by the Chicago Tribune. Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to inclusion and diversity. Visit us at www.mercyhome.org/jobs

Keywords: Mercy Home For Boys and, Lombard , Kitchen Manager, Hospitality & Tourism , Chicago, Illinois