Position Description for Director of Catering
Michigan Shores Club
Overview
The Director of Catering is responsible for the overall operation of the catering facility. This involves
professionally accepting and responding to inquiry calls in a timely manner; presenting the Club to prospective
party hosts (Club members and non-members) by way of a tour of the facility and thorough explanation of the
staff’s capabilities; negotiating event pricing that is acceptable to the host while ensuring that the Club receives
maximum sales revenue and profitability; creating proposals and contractual agreements to adequately inform
party hosts of exact pricing and arrangements while protecting the Club from unexpected cancelations or legal
claims; scheduling events (with special emphasis on weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, fundraising galas and special
Club parties) to ensure that the Club maximizes its limited space while eliminating conflicts with other events
that occur during the same period of time; coordinating all details related to the event including: room set-up,
menu planning, third party vendor arrangements, etc.; scheduling and overseeing the activities of the catering
manager and banquet manager to successfully execute all events to the satisfaction of the party host. The
Director of Catering works extensively with chairpersons for the Club’s Social, Marketing and Food and Beverage
Committees to plan events for the annual Club calendar and organize and plan wine dinners, holiday events,
special meetings, etc. for the membership.
Required Skills
The Director of Catering will possess a comprehensive knowledge of food and beverage, menu creation and
planning, wedding and high profile event planning, negotiating, revenue forecasting and the ability to manage
support staff and work productively with fellow supervisors. Minimum three years catering sales experience in a
high volume Club or hotel catering operation is required. Four-year college degree preferred. Excellent verbal
and written communication skills are critical in order to communicate effectively and professionally with party
hosts, Club members and fellow staff members. Similarly, a complete knowledge of and comfort with personal
computers is critical to the success of the Director of Catering as a large percentage of daily communication
occurs via electronic means. Most importantly, the ideal candidate for this position must maintain a positive
attitude at all times and focus one’s complete efforts on a full-time basis to serving the needs of the
membership and all other individuals who host events at the Club.
Work Schedule
Like all top-level Club managers, the Director of Catering is expected to work a five day (primarily TuesdaySaturday) 50-hour per week schedule. Due to the large number of evening and weekend events occurring at the
Club, most Friday and Saturdays feature work days of approximately 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Room Configuration and Menu Planning Responsibilities
The Director of Catering is responsible for the appearance of the banquet venue before and during the event.
Room diagrams that fit the event planner’s needs for seating, audio/visual requirements and entertainment
needs must be created. Working with the event planner and the Executive Chef, the Director of Catering will
produce a menu that can be prepared and served successfully for the number of attendees planned. Menu
pricing should be created so as to fit the budget of the event planner while maximizing revenue and profitability
for the Club. The Chef should be present at the menu planning/tasting meeting if necessary to ensure that the
event planner feels comfortable with how the food will be presented and served.
Scheduling Responsibilities
The Director of Catering is responsible for the daily operations of the catering facility. This means that the
individual in the position is responsible for hiring, training and discharging all supervisory support staff, banquet
servers, bartenders and coat check attendants. Providing a schedule of catered events to the contract valet
parking service is required on a monthly basis. It is critical that the Director of Catering has enough full and parttime staff available to adequately cover the scheduling needs of the largest possible event that can be
accommodated at the Club. Furthermore, the Director of Catering must understand the strengths and
weaknesses of all support personnel to best schedule staffing for different events.
Ancillary Event Planning Responsibilities
In the course of planning events, the Director of Catering is responsible for assisting party hosts find other
service providers such as disc jockeys, limousine companies, photographers, videographers and wedding
coordinators. The Director of Catering should develop a list of other professionals in these fields and provide
them as referrals to clients. The list should either be offered to event planners or these services should be
booked directly by the Director of Catering.
Customer Service Expectations
The Director of Catering should be available to members/clients throughout the planning process and during the
introductory portion of the event to ensure that the room has been set according to specifications and the event
host has been appropriately introduced to the Banquet Manager. During high profile events, the Director of
Catering will be expected to remain present for the entire dinner service or longer if necessary to ensure that
the event is executed successfully. Ultimately, the success or failure of all catered events rests solely with the
Director of Catering.
Compensation
The Club will compensate the Director of Catering with a generous base salary and commission based on a set
percentage of sales. Paid vacation, a 401K plan with Club match, participation in the annual Holiday bonus, and
excellent medical and dental benefits will be included as part of the compensation package.