Catering Manager Job Description for Recruiters

The catering manager plays a crucial role in ensuring that events run smoothly, from meticulously planned menus to flawless execution on the day. With the right individual at the helm, your organization can deliver memorable experiences that keep guests coming back time and again. However, crafting a detailed job description that accurately reflects the responsibilities and expectations of this role is no small feat. This catering manager job description template can be customized and posted to job boards or your career page to attract the best candidates for the role.

What Is a Catering Manager?

A catering manager is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of catering operations, ensuring smooth and efficient service delivery. This role involves coordinating events from start to finish, which includes planning menus in collaboration with chefs or culinary teams, managing staff, liaising with clients to understand their needs and preferences, and overseeing logistics such as venue setups, equipment, and supplies. A catering manager must ensure that all health and safety regulations are adhered to, maintain high standards of food quality and service, and manage budgets effectively to maximize profitability. Excellent organizational and communication skills are essential for a catering manager, as they must balance client satisfaction with operational efficiency, often in high-pressure environments.

Where to Find a Catering Manager?

To source talented candidates for a catering manager, recruiters should consider:

• Hospitality, event, and catering job boards (e.g., specialized hospitality job sites in your region).
• General recruitment platforms (LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor): post a detailed Catering Manager job description with accurate keywords and responsibilities.
• Industry networks and associations (event planners, catering associations): Candidates often circulate within these circles.
• Referrals within hospitality companies or hotels: Many experienced catering managers already work in hotels, resorts, banquets, or restaurants.
• Social media/professional groups: Facebook groups and LinkedIn groups focused on F&B, events, and hospitality.
• Recruitment agencies specializing in hospitality or events: They often maintain candidate pools.
• Internally upskilling staff: Sometimes, the best candidate is an event coordinator or assistant planner already within your organization; the catering manager job description can be used as a career ladder guideline.

Catering Manager Job Description Template

We are seeking a self-driven, focused, and dynamic catering manager to join our growing team! The ideal candidate will have a wealth of experience in the catering industry with supervisory or management experience. The main focus of the role is to oversee and manage the catering team within the hotel and ensure that the highest standard of catering and food is provided at all times.

Catering Manager Responsibilities

• Meeting with clients to understand event goals, preferences, and constraints.
• Designing menus (with input from chefs) to satisfy budget, theme, diet restrictions, and guest expectations.
• Hiring, training, and scheduling catering staff (servers, bartenders, and kitchen assistants).
• Coordinating with external vendors (rentals, décor, equipment, florists, AV).
• Ensuring compliance with food safety, health codes, and sanitation standards.
• Overseeing transport, setup, and service during events.
• Managing on-site troubleshooting (client changes, delays, staff issues).
• Tracking costs, food waste, revenue, and preparing post-event reports.
• Maintaining relationships with clients for repeat business.

Catering Manager Requirements

• Degree in catering or another related hospitality field, or 2 years of experience in a similar role, and equivalent education
• Professional, presentable, and well-groomed for each event
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Confident in communicating with various people from different backgrounds
• Great attention to detail
• Excellent leadership abilities with fine-tuned delegation skills
• Good problem-solving abilities
• Sound knowledge of Microsoft Office tools, including Word, Excel, and Outlook
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to set and achieve KPIs
• Good understanding of food and beverage hygiene

Challenges in Hiring a Catering Manager

• According to SHRM, 51% of organizations report a low number of qualified applicants as a top recruitment challenge. In hospitality/food service roles, competition is high and the candidate pool is limited.
• In hospitality recruitment, many candidates may have restaurant or banquet experience but lack full event coordination or vendor management skills.
• During peak seasons, demand surges—recruiters must fill multiple roles quickly while maintaining quality. That’s a known pain point in high-volume recruitment.
• Even when you land a strong catering manager, the risk of turnover is real. In the restaurant/hospitality sector, hiring and retention have been flagged as the top challenges.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire?

• Glassdoor’s data ranges between USD 63,000 and USD 103,000 for some Catering Manager roles, with a median near USD 80,000 (depending on location, company, and bonuses)
• Job board fees, agency fees, marketing of job post, headhunter commission (often 15–25% of first-year salary)
• Overhead & benefits: Health insurance, leave, travel, meal allowances, bonuses, equipment, phone, software licenses, uniforms
• Interview/assessment costs: Time spent by multiple stakeholders, skills tests, travel, and meals
• Onboarding & training costs: Shadowing existing staff, trial events, mentor supervision

Conclusion

A robust catering manager job description is your critical first step in recruiting a person who can deliver excellence in event catering. It must clearly articulate the scope (clients, event scale), responsibilities, required skills, decision authority, and benefits. Recognize the challenges, limited talent pool, high competition, skills mismatch, and retention risk, and back your hiring with data and competitive compensation. When recruiters approach this thoughtfully, the likelihood of securing a strong and sustainable catering manager increases significantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I make my catering manager job description stand out from competitors?

A: Emphasize exciting event types, autonomy, performance bonuses, growth paths, and support structures (back-end staff, systems).

Q: What level of experience should appear in a catering manager job description?

A: Often, 3–5 years of event or catering management experience is ideal; you could allow strong candidates with 2 years plus demonstrated leadership.

Q: How do recruiters screen candidates for a catering manager job description?

A: Use behavioral interview questions tied to events (e.g., “Tell me about an event you had to salvage last minute”) and relevant metrics (budget variance, client satisfaction).

Q: What KPIs would a recruiter expect in a catering manager job description?

A: KPIs could include event profit margin, client satisfaction scores, food waste reduction, staff utilization, and repeat bookings.

Q: How do we measure success once we hire under a given catering manager job description?

A: Within the first 6–12 months, assess event delivery quality, budget adherence, team stability, revenue growth, and client referrals.