Event Lead, Lead Food Service Worker S04 - Cornell Catering

Student & Campus Life (SCL) inspires transformation in all Cornell students on their journey of individual, academic and personal evolution. Our division is comprised of leading student affairs experts who support our campus on pressing student life matters including public service, health, wellbeing, connection and belonging, residential living, food services, sports, recreation, career services, and student activities and organizations including sorority and fraternity life. We provide support and services to roughly 25,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on multiple campuses in the U.S. and abroad.
As a division of Cornell Dining, Cornell Catering is the preferred catering service for Cornell University events and is uniquely qualified to serve the entire Cornell community and beyond. We are proud to work for Cornell and place a strong emphasis on Cornell Pride; our focus on students is one of the many concepts that differentiate Cornell Catering from other caterers. With its team of experienced professional staff, Cornell Catering is a full-service caterer that provides incredible food and beverages to guests at formal banquets for thousands, elegant weddings for hundreds, or intimate dinners for a few. Over the past thirty-five years, Cornell Catering has worked with clients to create customized events that meet specific objectives and budgets.

Under general supervision, the Event Lead assists in preparation and presentation of various foods for service at concessions and catered event. These tasks are accomplished through their own efforts and through the coordination of assigned staff.  Additionally, this position has the unique responsibility of serving as a role model for the team and therefore must be team-oriented, customer-service driven and have a desire to succeed.

Likely daily tasks include:

- Assisting with the coordination of customer orders and work assignments, including their own, for the preparation, production, presentation and service of various food items to ensure timeliness at a variety of concessions, suites service and catered events. This includes preparing specific food items and maintaining the specific equipment and supplies that belong to these stations

- Ensuring and maintaining food standards and health codes at all times; including, HACCP, and NY State Health codes and procedures as well as all NYS liquor authority laws regarding the controls of alcohol at all points of sale.

- Operate register and process sales transactions using appropriate procedures for cash, checks, credit cards and meal plan cards by following established security procedures for all cash transactions.

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

Success Factors

A successful candidate, must have good customer service, interpersonal, communication and leadership skills as well as be able to work with a varied clientele and coworkers. Will also be able to provide functional supervision and/or training of other culinary staff and student employees as assigned. Ability to be creative and adapt to changing and varied roles is imperative as well as being flexible as schedules, shifts, locations, and daily tasks are subject to change. Position may require evening, weekend, and holiday hours. May perform other related duties as assigned. Position may be subject to seasonal lay-offs.

This is position is part of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The current rate of pay is listed in the collective bargaining agreement here: https://hr.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/2023-04/uaw.pdf and starts at $24.55/hour.

Required Qualifications:

- High school diploma or equivalent with at least one year related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Higher education and experience in a leadership role is preferred.

- Basic skills in English including reading, writing, math and verbal articulation.

- Must be able to lift 30 lbs. occasionally and up to 50 lbs. (minimal). Must be able to reach over your head. Must be able to stand for long periods of time, and conduct repetitive motion, such as chopping, stirring, and mixing. Occasional squatting and frequent bending. Continuous exposure to temperature changes (must be able to tolerate the extreme ranges), heat, steam, smoke, slippery floors, food waste and kitchen equipment such as slicers, fryers, steamers, ovens. Prolonged attentiveness in the use of equipment and the tasks at hand. Long periods of standing.

- Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience in off-premise catering or concessions operations and ServSafe Certifications are preferred.

- Prior experience with the service and sale of alcohol products is preferred and knowledge of proper sanitation and HACCP procedures helpful.

No relocation assistance is provided for this position. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

University Job Title:
Food Service Worker S04
Job Family:
United Auto Workers
Level:
S04
Pay Rate Type:
Hourly
Pay Range:
Refer to Union Pay Rates Link Below
Remote Option Availability:
Onsite
Company:
Endowed
Contact Name:
Shawn Ruebel
Contact Email:
sr894@cornell.edu

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

Non-Union Positions
Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

- Prior relevant work or industry experience

- Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

- Unique applicable skills

- Academic Discipline

To learn more about Cornell’s non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator .

Union Positions
The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined in accordance with the rates in the respective collective bargaining agreement . To learn more about Cornell’s union wages, see Union Pay Rates .

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2026-11-06