Director of Food and Beverage Service 
Dataw Island Club, Beaufort, South Carolina

Dataw Island is a picturesque 870 acre gated residential community located just outside the antebellum town of Beaufort, SC. Selected by Southern Living Magazine as the “Best Small Southern Town,” Beaufort is approximately 1 hour away from Savannah and 2 hours from Charleston, SC.  Additional information can be located on http://www.dataw.org, http://www.beaufort.com, http://www.beaufortsc.org, www.Savannah.com and www.Savannah-visit.com .

Facilities Overview

Dataw Island is a private, secluded sea island located 6 miles outside of historic Beaufort, SC.  There are 1220 club members. A majority of the membership is retired.  The elegant 42,000 square foot clubhouse contains formal and informal dining areas, a large ballroom, private event rooms and a golf pro shop. Additional facilities include practice facility and putting green, 8 Har-Tru Tennis Courts, tennis pro shop, snack facility, marina, swimming pool, croquet courts, pickleball courts, bocce courts, community center and miles of leisure trails. 

Gross revenues for Dataw Island Club are $10 Million, food and beverage sales total $2.6M. Food sales comprise 1.7M dollars of that total, with beverage sales just under$1M.  Of the $2.6M in gross sales, $700,000 is special events revenue.  The club operates 12 months per year, 6 days per week. Please visit the Dataw website www.dataw.org. for additional information.

Food and Beverage Outlets

The Club has three dining outlets.  There is a free standing deli operation near the pool, golf and tennis amenities and two other restaurant concepts inside the clubhouse; The Pub and The Tides Edge Grille.  In 2012, the membership committed to a complete renovation of The Pub and The Dining Room with new dining concepts for both.  There is a dining expansion in the planning stages.  The busy and popular Pub is a 100-seat outlet with an upscale casual pub menu and service style and sometimes expands into the Tides Edge Grille for additional seating.  The Grille is a 2-3 night per week outlet where reservations are often required for the 35 seats.  This fine dining operation offers frequently changing, small and crafted menus focusing on locally sourced products.  The service style is informative to the diner, elegant and deliberate.  The dining outlets enjoy panoramic views of the golf course, croquet lawns and tidal marsh.  There is an outdoor terrace with a fireplace that also services the membership’s dining needs.  These dining areas represent as fine and comfortable dining ambiance as there is in the Lowcountry.  

The 5,000 square –foot Carolina Ballroom accommodates up to 300 guests for large affairs while our more intimate Tabby Room can serve an occasion for 50. Other rooms can be used for smaller events.  All venues overlook sweeping views of the marshes, golf courses and croquet lawns.

Qualifications and Job Duties

• The Club is seeking a highly motivated and hands on Director of Food and Beverage with an eye for detail in all aspects of food and beverage service. The successful candidate should have excellent written, verbal and communication skills, as well as strong interpersonal, organizational and computer skills (preferably Northstar system knowledge.)   The ideal candidate will be able to use past experiences in assuming responsibilities of planning and implementing budgets, employee scheduling, hiring, training of staff, departmental coordination, planning and organized administrative skills.  Considerable knowledge of food, wine, spirits and service technique are required.  The candidate must oversee a developing wine program and Wine Society of members; to include inspiring creative ideas and overseeing the wine retail purchasing aspect of the position.  The Director of Food and Beverage Service should be visible and engaged at appropriate times.  The candidate is also expected to help lead the Club as it expands its dining operation due to recent membership growth and excessive demand for dining opportunities.  

Dataw Island is committed to a workplace that respects and supports individual employees who work in a professional, member pleasing, cost-effective manner.  Prior private club experience is preferred.

The Director of Food & Beverage Service is responsible for all food and beverage service operations while working closely with executive chef to ensure quality and innovative services, products and offerings to members and guests.  This position will supervise and coordinate the efforts of the service staff and dining service managers.  This role is responsible for overseeing budget, inventory control, management and operation of all member dining outlets and banquets with a focus on quality and profitability.

Responsibilities 

• Provides leadership and support to all front of house employees while maintaining a cooperative and agreeable interaction with all back of house staff members
• Provides clear direction to all staff and offers good action planning and organizational skills to approach all department events and initiatives
• Coordinates with dining service managers on supervision of the servers, bartenders, and food runners
• Greets members and guests by name and oversees member and guest service
• Ensures maximum member and guest satisfaction
• Handles members’ positive feedback and complaints and takes appropriate action
• Maintains and updates beverage inventory on a regular basis
• Manages a developing wine program and Wine Society of members; to include inspiring creative ideas and overseeing the wine retail purchasing aspect of the position
• Oversees the ordering of all non-food items within the food and beverage service department.  Ensures that proper ordering and receiving procedures are being followed for security and product availability
• Develops and maintains strong relationships with Club vendors
• Creates or delegates all service personnel scheduling 
• Assists in the creation of annual department budgets (operating and capital) and provides monthly projections for discrepancies in actual performance to budget
• Works within the parameters of the food and beverage budget
• Assists in a hands-on approach to manage labor and demonstrate the team approach to service
• Increases levels of food and beverage service quality in all outlets and enhances the overall dining experience for our members and guests
• Maintains appearance, upkeep, and cleanliness of all food and beverage service equipment and facilities
• Ensures all service personnel has appropriate attire and tools to perform their job
• Ensures that the administrative functions of the position are followed, i.e. invoice coding, check requests, time card approval etc.
• Inspects to ensure that all safety, sanitation, preventative maintenance, and daily checklists and standards are consistently met
• Hires, trains, coaches, mentors, develops, supervises, and disciplines staff when appropriate
• Manages the long-range staffing needs of the department
• Ensures that effective orientation and training of new staff and professional development activities for experienced staff are planned and implemented
• Assures that standard operating procedure for sales and cost control are in place and consistently used
• All other duties and responsibilities as needed to meet the needs of members, guests, and management

Employment Standards

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality, Event Management or similar field or a minimum of 2 years’ experience in club or hotel banquet catering operations.
• Strong customer service skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office products

Availability and Schedule

• Must be available to work weekends and holidays as needed.
• Must be available to work overtime as needed.
  

Reports to:  Clubhouse Manager or General Manager

Salary

A compensation package will include a base salary commensurable with experience and qualifications.  The Club has a comprehensive benefits package including health and dental insurance, vacation and personal time off and an excellent 401(k) plan.