The Maintenance & Repair Specialist, Campus Dining is responsible for overseeing the maintenance, repair, and replacement of all kitchen and dining equipment across the university's dining facilities. This includes coordinating preventative maintenance schedules, ensuring equipment is functioning properly, and managing installation, repair, and upkeep operations. The specialist also tracks and accounts for all capital and non-capital cooking, holding, refrigeration and preparation equipment, serving as the primary contact for operations to identify repair needs. The role requires expertise in facilities maintenance management as well as knowledge of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, and other trades.
About the Work Unit:Vanderbilt Campus Dining takes pride in the culinary creations served from our kitchens. Recognized by The Princeton Review in its Great Campus Food list, Vanderbilt Campus Dining consistently ranks as one of the top collegiate food service operators in the nation and has even earned the prestigious Ivy Award. Our globally inspired menu, with delicious new cuisines and healthy options, supports a diverse array of dietary preferences and restrictions. Our program includes multiple residential dining halls, retail locations, markets, and cafes. Our team consists of 50+ management personnel, 300+ hourly team members and 100 part-time student employees.
Key Functions and Expected Performance: Develop and implement preventative maintenance schedules to proactively service equipment and minimize disruptions. This includes creating detailed maintenance plans for each piece of equipment. Monitor equipment performance, identify issues, and resolve problems quickly to avoid disruptions to dining operations. This includes being directly responsible for repairing and troubleshooting equipment as needed. Coordinate with campus dining management to understand current and future equipment needs, identify replacement requirements, and recommend specifications, selection, purchasing, and installation of new equipment. Manage equipment budgets, make purchasing recommendations for new or replacement items, and maintain detailed records of all maintenance, repairs, and replacements to support warranty claims, budget planning, and compliance reporting. Serve as a technical resource and provide training to dining staff on proper equipment use and care. Ensure compliance with all relevant health, safety, and sanitation regulations by staying up to date on applicable codes and standards. Coordinate work with outside vendors, including kitchen hood cleaning, and manage capital asset inventories. Oversee compliance with OSHA and TOSHA standards, including employee training and enforcement. Manage the inventory of spare parts and equipment needed for preventive maintenance. Review repair invoices, track repetitive issues, and coordinate facility-related repairs with Plant Operations. Qualifications: A high school diploma or GED is necessary. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited higher education institution with specialized training in Facilities and Maintenance or related field is preferred. 5 years of combined experience in commercial facility repair and maintenance management, as well as commercial kitchen equipment maintenance and repair is necessary. Strong business judgment, including financial and personnel management, as well as good professional judgment and the ability to independently make sound business decisions is necessary. Previous operational experience with a variety of crafts such as plumbing, electrical, carpentry, small and large appliance maintenance, and HVAC is necessary. Ability to learn and adapt to new systems and applications is necessary. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel) is necessary. Strong communication (verbal, written, interpersonal) skills and an ability to communicate effectively with a diverse population is necessary. Ability to meet multiple deadlines and manage competing priorities is necessary. Ability to frequently adapt to change and ability to remain calm in stressful situations is necessary. Strong time management, organizational and multi-tasking skills and an eye for detail is necessary. Knowledge of relevant health, safety, and sanitation regulations for food service operations is necessary.