OPT Food Service Manager Jobs
Food Service Manager jobs on OPT are available at restaurant groups, hotel chains, university dining programs, and contract food service companies. Your F-1 OPT authorization covers management roles, but employers must be comfortable with the 12-month standard OPT window, or 24 additional months if your degree is in a STEM-designated field.
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COMPENSATION
- The pay range is $73,000.00 - $132,000.00
Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.
ALL ABOUT TARGET
Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.
ALL ABOUT FOOD AND BEVERAGE
You support all aspects of a profitable food and beverage business that has one purpose: to help all families discover the joy of everyday life.
You utilize your industry knowledge to influence store leaders to execute food and beverage strategies and processes in store.
You coach and train store leaders to become experts of their areas to consistently deliver sales growth through a clean, fresh and rewarding experience for their teams and guests.
You elevate the Target brand across food by providing market level expertise to execute and amplify key seasons, holidays, and events.
At Target we believe in our team members having meaningful experiences that help them build and develop skills for a career. The role of a Food & Beverage Coordinator can provide you with the skills and experiences of:
- Guest service fundamentals and experience building a freshness and reliability culture in food and beverage areas across a multi-unit market of stores
- Food and beverage business fundamentals, including department sales trends, freshness, food safety and quality, inventory management, product and service reliability, guest shopping patterns, pricing and promotions strategies
- Awareness of competitors; leveraging guest insights to influence store leadership and food teams to drive business initiatives
- Influencing in-store food and beverage processes and leverage food expertise to support business priorities and deliver on sales goals
- Assessing daily business performance and provide store leaders guidance to drive efficiencies in food and beverage departments through in-store walks
- Learning how to prepare for and help stores execute holiday and event plans in a competitive retail environment to build on year over year growth
As a Food & Beverage Coordinator, you are responsible for the business performance of your respective districts in your market. These responsibilities include:
- Support operations, strategies, and food processes in assigned stores by coaching, teaching, and training.
- Partner with field and store leadership, Store Operations, Merchandising, and other stakeholder groups to support and advocate for projects to champion food and grow profitable sales.
- Evaluate, educate, and improve store conditions, guest experience, operational efficiency, waste reduction, and profitable sales through expertise.
- Leverage reporting to evaluate performance in sales, markdowns, inventory productivity, food safety, and other measures.
- Maintain industry knowledge and market trends by benchmarking competitor pricing, promotions, merchandising practices, and processes.
- Utilize innovation, critical thinking, communication, and store partnership to understand and influence future seasons and events with your insight and expertise.
- Represent stores and food operations in advocating for locally requested food items the guest is looking for, including new items, holiday merchandising, and competitor merchandising benchmarking.
- Influence and provide thoughtful feedback to key store and field partners (Team Leaders, ETLs, SDs, and district leadership).
- Utilize your industry knowledge to influence store leaders to execute food and beverage strategies and processes in store.
- Lead and create a service culture utilizing tools and routines that model, train, and coach behavioral expectations to deliver the service standard.
- Ensure execution through detailed training and education of store leadership teams and food and beverage experts, including ordering and managing inventory and supplies, merchandising, freshness, food safety, sampling, and other store-controlled processes.
- Support guest service and profitable sales by assisting stores with guest-centric scheduling and training.
- Encourage and deliver a fresh and safe experience through reinforcing food safety processes, training teams to integrate food safety, product rotation, cleaning and sanitation, and freshness into everyday processes.
- Partner with Stores and Direct Store Delivery (DSD) Vendors to drive DSD sales through on-shelf availability and operational efficiency.
- Partner with Starbucks and Pizza Hut field leaders to drive sales through guiding brand standard execution and operational efficiencies.
- Maintain compliance with policies and procedures defined by all regulatory agencies.
- Challenge teams to develop staffing and contingency plans that ensure coverage and maintain production and service capabilities.
- Demonstrate a culture of ethical conduct, safety, and compliance; lead team to work in the same way and hold others accountable to this commitment.
- Support Target’s safety culture through modeling and recognizing safe behaviors, empowering store leaders to correct and/or escalate hazards, and holding team accountable to safety policies, best practices, and training.
- Demonstrate inclusivity by valuing diverse voices and approaches, being authentic and respectful, and creating equitable experiences.
- All other duties based on business needs.
The good news is that we have some amazing training that will help teach you everything you need to know to be a Food & Beverage Coordinator. But there are a few skills you should have from the get-go:
- 4-year degree or equivalent experience
- 3+ years of food and beverage experience
- Proven execution skills and ability to drive change
- Operate in an ambiguous and rapidly changing work environment
- Quickly adapt to changing priorities and tasks
- Project and process management/ownership experience
- Work in high intensity situations with composure and ease
- Solution-based mindset with desire to uncover business gaps and solve problems
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
- Build strong partnerships with key partners
We are an awesome place to work and care about our teams, so we want to make sure we are clear on a few more basics that we expect:
- Experience leading stores or supporting field organization
- Training experience
- Supervisory experience
- Strong leadership and influencing skills
- Should live in or within driving distance of assigned district market area
- Must be able to travel in assigned district market area
Target will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco and City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinances.
Benefits Eligibility
Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_D
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Food Service Manager
Target multi-unit operators over independent restaurants
Large restaurant groups, hotel food and beverage departments, and contract dining companies like Aramark and Sodexo have HR infrastructure to handle OPT paperwork. Independent owners rarely do and often decline before learning what OPT requires.
Lead with your authorization status, not visa terminology
Tell recruiters you have existing U.S. work authorization valid for 12 months with no employer sponsorship required to start. Most hiring managers confuse OPT with H-1B visa sponsorship. Clarifying this upfront removes the most common objection.
Connect your degree field to the management function
Hospitality, food science, nutrition, or business degrees all support Food Service Manager roles. Be prepared to explain how your specific degree relates to operational decision-making, since employers may need to verify the connection for STEM OPT extensions.
Prioritize employers already familiar with international staff
Companies that regularly hire internationally educated workers understand work authorization timelines. Look for organizations with large international student intern programs or active DSO partnerships, as they process OPT documentation routinely and without friction.
Address the timeline directly in your cover letter
State your OPT end date and, if applicable, your STEM extension eligibility in your application. Employers want to know how long you can work before needing a visa change. Being transparent early builds confidence and prevents last-minute surprises.
Pursue roles with E-Verify enrolled employers from the start
STEM OPT extensions require your employer to be enrolled in E-Verify. Confirming this before accepting an offer saves significant complications later. Many large food service operators are already enrolled, so it is worth asking during the interview process.
Food Service Manager OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I work as a Food Service Manager on OPT?
Yes, Food Service Manager roles qualify for OPT as long as the work is directly related to your degree field. Hospitality management, food science, nutrition, and business degrees all commonly support this role. Your DSO will verify the connection between your position and your field of study when you report employment.
Am I eligible for a STEM OPT extension as a Food Service Manager?
It depends on your degree. STEM OPT extensions apply to students whose degree is on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program list. Degrees in food science, nutrition science, or certain business and management programs may qualify. Hospitality management degrees often do not. Check your specific CIP code with your DSO to confirm eligibility before accepting a role.
Where can I find Food Service Manager jobs that are open to OPT students?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT students and filters jobs by visa sponsorship compatibility, so you can browse Food Service Manager openings from employers who understand work authorization. Searching general job boards wastes time because most listings do not specify OPT acceptance and require you to ask manually on every application.
Do Food Service Manager employers need to sponsor me for OPT?
No. OPT work authorization is issued by USCIS through your school. The employer does not file any petition or pay any fees to hire you on OPT. You arrive with existing authorization. For STEM OPT extensions, the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and sign a training plan, but this is not sponsorship in the H-1B sense.
What happens to my Food Service Manager job if my OPT expires before I secure an H-1B?
If your OPT expires without a visa extension or change of status, you must stop working. Options include applying for a cap-gap extension if an H-1B petition is filed before your OPT ends, transitioning to another visa category, or departing the U.S. Planning your timeline at least six months ahead gives you the best chance of avoiding a gap.