Post job

Food service supervisor vs service lead

The differences between food service supervisors and service leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a food service supervisor, becoming a service lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a service lead has an average salary of $83,844, which is higher than the $32,763 average annual salary of a food service supervisor.

The top three skills for a food service supervisor include good judgment, safety practices and food production. The most important skills for a service lead are food service, food safety, and exceptional client.

Food service supervisor vs service lead overview

Food Service SupervisorService Lead
Yearly salary$32,763$83,844
Hourly rate$15.75$40.31
Growth rate10%-4%
Number of jobs139,40352,336
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age3947
Years of experience46

What does a food service supervisor do?

A Food Service Supervisor oversees employees engaged in serving food. They establish quality standards for foods and keep facilities clean in accordance with state and local regulations.

What does a service lead do?

A service lead is an individual who manages a team of customer service staff members to support a company's customer service activities. Service leads help staff members respond directly to customers who need assistance through phone calls or emails and provide a quick resolution to the issues and concerns. In case a team member is unable to resolve customer issues, service leads are required to identify a solution to the customer query or direct them to another department. Service leads must also conduct periodic evaluations of team members to discuss performance and note their improvement areas.

Food service supervisor vs service lead salary

Food service supervisors and service leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

Food Service SupervisorService Lead
Average salary$32,763$83,844
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $41,000Between $49,000 And $142,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MANew York, NY
Highest paying stateMinnesotaNew York
Best paying companyNcar - The National Center For Atmospheric ResearchMeta
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between food service supervisor and service lead education

There are a few differences between a food service supervisor and a service lead in terms of educational background:

Food Service SupervisorService Lead
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCalifornia State University - Bakersfield

Food service supervisor vs service lead demographics

Here are the differences between food service supervisors' and service leads' demographics:

Food Service SupervisorService Lead
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 43.2% Female, 56.8%Male, 48.1% Female, 51.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 5.8% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%8%

Differences between food service supervisor and service lead duties and responsibilities

Food service supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Manage inventory, ordering and delivery of groceries.
  • Icomply to all HACCP standards and is ServSafe certify.
  • Compile staff schedules, prepare money for cash drops, operate register and POS.
  • Perform culinary decision making as it pertain to food inventory, menus, and production methods.
  • Facilitate training on production equipment and GMP's travele to multiple sites with employees to complete training.
  • Monitor and document HACCP sanitation standards.
  • Show more

Service lead example responsibilities.

  • Manage services and supports for intellectually and developmentally disable individuals, within compliance with all Medicaid and I/DD waiver regulations.
  • Deliver world-class customer service to patients and physicians while resolving issues regarding delivery and administration of specialty medications.
  • Deploy Citrix technology from scratch.
  • Provide monthly RSA VPN user reports.
  • Assist PBX with answering guest calls and meeting their needs.
  • Ensure all PC's receive OS patches and up-to-date antivirus software.
  • Show more

Food service supervisor vs service lead skills

Common food service supervisor skills
  • Good Judgment, 15%
  • Safety Practices, 11%
  • Food Production, 10%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Food Handling, 8%
  • Patients, 7%
Common service lead skills
  • Food Service, 14%
  • Food Safety, 9%
  • Exceptional Client, 6%
  • Client Service, 6%
  • Customer Complaints, 6%
  • Business Development, 4%

Browse executive management jobs