Kitchen Manager — DC Metro Market

The Yay Company • Chantilly, VA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Kitchen Manager is the culinary operator for the DC Metro market, operating out of a shared commercial kitchen. This is a working kitchen leadership role — the Kitchen Manager directly runs day-to-day operations at the commercial kitchen and maintains check-in oversight of food distribution to seven school locations in the market that have staff onsite. The Kitchen Manager is accountable for food quality, kitchen team performance, production execution, and operational standards across all the DC Metro schools that this location would provide food for.

Requirements

• Minimum of 4 years of experience in kitchen or food production operations — you know how to run a shift, lead a team, and keep a kitchen on track
• Hands-on cook and leader — you're comfortable working the line alongside your team and setting the standard through your own work
• Experience with batch production, food safety, and inventory management — FIFO, portioning discipline, and waste reduction are second nature
• Strong people skills — you've held people accountable, coached newer cooks, and built trust with a team
• Organized and dependable — you manage multiple moving pieces daily and nothing gets dropped
• Comfortable on the road — this role involves driving between DC Metro locations to handle issues and do spot checks at times; reliable transportation and a valid driver's license required
• ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire
• Must be based in DC Metro area or within commuting distance of Chantilly, VA

Responsibilities

• Runs commercial kitchen from prep through pick-up — production schedule, food quality, and on-time execution
• Manages call-out coverage and real-time kitchen decisions during hours of production
• Ensures food is produced to Yay standards and delivered on time to schools served by the commercial kitchen
• Serves as primary point of contact for school Yay staff and Operations Leads at commercial kitchen location on day-of operational matters
• Checks in with DC Metro locations during the week to confirm service status and address any real-time issues
• Sets the commercial kitchen schedule within labor budget provided by the Operations Manager
• Tracks actual hours versus scheduled hours daily; identifies and corrects overages
• Approves any schedule changes or additional shifts at the commercial kitchen
• Reports labor performance to the Operations Manager as part of daily and weekly reporting
• Monitors and reduces waste at the commercial kitchen — holds team accountable for portioning, FIFO, and end-of-day tracking
• Confirms inventory counts are accurate and that pars are set for the week ahead
• Provides direct leadership to Prep Cooks at the commercial kitchen
• Supports Prep Cook development
• Leads onboarding for new kitchen hires and sets standards for the DC Metro market
• Escalates performance or operational issues to the Operations Manager as needed
• Reviews the day through the ops dashboard and daily reports after service closes
• Sends a brief end-of-day summary to the Operations Manager on any flagged items — labor overages, waste spikes, service misses, or school concerns
• Confirms commercial kitchen has submitted accurate counts and pars are set for the following week
• Reviews DC Metro hub schedule for the coming week to confirm labor hours are within budget and all roles are covered
• Weekly update to Operations Manager covering labor %, waste, meal counts, and operational flags

Benefits

• $22.00/Hour
• This role has the potential to have a pay increase after 60 days from start with Yay
• A high-growth, mission-driven company where your work directly impacts what kids eat every day
• A leadership team that values accountability, transparency, and operators who take pride in their craft
• Real career growth as we expand into new markets and build out our kitchen leadership team

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed