Kitchen Manager Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience in a comparable high-volume restaurant, food production, retail, hospitality, fulfillment, logistics, e-commerce, or other service-driven environment, with a proven track record of delivering operational and financial results
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing teams, with the ability to drive performance, accountability, and engagement
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust, resolve conflicts, and foster a collaborative team culture
• Passion for people leadership, with a genuine commitment to coaching, mentoring, and developing team members to reach their full potential
• Demonstrated ability to manage a fast-paced, high-volume operation while balancing competing operational priorities
• Strong business acumen with experience managing labor, inventory, food cost, waste, sales, budgets, and/or P&L performance
• Ability to analyze operational and financial KPIs, identify performance trends, and translate data into actionable business decisions
• Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to remain effective and make sound decisions in a rapidly changing environment
• Ability to successfully lead operational change, including new products, technology, processes, and company initiatives
• Knowledge of food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, and applicable regulatory requirements
• Food Manager certification or ability to obtain required certification within the company-defined timeframe
• Ability to work a flexible schedule based on business needs, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as required

Nice To Haves

• Experience with digital ordering, delivery, fulfillment, or third-party delivery platforms is strongly preferred

Responsibilities

• Lead, inspire, and develop team members in alignment with company virtues and operational principles
• Act as a role model of company values and foster a positive, high-performance culture
• Ensure clear communication of expectations and accountability across the team
• Create an environment of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement where team members understand how their performance contributes to overall store results
• Lead effectively through changing business needs, new initiatives, menu introductions, technology implementations, and evolving operational priorities
• Develop and motivate team members through structured development plans and continuous feedback
• Facilitate in-store training sessions and regular team meetings
• Monitor and drive employee engagement initiatives to meet or exceed benchmark engagement scores
• Recruit, onboard, coach, and retain a high-performing team capable of consistently executing operational standards
• Identify and develop future leaders through ongoing coaching, performance management, and succession planning
• Address performance or behavioral concerns promptly and consistently while maintaining a positive and supportive team culture
• Champion an accuracy-first mindset across all kitchen operations, delivery, and catering orders
• Oversee the end-to-end execution of catering orders, ensuring accuracy, presentation, and on-time fulfillment for every event and corporate request
• Monitor third-party delivery platform performance (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) including ratings, fulfillment times, order accuracy scores, cancellations, and guest feedback
• Drive guest satisfaction through consistent execution and fast, reliable order fulfillment across both delivery and catering channels
• Identify and resolve issues impacting delivery ratings, catering execution, or overall customer experience
• Manage the flow of digital orders from production through staging and courier/customer handoff to ensure speed, accuracy, product quality, and efficient throughput
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions that improve production flow, ticket times, order accuracy, and overall kitchen capacity
• Review guest feedback, refunds, order issues, and delivery-platform performance to identify trends and implement corrective action
• Maintain a safe, secure, and healthy working environment by enforcing hygiene, health, food safety, and workplace safety standards
• Ensure compliance with brand standards and all applicable local regulatory requirements
• Uphold the highest operational ratings and performance standards
• Maintain consistent execution of company recipes, production procedures, quality standards, portioning, packaging, and fulfillment processes
• Ensure equipment, technology, and kitchen facilities remain operational and promptly escalate maintenance or facility issues when necessary
• Successfully execute new operational initiatives, products, menu changes, systems, and processes while ensuring team readiness and compliance
• Build and manage schedules based on forecasted sales, order volume, catering demand, and operational needs while meeting defined labor targets
• Forecast staffing needs and adjust team deployment in real time based on business volume and changing operational priorities
• Ensure appropriate staffing levels and skill deployment across production, fulfillment, catering, and other operational areas
• Monitor labor productivity and identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising food quality, order accuracy, safety, or the guest experience
• Maintain appropriate staffing and leadership coverage while proactively addressing attendance, scheduling, and workforce needs
• Use operational and workforce data to identify trends and make informed staffing and deployment decisions
• Take full ownership of inventory management, including stock counting, ordering, receiving, storage, and inventory accuracy
• Optimize inventory levels to minimize waste and meet defined monthly waste targets
• Maintain appropriate inventory levels based on sales forecasts, catering volume, menu mix, and business needs
• Monitor food cost, product usage, waste, shelf life, and inventory variances and implement corrective actions when targets are not achieved
• Ensure proper receiving, rotation, storage, labeling, and handling procedures are consistently followed
• Partner with suppliers and internal support teams to proactively resolve availability, quality, or supply-chain issues
• Drive sales growth and overall store performance
• Optimize store EBITDA and achieve defined KPI targets
• Monitor financial performance and implement corrective actions where necessary
• Take ownership of controllable operating expenses, including labor, food cost, waste, supplies, and other store-level costs
• Analyze sales, labor, fulfillment, delivery-platform, inventory, and operational KPIs to identify trends and opportunities for improvement
• Translate performance data into clear action plans and hold the team accountable for execution
• Identify opportunities to increase sales and order capacity across delivery and catering channels while maintaining operational excellence
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Culinary, People, Finance, Facilities, Supply Chain, and other support teams to improve store performance and successfully execute company initiatives

Benefits

• Exclusive discounts and special offers
• Competitive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans
• 401(k) program
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Structured leadership training, educational support, and development programs