Operations Manager

Client of AW Connect

1. Regulatory Compliance, Licensing & Liason

• Manage end-to-end compliance across all locations (Dubai Municipality, FTA, Food Safety, Civil Defense, DED, Trade License, and GCC equivalents).

• Ensure timely approvals for all kitchens (QSR & cloud): Food License, Kitchen Approvals, Health & Safety, HACCP, Fire Safety Certificates, and Environmental Permits.

• Maintain updated compliance calendars and proactively renew leases, licenses, permits, and insurance.

• Liaise with consultants, government portals, free zones, and regulatory bodies to expedite approvals.

• Look at all statutory compliances for opening a cloud kitchen/ QSR/Central kitchen in Middle East market

2. Location Scouting & Rental Agreement Management

• Identify, evaluate, and shortlist potential locations for cloud kitchens, QSR storefronts, and central kitchens.

• Conduct location validation assessments, including footfall, delivery-radius analytics, access, zoning laws, and operational viability.

• Negotiate rental contracts, renewals, exit clauses, and manage legal documentation with landlords.

• Assess flexible kitchen options (shared kitchens, franchised kitchens, 3P commissaries) and evaluate viability and cost impact.

3. Central Kitchen & Operations Integration

• Support planning, setup, and operational structuring of central kitchens (ERP, workflows, hygiene, equipment planning).

• Coordinate with culinary and production teams to ensure seamless, standardized operations across multiple kitchens.

• Implement SOPs for prep, dispatch, receiving, stock rotation, waste control, hygiene, and food safety.

4. Supply Chain Management & Vendor Development

• Identify, evaluate, and onboard suppliers for proteins (meat, poultry, seafood), vegetables, sauces, spices, condiments, and dry goods.

• Build relationships with certified suppliers in UAE/GCC for reliable, cost-efficient sourcing.

• Validate vendors through quality checks, facility visits, documentation audits, and compliance verification (HACCP, ISO, Halal).

• Oversee contract manufacturing partners and outsourced supply chain models when necessary.

• Develop transportation and last-mile logistics plans for raw material distribution and finished product dispatch.

5. Company Operations & Expansion Support

• Manage the full lifecycle of opening new outlets from regulatory filing to physical setup and operational go-live.

• Coordinate between kitchen teams, procurement, finance, HR, and management to ensure smooth pre-opening and post-opening operations.

• Ensure every site meets brand, safety, cost, and quality standards before launch.

• Track operational KPIs such as COGS, wastage, supplier performance, logistics reliability, and on-time store opening.

6. Continuous Improvement & Operational Governance

• Build operational dashboards and documentation for traceability and compliance.

• Identify bottlenecks in supply chain, regulatory workflows, or operations and implement corrective action.

• Maintain strong cross-functional collaboration with Finance, HR, Culinary, and Marketing.

• Ensure kitchens operate at optimum efficiency with minimum waste and maximum consistency.