Culinary Operations Manager

Location: New York,New York,United States

NICE TO MEET YOU!

FELFEL is New York’s hottest food tech scale-up, changing the way people eat at work. Our smart fridges bring the city’s best local chefs and trendiest restaurants straight to the office—every single day. We’re all about great food, smart tech, and top-notch hospitality, making office meals something to look forward to.

Let’s meet up and see if we’re the right match to shake up the New York food scene together!

IN SHORT

We’re looking for a Culinary Operations Manager to build an ever-evolving food portfolio. You take dishes from idea to fridge in weeks—so our customers enjoy up to 8 new dishes every week. You have a culinary background, cooking skills, project management expertise, food safety know-how, and great communication skills to collaborate with our partner chefs and push innovation forward.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Daily Operations Ownership

• INVENTORY CONTROL/PURCHASING: You manage accurate inventory and product rotation to reduce waste, and support purchasing and stock maintenance across food, packaging, and non-consumables with the VP of Operations and Director of Culinary.
• QUALITY CONTROL: You oversee all supplier deliveries, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations, perform daily quality control checks to uphold the highest standards in taste, presentation, and food safety, and diligently verify the accuracy of quantities and costs from suppliers.
• SUPPLIER AD HOC MANAGEMENT: You manage ad hoc issues with suppliers including quality adjustments for next days.
• MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONS TEAM: You manage a team of a mix of FELFEL warehouse staff, staff drivers, independent contractors and 3rd party logistics partners. You oversee training, scheduling and daily mentorship for all warehouse logistics staff and drivers.
• DISPATCH: You lead the AM distribution team (Tuesday-Friday shift starts at 4am), coordinating drivers and logistics partners to ensure accurate, timely deliveries that meet all health and food safety standards.
• FOOD SAFETY & QUALITY: You collaborate with the Food Safety Team and production partners to uphold exceptional food safety and quality standards, ensure cold chain integrity, and maintain clean, well-functioning transport and storage equipment.

Food Development

• SOURCING: You support the Direct of Food in souring packaged goods such as drinks and snacks and eventually help coordinate our fresh food suppliers. You keep a a landscape of all potential supplier in the differen core categories.
• PACKAGING: you also help us to create the packaging library and know what options are available at what price for what items.
• FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY:  Style and photograph all new items to be showcased on the FELFEL App and on the POS.

WHO YOU ARE

• Experience: You have worked in the culinary industry, manufacturing and/or retail for a minimum of 5 years. You have at least 2 years of purchasing and inventory control experience and you have managed a staff of at least 5 people. You should also be familiar with most common tech tools like Google or ERP softwares. Finally, a driver license is a must!
• You have a passion for food and local community:  You enjoy eating and experimenting with a diverse range of foods and flavors. You track food trends, have a nuanced understanding of food culture and food and dietary preferences of our target market in NYC as well as the local Tri-State Area.  You have a strong grasp of the NYC culinary landscape (restaurants, chefs, producers, purveyors, special food regulations etc.). 
• You have experience in the NY food scene: Culinary education (recipe creation, taste profiles, culinary vocabulary) is preferred, NY Food Handlers and or Serv-Safe Certification is preferred. You have worked in the food & hospitality industry in multiple capacities and bring a Front-of-House customer-centric mindset and an appreciation for the challenges of Back-of-House teams.
• You have warehouse related experience: You know what it is like to work in a warehouse and walk in cooler. You have experience in shipping/receiving and working with a diverse team of hourly staff, contractors and vendors.
• You have P&L, costing and pricing experience: You approach the subject of food with a business mindset to complem