Operations Manager
Location: London – Central Production Unit (NW10) and client sites
Contract: Full-time
Reporting to: Founders
Salary: Competitive, with an attractive performance-related bonus linked to operational and commercial performance.
About Pow Food
Pow Food is a founder-led, nutrition-led contract catering business delivering exceptional workplace hospitality across London. We partner with forward-thinking organisations to create food experiences that improve wellbeing, support productivity and bring people together.
Alongside our contract catering business, we have launched NUUDA, our direct-to-consumer frozen food brand, extending our passion for nutritious, chef-prepared food beyond the workplace.
We are growing quickly, with significant new contract opportunities in our pipeline, and are investing in the leadership and operational infrastructure to support that growth.
Purpose of the Role
The Operations Manager is responsible for the effective day-to-day running of Pow Food’s operations. The role is the link between the kitchen, logistics, the founders and our clients, helping build the systems, processes and team capability that let us scale.
This is not an administrative role. We are looking for a hands-on leader who solves problems, takes decisions and builds smarter, more efficient ways of working as the business grows.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Delivery
- Lead day-to-day operations across production, logistics, staffing and workplace delivery.
- Turn confirmed client orders into clear, complete production plans for the kitchen.
- Establish and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), handovers and escalation routes.
- Identify capacity constraints and operational risks before they affect service.
- Communicate changes quickly and accurately across teams.
Food Safety & Compliance
- Make sure food safety, hygiene, allergen and HACCP controls are followed, with training, verification and prompt corrective action.
- Make sure dietary, allergen and production information flows accurately from the client brief to the kitchen, and on to labels and client-facing documents.
- Maintain accurate data in Kafoodle and strong version control on all food information.
Financial & Commercial Performance
- Manage food, labour and controllable operating costs against agreed budgets.
- Drive purchasing discipline, waste reduction, stock control and efficient staff deployment.
- Provide accurate operational inputs to costing and pricing, and act on material variances.
- Pursue savings without compromising food quality, safety, service or team welfare.
People Leadership
- Lead, motivate and develop the operational teams.
- Set clear responsibilities and standards, plan rotas within budget, and support recruitment and onboarding.
- Coach managers and team members, and address performance promptly and fairly.
- Build cover and management capability so that routine operations do not depend on you for every issue.
Client Management
- Act as a key operational contact for clients, turning their requirements into practical solutions.
- Resolve service issues quickly and make sure agreed standards are delivered consistently.
- Build trusted relationships through proactive communication.
New Business & Mobilisation
- Advise on staffing, logistics, production and delivery for prospective clients.
- Contribute operational input to proposals and tenders, and check assumptions before they are submitted.
- Lead operational preparation for new contracts and turn agreed proposals into mobilisation plans.
Continuous Improvement
- Improve systems and workflows, starting by simplifying before adding technology.
- Identify practical opportunities to use AI and automation for administration, never for judgement or food safety.
- Reduce manual work, improve accuracy and document key processes clearly.
How We Work
- Understand the problem first, and test changes before rolling them out.
- Automate the administration, not the craft. Nutrition expertise, personalisation and human oversight always stay in place.
- Every major action has one owner, one deadline and one clear measure of success.
- Protect the food, the philosophy, the team and the client experience through every change.
Person Specification
Essential
- At least three years’ experience in hospitality operations management, ideally in contract catering, workplace food, events or a similar fast-paced environment.
- Proven experience running operations from order through to delivery.
- Strong grasp of food and labour costing, budgets and waste control.
- Experience leading, developing and holding teams accountable.
- Sound knowledge of food safety, allergen management and HACCP.
- Exceptional organisational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent communication skills and confidence with clients.
- Comfort with operational systems, spreadsheets and digital tools.
- A problem-solving mindset and the confidence to make decisions.
Desirable
- Level 3 Food Safety, or willingness to obtain it.
- Experience with Kafoodle or similar recipe and allergen management systems.
- Experience contributing to tenders or new contract mobilisations.
- An interest in AI, automation and operational efficiency.
- An interest in nutrition-led food and sustainable sourcing.
What Success Looks Like
Within the first 12 months, the successful candidate will have:
- Established reliable, repeatable production and delivery, with complete, accurate information in the kitchen every day.
- Brought food and labour costs under clear, confident control.
- Built a well-led team with reliable cover for critical functions.
- Documented key processes as clear SOPs and introduced systems that catch issues before they affect service.
- Led smooth operational mobilisation of new contracts.
- Built trusted relationships with clients, the founders and teams across the business.
Why Join Pow Food?
This is an opportunity to join a purpose-led, founder-driven business at an exciting point in its journey.
You’ll have genuine ownership of how our operations run, a role where your decisions have visible impact every day, and plenty of variety, because no two days are the same. There is also a clear development pathway towards Operations Director and a seat on the Senior Leadership Team as the business grows.
If you love creating order from complexity, building strong teams and delivering exceptional client experiences, we’d love to hear from you.
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