Assistant Operations Manager

Calo Inc.; Dubai; On-site; AED 167,400 - 256,680; Full time

Job summary

Calo Inc. in Dubai is seeking an Assistant Operations Manager to oversee day-to-day kitchen production, dispatch, and logistics, ensuring quality, safety, speed, and cost efficiency while collaborating with Production, QA, Supply Chain, Planning, Customer Experience and People teams.

You will lead frontline teams, optimize processes, monitor KPIs, and drive continuous improvement and compliance with HACCP and relevant regulations, delivering superior service and sustained operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field.
• 5–7+ years of experience in food production or large-scale F&B operations; leadership of frontline teams.
• Experience with HACCP and food safety regulations; strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily execution of kitchen production, dispatch, and logistics to ensure efficiency and service excellence.
• Monitor KPIs such as productivity, order accuracy, waste, and labor efficiency; enforce SOP compliance.
• Allocate manpower based on forecasts and optimize processes to reduce downtime.
• Ensure food safety and regulatory compliance, support audits, and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop frontline teams, fostering safety and engagement.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to meet budget targets and customer satisfaction.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science or related field

Tools

ERP systems

WMS

Production planning systems

Job description

Assistant Operations Manager

The Assistant Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing the day‑to‑day execution of kitchen production, dispatch, and logistics operations, ensuring operational excellence across quality, food safety, speed, cost efficiency, and customer satisfaction. This role partners closely with Production, Quality Assurance, Supply Chain, Planning, Customer Experience, and People teams to drive continuous improvement, optimize operational performance, and develop high‑performing frontline teams.

Core Responsibilities

• Operational Excellence: Oversee daily execution of kitchen production, dispatch, and logistics to ensure operational efficiency and service excellence, including accurate production planning, quality and food safety compliance, and timely delivery.
• Monitoring and KPIs: Monitor daily operational KPIs such as productivity, order accuracy, dispatch performance, waste, labor efficiency, and customer complaints; ensure SOPs are consistently followed.
• Resource Management: Allocate manpower based on forecasts, identify bottlenecks, implement sustainable process improvements, support readiness during peak demand, and maintain equipment functionality to minimize downtime.
• Quality & Food Safety: Ensure compliance with all food safety, hygiene, and regulatory requirements, maintain HACCP standards, support internal and external audits, and drive a culture of food safety and operational discipline.
• Customer Experience: Ensure operational execution meets customer expectations for quality, accuracy, and delivery; investigate and correct operational issues contributing to complaints, and collaborate with Customer Experience teams to improve service performance.
• Financial & Operational Performance: Support achievement of budget targets through labor planning and cost management; monitor expenses, labor productivity, food waste, and packaging waste, and identify improvement opportunities.
• Leadership & People Management: Lead, coach, and develop frontline teams; provide performance feedback, training, succession planning, employee engagement, and foster teamwork and safety.
• Continuous Improvement: Analyze operational data to identify trends; lead improvement initiatives, participate in projects, process optimization, new product or technology rollouts.
• General Responsibilities: Maintain compliance with company policies, promote a safe working environment, build collaborative relationships with cross‑functional stakeholders, adapt to changing business needs, and perform additional duties as assigned by the Operations Manager.

Success Measures

Operational efficiency and productivity; food quality consistency; order accuracy; on‑time dispatch and delivery readiness; food safety audit performance; customer complaint reduction; labor productivity; waste reduction; team engagement and retention; continuous improvement initiatives delivered.

Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field. HACCP certification or an equivalent food safety qualification is preferred.

5‑7+ years of experience in food production, manufacturing, cloud kitchens, FMCG, or large‑scale F&B operations; at least 2 years leading frontline operational teams; experience managing high‑volume operations; and experience driving process improvements and operational efficiencies.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Strong analytical skills with data‑driven decision making.
• Problem‑solving and decision‑making capabilities.
• Excellent planning, organization, and execution skills.
• Prioritization and performance in fast‑paced environments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and operational management systems; experience with ERP, WMS, or production planning systems an advantage.
• Strong understanding of operational excellence, food safety standards, and continuous improvement principles.

Personality & Leadership Profile

Leads by example and builds trust across teams; takes ownership; proactive, solution‑oriented; adaptable and resilient; collaborative team player; committed to developing and coaching high‑performing teams; continuous improvement mindset; professional, integrity, customer‑first mindset.

What Makes Someone Successful in This Role

Leads by example, builds trust, makes data‑driven decisions, balances operational priorities, proactively solves problems, drives accountability, develops teams, thrives in fast‑paced evolving environments, embraces continuous improvement.