Retail Head Chef - The O2

Global Sports Jobs Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

23 days annual leave + holidays

Healthcare & wellbeing

Employee assistance programme

Enhanced family leave

Discounts on shopping/travel

Pension & life cover

Professional subscriptions

Meals on duty

Job summary

Levy UK is seeking an experienced kitchen operations leader to support the organisation and management of its retail kitchens, ensuring consistent recipe and food standards across the business.

Working with the Executive Head Chef, you will lead a small kitchen team, optimise costs, maintain safety standards and drive service excellence while meeting legislative and company requirements.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years catering experience with knowledge of food production and kitchen operations.
• Proven ability to lead and develop a small kitchen team in a similar environment.
• Excellent communication skills with colleagues, customers and teams.

Responsibilities

• Maintain high food quality and portion control across standards.
• Manage food costs, waste, purchasing and wastage within budget.
• Lead and develop the kitchen team, guiding junior staff and ensuring training.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Customer focus

Financial acumen

Strategic leadership

Adaptability

People development

Job description

About the Role

The role supports the organisation and management of Levy UK's retail kitchens, ensuring consistent recipe and food standards across the business. Working alongside the Executive Head Chef, it helps manage the kitchen team and day-to-day operations, ensuring food is prepared, cooked and served to a high standard while meeting company, contract, food safety and legal requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain high food quality by ensuring food is prepared, cooked and presented to required standards, with good taste, appearance and portion control.
• Manage food costs and minimise waste by controlling portions, storage, purchasing and wastage to keep food costs within budget and support Levy's sustainability goals.
• Lead and support the kitchen team, coordinating junior team members, providing guidance and ensuring staff are trained, supported and developed.
• Manage labour effectively by planning staffing levels around sales, controlling overtime and agency costs, and ensuring labour budgets are achieved.
• Deliver excellent customer service by responding to customer requests professionally, understanding feedback and ensuring customer expectations are consistently met.
• Support menus and food development by helping plan seasonal and sustainable menus and ensuring products are correctly costed and meet financial and customer requirements.
• Maintain health, safety and hygiene standards, ensuring all legal, company and food hygiene requirements are followed and the team works safely.
• Manage stock and paperwork by completing accurate weekly stock takes, wastage records, cleaning schedules, risk assessments and other required documentation.
• Drive business and operational standards, ensuring catering services, promotions and retail areas consistently meet Levy UK standards, SOPs and sustainability goals.
• Support continuous improvement and business success by communicating company targets, identifying new opportunities, monitoring performance and contributing to succession planning and overall business development.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years' catering experience, with good knowledge of food production, purchasing and kitchen operations.
• Proven ability to successfully lead, manage and develop a small team in a similar environment.
• Good cooking knowledge and understanding of food preparation, production methods and procedures.
• Excellent communication skills, able to communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues, customers, clients and diverse teams.
• Customer focused, with the ability to listen to customer needs, respond effectively and deliver positive customer experiences.
• Commercially aware, with understanding of budgets, purchasing, food costs and profitability, and strong financial and commercial awareness.
• Results driven, taking ownership, focusing on achieving targets and holding self and others accountable for performance.
• Adaptable and innovative, comfortable working in a changing environment, embracing new ideas and helping others adapt to change.
• Strong strategic leadership, able to identify talent, address underlying issues, make confident decisions and remain focused on what is important.

Salary

£56,650 Plus bonus

Benefits & Perks

• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, your birthday off, and a holiday purchase scheme.
• Healthcare and wellbeing support including Aviva Digicare and Medicash (dental, optical and therapy treatments).
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for mental health support.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, plus 2 days' additional leave after returning from maternity leave and a day off for your baby's first birthday.
• Enhanced family leave.
• Shopping, entertainment and travel discounts.
• 20% off Nuffield Health and 10% off PureGym memberships.
• Pension scheme, life assurance, and preferred rates on salary finance products.
• Professional subscriptions, ongoing training and structured career pathways.
• Meals on duty included.