Sous Chef - QT Queenstown

EVT Group; Queenstown; On-site; NZD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dining discounts across EVT hotels and

Stay discounts

Movie tickets

Seasonal perks

Career growth

Paid parental leave

Volunteer opportunities

Job summary

EVT Group is hiring a Sous Chef for QT Queenstown, a prestigious 5‑star hotel undergoing transformation. The role is permanent and full‑time with a guaranteed minimum of 40 hours per week.

Sponsorship is available for the right candidate under AEWV, with applications encouraged from NZ residents and international applicants who meet the requirements. You will lead and coordinate kitchen operations, maintain top culinary standards across outlets, manage costs, and develop the kitchen team in a

Qualifications

• Trade qualification or 3+ years as Sous Chef or senior chef in a premium kitchen.
• Proven experience managing kitchen operations across multiple outlets.
• Strong cooking skills and ability to maintain high culinary standards.
• Experience leading, training and developing kitchen teams.
• Understanding of food cost management and stock control.
• Current Food Safety certificate and WHS knowledge.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends and holidays.

Responsibilities

• Manage and coordinate food production across all hotel kitchen outlets, maintaining high culinary standards.
• Supervise and ensure mise en place and service readiness across sections.
• Monitor rosters and delegate duties to junior chefs to ensure full staffing.
• Control food cost through stock rotation, ordering and par level management.
• Hire, train and develop kitchen team members to maximise productivity.
• Maintain a clean, safe, hygienic kitchen in line with WHS and grooming standards.
• Liaise with F&B Manager and front‑of‑house for smooth operations.

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Food cost management

Team development

Cooking skills

Education

Certificate in Cookery Level 4

Job description

About EVT

QT Queenstown is part of EVT, one of Australasia's market-leading experience creators offering careers that can take you wherever you want to go across entertainment, ventures, and travel. In a world of cookie cutter experiences, here at EVT we believe in changing the game. It's why we all call ourselves Daymakers because each day is a chance to add the wow factor for our customers and continually grow in our own careers.

QT Hotels & Resorts is EVT's premium lifestyle hotel brand, with locations in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Pioneers behind the philosophy of 'unexpected and unrequested', with every guest engagement presenting an opportunity to delight, and every QT property inspired by local influence with signature quirk. And our people? With personalities as diverse as each property, individuality is more than encouraged.

EVT has an endless range of roles and career paths to explore across over 140 entertainment experiences like Event Cinemas and Moonlight Cinemas, 150 award-winning restaurants and bars, and 80+ hotels, including QT, Rydges, Atura, LyLo, Independent Collection and Australia's most loved year-round alpine resort, Thredbo. Our ventures include a ~$2.3B property portfolio and hotel management, just to name a few. Once you're in, there's no limits on where your career could take you.

The Role

QT Queenstown is Queenstown's largest 5-star hotel, currently being transformed into something seriously special with 225 lake-view rooms and four distinct dining and bar venues. The kitchen team behind it needs to match the ambition of the property and we're looking for a Sous Chef who is ready to step up and help lead it. This is a permanent, full-time role with a minimum guaranteed 40 hours per week. Sponsorship is available for the right candidate under an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), and we welcome applications from both New Zealand residents and international candidates who meet the requirements below.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and coordinate food production across all hotel kitchen outlets, maintaining the highest culinary standards and approving all prepared food items that leave the kitchen.
• Supervise, check and correct all food preparation, rotation and mise en place requirements for service, ensuring all sections and staff are ready before the first cover.
• Monitor rosters to ensure all sections are properly staffed, delegate duties to chefs of a lower grade and step in on sections to prepare, cook and serve food as required.
• Control food cost performance through careful stock rotation, accurate ordering and par level management, minimising waste and spoilage across all storage areas.
• Hire, train and develop kitchen team members, maximising team productivity and fostering a harmonious, high-performing kitchen culture.
• Maintain a clean, safe and hygienic kitchen environment at all times, upholding all WHS guidelines, food safety standards and hotel grooming requirements.
• Liaise closely with the F&B Manager, outlet supervisors and front-of-house teams to ensure smooth, well-coordinated operations across all venues.

What You'll Bring

• Candidates must hold a relevant trade qualification (such as a Certificate in Cookery Level 4 or equivalent), or have a minimum of three years of relevant work experience as a Sous Chef or senior chef in a comparable kitchen environment.
• Proven experience managing kitchen operations across multiple outlets within a premium hotel or restaurant setting.
• Strong technical cooking skills with the ability to maintain high culinary standards consistently across all services.
• Demonstrated experience leading, training and developing kitchen teams and managing day-to-day kitchen operations with confidence.
• A solid understanding of food cost management, stock control and kitchen financial targets.
• A current Food Safety certificate and full working knowledge of WHS requirements in a commercial kitchen environment.
• Flexibility to work a rotating roster including evenings, weekends and public holidays.

How You Work

• Owner's mindset, takes pride in the product and holds the team to a high standard.
• Daymaker ethos, no one's too big for the small things.
• Hands-on and non-hierarchical, leads from the front.
• Resilient and solutions-focused, stays calm and moves fast when service demands it.

Perks from Day One

As part of EVT, you unlock Elevate Perks from your first day. Parity for all levels, no ivory towers.

• 50% off dining and stays across EVT hotels, QT, Rydges, Atura, LyLo and more.
• $2 movie tickets and discounts on Gold Class, Moonlight Cinema and Candy Bar.
• Seasonal perks at Thredbo.
• Rapid career growth across our hotel and entertainment network.
• Paid parental leave; community and volunteering opportunities.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds