Hands-On Kitchen Leader — School Meal Production

Yay Lunch; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

The Yay Company in Philadelphia is seeking a Kitchen Manager to oversee day-to-day kitchen production, ensuring meals for school partners are delivered on time and to standard. You will lead the team on the line, manage inventory, labor, and training, and report to the Operations Manager.

Must be based in Philadelphia and have a reliable vehicle. The role is full-time with hourly compensation of $23, offering growth as we expand into new markets and improve kitchen operations in a mission-driven

Qualifications

• 2–4 years of kitchen or food production experience.
• Hands-on cook and leader who can run a shift.
• Experience with cold and hot batch production and inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Runs the kitchen from prep through production and dispatch — schedule, quality, and on-time execution
• Leads cold batch and hot production runs, setting pace and output standards
• Manages inventory and pars, tracking waste, using FIFO and portioning discipline
• Sets and manages kitchen schedule within labor budget; tracks hours
• Directly supervises kitchen staff — hires, onboards, coaches Lead Cooks and team
• Handles real-time issues during production
• Reports daily/weekly on labor, waste, and meal counts to the Operations Manager

Skills

Kitchen leadership

Food safety

Inventory management

Team supervision

Time management

Education

ServSafe certification

Job description

The Yay Company in Philadelphia is seeking a Kitchen Manager to oversee day-to-day kitchen production, ensuring meals for school partners are delivered on time and to standard. You will lead the team on the line, manage inventory, labor, and training, and report to the Operations Manager.

Must be based in Philadelphia and have a reliable vehicle. The role is full-time with hourly compensation of $23, offering growth as we expand into new markets and improve kitchen operations in a mission-driven