Operations Excellence & Culinary Systems Manager

Bella Bona; Germany (OH); On-site; USD 104,000 - 139,000; Full time

Job summary

Bella & Bona is seeking an Operations Excellence & Culinary Systems Manager - German Speaker to design and improve scalable operational systems across our Germany locations.

You will standardize workflows, uphold HACCP standards, and partner with kitchen teams to deliver consistent, high-quality workplace meals while expanding across cities.

Regular travel between operating cities is required; fluency in German (C2) and professional English are essential.

Qualifications

• Professional culinary background with hands-on kitchen experience.
• Experience in multi-site food operations.
• Strong understanding of HACCP and German food safety requirements.
• Track record of improving operational processes, not just running them.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Fluent German (Fluent, C2 preferred) and professional English.
• Hands-on mentality, equally comfortable in strategic and operational work.
• Experience with catering operations, implementing operational software or digital process tools, or opening/scaling food production sites is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Analyze operational processes across all kitchen locations and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Standardize workflows across sites and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate and implement operational tools where they create real value.
• Support cross-functional operational projects and new kitchen rollouts.
• Maintain and improve HACCP and quality management systems.
• Support internal and external audits, and monitor quality and compliance trends.
• Help resolve recurring operational issues before they become recurring problems.
• Analyze recurring customer complaints and translate them into systemic operational fixes.
• Support escalations and refund decisions where operational assessment is needed.
• Support catering menu development and recipe standardization.
• Evaluate suppliers, products, and operational concepts; support costing and implementation.
• Develop and maintain SOPs, operational documentation, and process standards.
• Support onboarding and operational training so knowledge stays accessible and up to date.

Skills

Culinary background

Multi-site operations

Project management

German language (C2)

English language

Process improvement

Catering operations experience

Digital tools in ops

Job description

Overview

Bella & Bona is a fast-growing B2B food delivery company providing fresh, high-quality meals to companies across Germany. We combine culinary excellence with operational rigor to deliver an outstanding workplace food experience.

To support our growth, we are looking for an Operations Excellence & Culinary Systems Manager - German Speaker to build and continuously improve the scalable operational systems that let us grow consistently across multiple locations.

This role combines culinary expertise with operational excellence, standardizing processes, improving food safety and quality systems, supporting catering development, and implementing practical solutions that make our operations more efficient and scalable.

This is not a traditional Operations Manager role. Day-to-day kitchen management stays with the local kitchen teams, your focus isthe systems behind them.

*Regular travel between our operating cities required

Your mission

• Analyze operational processes across all kitchen locations and identify opportunities for improvement
• Standardize workflows across sites and drive continuous improvement initiatives
• Evaluate and implement operational tools where they create real value
• Support cross-functional operational projects and new kitchen rollouts
• Maintain and improve our HACCP and quality management systems
• Support internal and external audits, and monitor quality and compliance trends
• Help resolve recurring operational issues before they become recurring problems
• Analyze recurring customer complaints and translate them into systemic operational fixes
• Support escalations and refund decisions where operational assessment is neededSupport catering menu development and recipe standardization
• Evaluate suppliers, products, and operational concepts; support costing and implementation
• Develop and maintain SOPs, operational documentation, and process standards
• Support onboarding and operational training so knowledge stays accessible and up to date

Your profile

• Professional culinary background with hands-on kitchen experience
• Experience in multi-site food operations
• Strong understanding of HACCP and German food safety requirements
• Track record of improving operational processes, not just running them
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Fluent German (Fluent, C2 preferred) and professional English
• Hands-on mentality, equally comfortable in strategic and operational work

• Experience with catering operations, implementing operational software or digital process tools, or opening/scaling food production sites is a plus

Why us?

• Free daily staff meals from our own menu
• A friendly, international team
• Flat hierarchy and open communication, you'll work directly with our founders
• Room to grow as we expand across Germany
• Ownership over systems that shape how the whole company operates, not just one site

Bella & Bona's Team Culture

• Mission-driven and long-term oriented – we focus on building a sustainable company with real impact
• Strong sense of ownership – we take responsibility and act like founders
• Open and proactive communication – clarity, honesty, and solutions matter
• High execution standards – we move fast and care deeply about results
• Continuous learning mindset – we constantly improve how we work
• Customer-centric approach – everything starts with delivering great experiences