Operations Chef in Exeter

Our Lounge Operations Chefs play a pivotal role in the success of our business. Working alongside an Operations Manager, you will manage an area of c.8-10 sites maximum, remaining close to our teams and our customers every day. Your team will be your absolute number 1 priority, spotting amazing talent, celebrating success, creating a real buzz and a sense of belonging for our team, plus developing great managers and leaders through training, coaching and mentoring. We're about unrelenting standards, and our ultimate goal is that every customer leaves happy.

What you will be responsible for:

• Relentlessly on the hunt to find and hire great kitchen talent to join Lounge at all levels, with a specific focus on building a high performing and loyal team of Heads Chefs and Sous Chefs.
• Getting the best out of your team by understanding what makes them tick as individuals, ensuring there are clear priorities in place for each site and that there is a strong culture of honest two-way feedback in the kitchens.
• Making the most of your time in a week by frequently visiting your sites to get stuck into service, help to train and coach your kitchen teams.
• Developing the capability and confidence of your Head Chef team through having clear development plans in place and providing opportunities for them to develop their skills.
• Knowing the details of our menu specs and kitchen processes inside-out, so you can immediately spot issues or opportunities during visits.
• Ensuring that all kitchens are delivering the unique Lounge Commitments, including fair rotas and regular conversations.
• Leading the training and engagement of kitchen teams to deliver seamless menu changes for our customers and ever better food quality.
• Helping to plan and execute the delivery of 14 Great Kitchen Shifts across your sites.
• Caring about the community your Lounges operate in, partnering with your Ops Manager to connect with the local environment.
• Conducting high impact visits and being visibly hands-on with kitchen teams leading from the front.
• Delivering daily and weekly the Ops Chef expectations, making sure rotas are submitted on time, orders are accepted, stock takes completed.
• Owning the kitchen H&S standards and practices of your sites, ensuring your site leaders deliver the expectations.
• Delivering on key performance indicators, from customer wait times to food safety expectations.

Who Do We Look For?

• You believe in yourself and your leadership, in your team, and in our cause.
• You're honest and have the strength of character to own up to what's not going right.
• You genuinely care for your team and know how to keep them motivated and engaged.
• You're all over the stocks, rotas, labour, and delivering uncompromising standards.
• You never settle for second best and obsess about learning from yesterday.
• You lead your team through your own unique style and personality.

Where are you now?

• You are probably an Operations Chef, Area/Regional Chef, Head Chef, or Kitchen Manager in bars or restaurants.
• You will have had multi-site hospitality experience across bars, restaurants, or cafes.
• You balance your time between managing and getting stuck in, comfortable in your whites.
• You will have been in senior leadership positions in a large turnover single site or multi-site capacity.
• You will be familiar with managing through clear KPIs and making commercial decisions.
• Your ambition will keep you driven and focused on getting better every single day.

The Good Stuff

• Competitive salary + annual achievable bonus paid 2x a year.
• Opportunity to participate in the Loungers Management Share Plan programme.
• Company car allowance and full expenses provided.
• Great opportunity for personal development and career progression.
• Annual Ops trip to somewhere sunny.
• 50% discount on food from day 1.
• The best staff party - Loungefest.