Head, Food Production & Kitchen Operations

Afri-9 Group / KEV'S Hospitality Operations

Job Title: Head, Food Production & Kitchen Operations

Location

Benin City, Edo

Employment Type: Full-time; structured probation and performance-based confirmation

Primary Location: KEV'S Place & More, Benin City, Edo State; responsibility across assigned kitchens

Reports to: Operations Manager / Chief Operating Officer

Business: Afri-9 Group / KEV'S Hospitality Operations

Department: Value Creation & Value Delivery Department - Food Production & Kitchen Operations Unit

Reports to: Operations Manager; functional accountability to the Chief Operating Officer

Functional Interfaces: Finance, Data Analysis, Procurement, Store/Warehouse, HR/Administration, Marketing & Sales, Customer Service, Facility Management, Security/HSE

Direct Reports: Unit Head Chefs, Kitchen/Shift Supervisors, Grill Lead, Eatery Lead, Cooks, Kitchen Assistants, Stewards and other assigned food-production personnel

Document Status: Controlled Recruitment and Role Document - Foundation Issue 1.0

Job Summary

• Afri-9 Group is seeking a disciplined, commercially minded, and hands-on Head, Food Production & Kitchen Operations to provide institutional leadership and operational control across KEV'S Eatery, Lounge Restaurant, Grill Kitchen and any future food-production units assigned by management.
• The successful candidate will build and enforce one integrated food-production system covering menu planning, approved recipes, portion and yield control, food costing, stock usage, hygiene, people, equipment, service speed and customer experience.
• The role requires a leader who can combine culinary understanding with operational discipline, commercial judgement and accurate reporting

Responsibilities

• Head daily operations, production planning, staff deployment, service readiness and close-out across all assigned kitchens.

• Standardise menus, recipes, portions, yields, presentation, production times and kitchen work methods.

• Control food cost, ingredient usage, waste, spoilage, complimentary items, staff meals and kitchen variances.

• Enforce food-safety, personal-hygiene, cleaning, storage, temperature, pest-control and contamination-prevention standards.

• Coordinate purchasing forecasts, store issues, ingredient quality, stock availability and supplier-related exceptions with Procurement, Store and Finance.

• Lead, train, coach and assess chefs, cooks, grill personnel, kitchen assistants, stewards and unit supervisors.

• Produce accurate daily, weekly and monthly reports on production, food cost, quality, hygiene, people, equipment and customer outcomes.

• Candidate Profile

• Minimum five years of practical kitchen, restaurant, catering or food-production experience, including at least two years leading teams or coordinating more than one kitchen or service unit.

• Strong knowledge of menu planning, recipe standardisation, food costing, stock control, hygiene, kitchen equipment and multi-kitchen coordination.

• Demonstrable ability to improve food quality, service speed, cost control, staff discipline, kitchen readiness and customer satisfaction.

• High integrity, leadership maturity, commercial judgement, reporting discipline and the ability to build systems and train operational teams.

• Job Description / Role Profile & Institutional Mandate

Role Purpose:

• To establish, lead and continuously improve a safe, disciplined, customer-focused and profitable food-production and kitchen-operations system across KEV'S Eatery, Lounge Restaurant, Grill Kitchen and future assigned units, ensuring that every dish is produced to the approved recipe, portion, quality, time, hygiene and cost standard.

Business Context:

• Afri-9 Group currently operates in Oil and Gas, Hospitality, and Consumer Goods Retail and Wholesale. Within Hospitality, the Head, Food Production & Kitchen Operations is the accountable leader for all assigned kitchens and must coordinate production, people, ingredients, equipment, service handover, customer feedback, and financial records as one integrated operating system.

• Required Outcomes

• Consistent Food Quality

• Every approved dish is produced to the same recipe, portion, taste, presentation and service standard.

• Safe & Hygienic Kitchens

• Food, people, workspaces and equipment meet approved hygiene, safety and sanitation requirements.

• Controlled Food Cost

• Ingredient usage, yield, waste and portioning protect approved food-cost and gross-profit targets.

• Reliable Service Delivery

• Kitchens are ready on time and fulfil accurate orders without avoidable delay or disruption.

• Disciplined Kitchen Teams

• Staff are properly deployed, trained, supervised, assessed and held accountable for results.

• Profitable Menu & Production

• Menu performance, demand, capacity and cost evidence guide improvement and commercial decisions.

Authority and Boundaries:

• May recommend menu items, recipes, portions, production methods, staffing arrangements, equipment, kitchen layouts and process improvements.
• May stop food production or service where there is immediate hygiene, contamination, fire, gas, electrical, equipment or customer-safety risk.
• May reject substandard ingredients, incorrect store issues or finished products that fail the approved standard.
• May not approve personal procurement, supplier payment, price changes, discounts, complimentary items, refunds or financial adjustments outside delegated authority.
• May not conceal waste, shortages, customer complaints, incidents, equipment failure, staff misconduct or food-safety exceptions.

Operating Doctrine:

• Right menu. Right recipe. Right portion. Right quality. Right time. Right cost. Right record.

• The role operates under Publication ENIL-000. No kitchen process is complete until the food, stock, waste, customer outcome, equipment condition, incident record, and financial interface have been reconciled.

• Principal Duties & Daily Operating Responsibilities

• Principal Responsibilities

• Multi-Kitchen Leadership and Coordination

• Provide institutional leadership and operational ownership of the Eatery, Lounge Restaurant and Grill Kitchen as one coordinated food-production network.

• Set daily production plans, preparation lists, shift deployment, service priorities, handover requirements, and closing responsibilities for every assigned kitchen.

• Conduct or verify kitchen opening, peak-service, shift-handover and closing checks.

• Coordinate events, weekends, promotions, group bookings and high-volume periods with Operations, Marketing & Sales, Customer Service and Finance.

• Ensure that no kitchen operates as an isolated unit or transfers shortages, delays or unresolved problems to another team without documented handover.

Menu, Recipe and Product Standardisation:

• Build and maintain controlled recipes, ingredient specifications, portions, yields, cooking methods, service times and presentation guides for all approved menu items.
• Use only approved product names, ingredients, brands, substitutes, pack sizes, selling descriptions and service standards.
• Conduct controlled menu trials and recommend whether products should be launched, improved, repriced, paused or withdrawn.
• Maintain clear allergen, special-order and customer-preference information where applicable to the menu and operating context.

Production Planning and Service Readiness:

• Forecast demand using sales history, reservations, events, season, daypart, stock position, marketing activity and current customer demand.
• Confirm ingredients, utilities, equipment, staff, cleaning materials, packaging, service ware, and workstations before production begins.
• Coordinate mise en place, batch sizes, hot and cold holding, replenishment and service handover to prevent delay and overproduction.
• Maintain an approved backup plan for critical ingredient, equipment, power, water or staffing disruption.

Food Quality and Order Accuracy:

• Inspect incoming ingredients, in-process production and finished food for quality, freshness, temperature, portion, appearance and safety.
• Ensure every order is matched to the correct customer, table, service point or delivery instruction before release.
• Record and investigate returns, remakes, quality failures, complaints, dela