Food Business Lead

The Role

You are the anchor who makes Comeback Kitchen real.

This is a rare opportunity to build and run a purpose-driven food business from scratch with infrastructure already in place, a mission that matters, and creative ownership over how this grows. You will set up the kitchen operations, train a cohort of students, find venues, and create the proof of concept that unlocks the next stage of scale.

Role and Responsibilities

Operations

Lead end-to-end food truck operations from daily prep and service to close-down

Manage two external cooks; coordinate workflow between cooks and student commis

Own menu planning, food costing, portion control, and waste minimisation

Maintain FSSAI hygiene and food safety standards at all times

Handle daily procurement, vendor relationships, and inventory management

Venue & Revenue

Identify and pitch venues starting with residential society RWA stalls (24 evenings/week), then building toward corporate campuses and institutions

Own the outreach and relationship-building with RWA contacts, event organisers, and venue gatekeepers

Explore packaged food retail (shops, e-commerce) as a parallel revenue stream

Scout and evaluate private land or roadside locations for standalone truck parking

Student Training & Mentorship

Onboard and orient each new SOSC student batch into the Comeback Kitchen environment

Design and lead structured kitchen skills training (prep, service, hygiene, customer interaction)

Act as the day-to-day mentor for students patient, consistent, trauma-informed in approach

Gradually build student independence so they can co-run operations with minimal supervision

Documentation & Growth

Document operations, customer feedback, and revenue data to build the evidence base for corporate pitches

Work with founder to report on progress, flag blockers, and co-create the medium-term roadmap

Manage operating budget allocated for raw materials, consumables, and minor infrastructure

What We're Looking For

Must-Have

Good to Have

• 1 to 3 years in food service, catering, or F&B operations
• Has run or co-run their own food venture (however small)
• Experience running a stall, small restaurant, canteen, or food cart
• Has trained or mentored junior kitchen staff
• Has managed a small kitchen team or worked closely with cooks
• Experience with packaged food or home delivery operations
• Comfortable handling end-to-end logistics independently
• Familiarity with food costing and menu engineering
• Based in Pune or willing to relocate immediately
• Prior work with NGOs, social enterprises, or women's programs

The Person We Are Looking For

• Experience matters less than the right combination of drive, ownership, and warmth. Specifically:
• Entrepreneurial energy treats this like their own business, not a job
• Hunger and initiative doesn't wait to be told what needs doing
• Operational discipline reliable, consistent, detail-oriented in the kitchen
• People orientation genuinely invested in the growth of the students they work with
• Resilience comfortable working in an environment that is still being built; can handle ambiguity
• Mission alignment understands and connects with why this exists

Reports To: Founder / SOSC Program Lead

Start Date: Immediate within 2 weeks preferred