Operations Manager

Operations Head — Culinary Cousins Private Limited

Sainikpuri, Hyderabad | Full-time | On-site

₹60,000 per month

About the role

Culinary Cousins Private Limited (CCPL) runs a cloud kitchen operation out of Sainikpuri, Hyderabad. We're looking for an Operations Head to run the business day to day — the team, kitchen output, delivery platform performance, food cost, and hygiene.

This is the person accountable for whether the numbers work. You'll lead the team, own the operating P&L levers, and be on the floor during peak hours. If you want a desk job, this isn't it.

What you'll own

Team

• Hire, train, roster, and manage kitchen staff, stores, and packing team
• Set daily targets and hold people to them
• Reduce attrition and build a bench so one absence doesn't break a shift
• Build the discipline and standards the kitchen runs on

Kitchen and output

• Kitchen throughput during peak hours, and the SOPs that make it repeatable
• Order accuracy and preparation time; drive down kitchen prep time and late dispatches
• Recipe standardisation and portion control across every menu item
• Menu engineering alongside the chef — what to push, what to reprice, what to remove

Delivery platforms

• Swiggy and Zomato performance: ratings, visibility, rejected and cancelled orders, RTO
• Discounting and ad spend on both platforms, and the return on it
• Customer complaints and review response; fix the root cause, not just the review
• Account relationships with platform managers

Financial

• Food cost percentage, packaging cost, and wastage — set targets, track them weekly, and close the gaps
• Vendor negotiations, rate cards, and purchase decisions
• Labour cost and shift planning against order volume
• Monthly operating P&L review with management, with reasons behind every variance

Compliance and hygiene

• FSSAI compliance and audit readiness at all times
• Daily hygiene and housekeeping standards
• Statutory documentation, licences, and renewals
• Equipment maintenance schedules and downtime management

Reporting

• Daily sales, order count, AOV, food cost, and wastage reporting to management
• Petpooja data accuracy — the reports are only useful if the entries are right

What we're looking for

• 7+ years in food service operations, with at least 2 years running a kitchen, outlet, or cluster independently
• Experience in a cloud kitchen, QSR, or delivery-first format strongly preferred
• Demonstrated control of food cost — you should be able to tell us what your food cost percentage was and how you moved it
• Hands-on with Swiggy and Zomato partner dashboards, not just aware of them
• Working knowledge of Petpooja or a comparable restaurant POS and inventory system
• Comfortable with Excel and numbers; able to read a P&L and explain what's driving it
• Track record of managing and retaining a kitchen team
• Understanding of FSSAI norms and food safety compliance
• Available during peak service hours, weekends, and festivals
• Fluent in Telugu and Hindi; working English for reporting

Good to have

• Prior experience working as a chef, with real kitchen craft behind the management experience
• Degree or diploma in hotel management, culinary arts, or food production
• Experience opening a new kitchen or launching a new brand on delivery platforms
• Exposure to running multiple brands out of one kitchen
• Experience with catering or bulk orders alongside delivery