talabat — the leading on-demand food and Q-commerce app in the MENA region, operating across 8 countries with 6,000+ team members and multiple Great Place to Work awards — is hiring an experienced and agile Kitchens Manager based in Dubai, UAE. This is a senior, full-time leadership role responsible for overseeing a cluster of cloud kitchens, managing full P&L accountability, leading frontline operational teams, maintaining restaurant partner relationships, enforcing food safety and compliance standards, and driving performance across all key operational KPIs. If you are a results-oriented kitchen operations leader with a background in QSR, cloud kitchens, or multi-unit food networks — talabat Dubai is ready for you in 2026.
About talabat — MENA’s Leading Food Delivery Platform
Founded: 2004 in Kuwait — now the region’s leading on-demand food and Q-commerce delivery app
Presence: 8 countries across the MENA region with 6,000+ talabaty (team members)
Recognition: Multiple Great Place to Work Award winner — high-performance, engaged culture
Mission: Spreading positive vibes — convenience and reliability for customers, riders, and restaurant partners
Innovation: Harnesses technology and data to simplify everyday life and optimize operations at scale
Why This Kitchens Manager Role at talabat Dubai Stands Out in 2026
Platform Scale: Lead cloud kitchen clusters behind MENA’s most recognized food delivery brand
Full P&L Ownership: Complete financial accountability — revenue, cost optimization, and utilization targets
High-Impact Role: Your leadership directly determines cluster performance, partner satisfaction, and food safety standards
Career Growth: talabat’s rapid regional expansion creates clear paths into senior operations and cluster director leadership
Position Overview
The Kitchens Manager at talabat Dubai is a senior operational leadership role responsible for overseeing a cluster of cloud kitchen sites — ensuring seamless day-to-day service delivery, optimizing financial performance through full P&L accountability, building strong restaurant partner relationships, enforcing rigorous food safety and compliance standards, and leading a dedicated frontline team of supervisors and dispatchers. You will drive performance across multiple sites simultaneously — managing order prep times, vendor delay rates, fail rates, contact rates, and ratings — while actively seeking innovative ways to maximize kitchen utilization and revenue. This is a high-intensity, results-driven role for an operations leader who thrives in the fast-moving world of cloud kitchens and food delivery at scale in Dubai.
Why This Role Matters: At talabat, the Kitchens Manager is the operational commander of a cloud kitchen cluster that processes hundreds — sometimes thousands — of food orders every single day in Dubai. When prep times are optimized, customers get their food faster. When wastage is controlled and utility usage is efficient, the P&L improves. When partner relationships are strong, brands choose to stay and grow. When food safety standards are zero-tolerance, consumers are protected and regulatory licenses are preserved. And when the frontline team is led well — motivated, accountable, and clear on their KPIs — the entire cluster performs at a level that drives talabat’s mission forward across the UAE. This is operational leadership at its most direct, most commercial, and most impactful.
Key Responsibilities
Cluster Management & Day-to-Day Operations
- Oversee and manage all aspects of daily operations across multiple cloud kitchen sites — ensuring consistency, speed, and quality of service
- Drive operational standards across the cluster through strong presence, hands-on management, and accountability to performance metrics
- Monitor order preparation times, vendor delays, fail rates, and contact rates and implement corrective action plans when targets are missed
- Ensure seamless service delivery across all shifts by managing resource planning, scheduling, and frontline team deployment efficiently
P&L & Financial Management
- Take full accountability for the cluster’s profit and loss statements — tracking revenue, costs, and profitability across all kitchen sites
- Actively identify and implement measures to optimize operational costs including wastage controls, utility usage, and resource deployment
- Aggressively seek innovative avenues to maximize revenue, boost kitchen utilization, and achieve all allocated financial targets
- Apply proficient understanding of restaurant P&L mechanics to drive commercial decisions and operational improvements continuously
Team Leadership & Development
- Directly lead, mentor, and inspire a dedicated frontline team of supervisors and dispatchers operating across rotating shift configurations
- Ensure efficient shift management, resource planning, and accountability to key operational KPIs across all cluster locations
- Build a high-performance team culture — motivating frontline staff to deliver excellence in speed, accuracy, and food safety compliance
- Develop supervisors through coaching, feedback, and performance management to strengthen the team’s collective operational capability
Partner Relationship Management
- Serve as the primary point of contact for restaurant brands operating within the cluster — building strong collaborative relationships
- Proactively troubleshoot day-to-day partner challenges, resolve conflicts, and secure long-term partner satisfaction and retention
- Monitor and improve relationship scores with restaurant partners through regular communication, responsiveness, and operational excellence
- Manage relationships with talabat’s in-house food safety team and local regulatory authorities across all areas of operation
Food Safety, Compliance & Performance Governance
- Enforce strict compliance with municipal health codes, global food safety benchmarks, and talabat’s HSE standard requirements
- Maintain zero tolerance for food safety infractions through continuous monitoring, routine internal audits, and immediate corrective action
- Establish, evaluate, and monitor operational performance metrics across the cluster and drive corrective action plans with stakeholders
- Use Excel, AI tools, Looker, or Tableau to produce performance analyses and data-driven insights for cluster governance and reporting
Qualifications & Requirements
Industry Experience
- Solid and deep-rooted background in managing Quick Service Restaurant clusters, multi-unit food networks, or cloud kitchen operations
- Proven track record in managing high-volume kitchen operations — including inventory optimization, wastage mitigation, and productivity enhancement
- Demonstrated capability to navigate high-intensity environments, solve sudden bottlenecks, and drive common performance goals under pressure
- Experience leading frontline teams including supervisors and dispatchers in rotating shift operational configurations
Skills & Competencies
- Proficient understanding of restaurant P&L and proven track record of optimizing both costs and revenue in multi-site operations
- Exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills — clear and constructive communication with brand partners, suppliers, and internal teams
- Agile and results-oriented operational leader who thrives under pressure with deep commercial and culinary understanding
- Experience using Excel, AI-powered analytics tools, Looker, or Tableau for operational performance tracking and reporting strongly preferred
About talabat — Spreading Positive Vibes Across MENA
talabat launched in Kuwait in 2004 and has since grown into the leading on-demand food and Q-commerce delivery application across eight countries in the MENA region. With 6,000+ talabaty (team members) united by a mission to spread positive vibes — talabat harnesses innovative technology and deep local market knowledge to simplify everyday life for customers, optimize operations for restaurant and retail partners, and provide reliable earning opportunities for riders daily. Talabat is proud to be a multi-award winner at Great Place to Work across the region, building a high-performance culture driven by engaged talent and continuous innovation in food delivery, cloud kitchens, and quick commerce.
Equal Opportunity: talabat is committed to building diverse, inclusive, and high-performing teams across all eight of its regional markets — and Dubai is at the heart of that expansion story in 2026.
Who Should Apply?
- Cloud Kitchen Managers: With multi-site cloud kitchen or ghost kitchen cluster management experience in UAE or GCC
- QSR Multi-Unit Operators: With a proven track record of leading high-volume quick service restaurant clusters across multiple locations
- P&L Accountable Operations Leaders: Who have directly managed food operations P&L and driven measurable revenue and cost improvements
- Food Delivery Operations Professionals: With experience in on-demand food platforms, kitchen utilization management, and partner relationship ownership
- High-Intensity Kitchen Leaders: Who are agile, commercially sharp, and genuinely excited by the scale and pace of talabat’s cloud kitchen operations in Dubai
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