Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) — one of the world’s largest catering and hospitality services providers, and a proud member of the Emirates Group — is seeking an Assistant Production Manager in Dubai. This senior operational leadership role oversees daily production activities across a high-volume food manufacturing environment — driving lean manufacturing, 5S, Kaizen, Six Sigma, food safety compliance, KPI performance, workforce optimisation, and cross-functional collaboration with Supply Chain, Menu Development, and Safety teams. Minimum 6 years of supervisory experience in FMCG or food manufacturing. NAJM Awards recognition and performance-based bonus eligibility included.
About Emirates Flight Catering — Emirates Group
Organisation: Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) — one of the world’s largest airline catering and hospitality services providers, delivering excellence at scale every day
Group: Part of the globally recognised Emirates Group ecosystem — one of the most respected and commercially successful aviation and travel conglomerates in the world
Scale: Supporting airlines, hospitality brands, and global events daily — a fast-paced, operationally complex, and professionally demanding environment where excellence is non-negotiable
Culture: A diverse, multicultural workforce united by shared standards and values — collaborative and approachable leadership, open communication, and a genuine commitment to continuous improvement
Recruitment: Transparent, respectful process: Application → Initial Interview/Assessment → Technical Interview & Case Study → Background Check → Employment Contract
Benefits — Emirates Flight Catering
Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience and seniority
Duty Meals: Two complimentary duty meals provided daily at EKFC facilities
Health: Health and wellness coverage for employees
Leave: Competitive paid time off and all UAE public holidays
NAJM Awards: Recognition programme — Appreciation, Bronze, Silver & Gold monetary awards for achievement and commitment
Bonus: Performance-based annual bonus and salary review opportunities, subject to eligibility and company policy
Development: Learning and development support, team events, and engagement activities
Position Overview
This Assistant Production Manager role at Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai is a senior operational leadership position within one of the world’s most demanding and prestigious high-volume food manufacturing environments. You will manage and monitor daily production activities — allocating resources effectively, prioritising tasks, ensuring timely delivery to consistent quality standards, and leading a high-performing production team across EKFC’s airline catering operations. The role demands proven expertise in lean manufacturing principles (5S, Kaizen, Six Sigma), strong food safety and hygiene audit capability, KPI tracking and data-driven performance management, workforce planning and development, supply chain collaboration, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced operational environment where operational consistency, food safety compliance, and production efficiency are all simultaneously non-negotiable. Minimum 6 years of supervisory experience in high-volume FMCG or food manufacturing is required.
Why This Role Matters: As Assistant Production Manager at Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai — within the Emirates Group, one of the world’s most respected aviation and hospitality conglomerates — you will lead the production operations that deliver safe, high-quality airline catering at a scale and standard that the world’s leading airlines trust EKFC to maintain every single day, apply your lean manufacturing expertise (5S, Kaizen, Six Sigma) to drive measurable improvements in yield, waste reduction, process efficiency, and operational consistency across high-volume food production lines, develop and manage a diverse, multicultural production workforce — building the team culture, coaching capability, and performance management discipline that sustain both operational excellence and employee engagement at EKFC’s scale, and advance your food manufacturing leadership career within a globally recognised organisation where the combination of Emirates Group prestige, professional development support, NAJM recognition awards, and performance-based bonus creates one of the most rewarding production management career environments in the UAE.
Key Responsibilities
Daily Production Management — Resource Allocation & Quality Delivery
- Manage and monitor all daily production activities across EKFC’s high-volume food manufacturing environment — allocating workforce, equipment, and materials resources effectively, prioritising tasks in real time as production demands evolve, and ensuring that all products are delivered on schedule and to the consistent quality standards that EKFC’s airline and hospitality clients expect without exception
- Track key operational metrics and production KPIs on a daily and shift basis — monitoring output volumes, yield performance, quality conformance rates, equipment utilisation, labour productivity, and waste generation against production targets, and taking prompt corrective action whenever performance deviates from plan
- Monitor equipment-related losses and coordinate maintenance activities with the engineering team to maximise production equipment uptime and minimise unplanned stoppages — identifying recurring equipment issues, escalating chronic maintenance problems, and supporting the implementation of preventive maintenance improvements that reduce production disruption
- Monitor and control planned labour hours — managing shift manning levels against production volumes, reducing unplanned overtime through effective workforce planning, and implementing cost-saving measures that protect production timelines and quality output without undermining EKFC’s workforce wellbeing commitments
Lean Manufacturing — 5S, Kaizen & Six Sigma Implementation
- Collaborate with the Organisational Effectiveness team to identify and implement lean principles and continuous improvement initiatives across production operations — applying 5S workplace organisation, Kaizen rapid improvement events, and Six Sigma data-driven process improvement methodology to enhance process efficiency, improve yields, minimise waste, and drive operational consistency across EKFC’s food manufacturing lines
- Lead and facilitate 5S audits and workplace organisation activities across all production areas — ensuring that 5S standards are not just initially implemented but sustainably maintained through regular audit, team engagement, visual management, and a culture of personal workplace ownership among all production team members
- Apply Kaizen thinking to production challenges — facilitating structured improvement workshops, engaging production team members in identifying waste and inefficiency in their own work areas, and implementing small-scale improvement actions that collectively deliver measurable, sustained improvements in production performance and working conditions
- Use Six Sigma tools and data analysis to investigate and resolve complex production performance problems — applying DMAIC methodology where appropriate, using statistical process control and data analysis to identify root causes of yield loss or quality inconsistency, and implementing evidence-based process improvements that deliver verified, sustainable production performance gains
Safety, Food Safety & Hygiene Compliance
- Conduct regular risk assessments across all production areas — systematically identifying workplace hazards, evaluating existing controls, and implementing additional safety measures that maintain a genuinely hazard-free and injury-free work environment across EKFC’s food manufacturing operations
- Investigate workplace safety incidents and near-misses promptly and thoroughly — conducting structured root cause analysis, preparing accurate incident investigation reports, communicating findings and corrective actions to the team, and following up to verify the effectiveness of implemented safety improvements
- Enforce hygiene and food safety standards through regular audits and inspections of all production areas — evaluating compliance with HACCP requirements, food safety SOPs, personal hygiene practices, cleaning and disinfection standards, and allergen management procedures — and addressing non-conformances promptly with documented corrective actions that are tracked to verified closure
- Enforce compliance with all applicable safety protocols — ensuring that personal protective equipment is correctly worn, safe operating procedures are followed without exception, and a proactive safety culture is embedded across the production team through consistent leadership modelling and prompt, fair response to any safety non-compliance
Workforce Leadership, Training & Team Development
- Plan production staff schedules efficiently — balancing workforce availability, production volume requirements, skill mix needs, and budgeted labour hours to ensure each production shift is correctly staffed with the right people in the right positions to meet output targets
- Lead performance appraisals for all direct reports — providing structured, honest, and development-focused performance feedback, setting clear and measurable performance objectives for each team member, and identifying individual development priorities that support both team performance and individual career growth within EKFC
- Provide targeted training and coaching to production team members — developing the technical competence, food safety knowledge, lean improvement skills, and professional behaviours that enable each individual to perform at the highest level and contribute to the continuous improvement culture EKFC values
- Build a high-performing, engaged production team — promoting a positive work culture that celebrates achievements through EKFC’s NAJM Awards recognition programme, supporting individual career growth and progression, resolving interpersonal conflicts fairly and constructively, and reducing staff turnover through genuine investment in team wellbeing and professional development
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Production Integration
- Liaise closely with Supply Chain, Menu Development, and Safety teams to align production schedules with material availability, new menu product timelines, and compliance requirements — ensuring that the production function is consistently informed, prepared, and operationally ready for all planned and emerging production demands
- Collaborate with Menu Development and cross-functional teams during new product trials and rollouts — ensuring that the production workforce is properly trained on new recipes and product specifications before each new product is integrated into standard production, and that the transition from trial to full production volume is executed smoothly without disruption to existing production schedules
- Provide production operational input to supply chain and planning discussions — sharing real-time feedback on production capacities, line efficiencies, material consumption rates, and any operational constraints that affect the achievability of planned production schedules or service delivery commitments
- Support the reporting of all key production performance data — providing accurate, timely, and well-structured operational performance reports to the Production Manager and senior leadership, covering output, efficiency, waste, safety, food safety compliance, labour cost, and improvement initiative progress
Qualifications & Requirements
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Food Science, Food Technology, or a closely related field — a relevant degree qualification is required for this senior Assistant Production Manager role at EKFC
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 6 years of experience in a supervisory or management role within a high-volume FMCG or food manufacturing environment — this experience requirement reflects the seniority, operational complexity, and leadership responsibility of this Assistant Production Manager position at EKFC’s scale
- Proven, verifiable experience implementing lean manufacturing principles — specifically 5S, Kaizen, and Six Sigma — with measurable, documented results in yield improvement, waste reduction, process efficiency enhancement, or quality performance improvement achieved in a real production environment
- Strong data analysis and KPI management capability — demonstrated experience tracking operational performance metrics, using data to identify improvement opportunities, and presenting performance insights to management in a structured, credible, and actionable manner
- Proficiency in production management software, ERP systems, and Microsoft Office applications — particularly Excel for production data analysis and reporting, alongside ERP-based production planning and inventory management functionality
About Emirates Flight Catering & Production Management at EKFC Dubai
Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) is one of the world’s most remarkable food production organisations — delivering tens of thousands of airline meals every single day to the world’s leading international airlines from its state-of-the-art production facility at Dubai International Airport. As a member of the Emirates Group ecosystem, EKFC combines the operational scale of a major industrial food manufacturer, the culinary creativity of a premium hospitality brand, and the logistical precision of an aviation services leader into a unique working environment that is genuinely unlike any other food production organisation in the world.
For production management professionals, working at EKFC in Dubai offers a career experience of outstanding professional depth — managing genuinely complex, high-speed, high-volume, multicultural production operations where food safety, quality, efficiency, and lean performance must all be maintained simultaneously at the highest standard. The EKFC NAJM Awards recognition programme, performance-based bonus, health coverage, duty meals, and development support make this one of the most comprehensively rewarding production management career opportunities in the UAE food and catering manufacturing sector.
Career Excellence: Join Emirates Flight Catering as Assistant Production Manager in Dubai — where your lean manufacturing expertise, production leadership capability, food safety knowledge, and KPI management skills will drive operational excellence across one of the world’s most iconic and commercially significant airline catering food manufacturing operations and build your career within the Emirates Group, one of the world’s most globally respected and professionally dynamic organisations.
Who Should Apply?
- Senior FMCG / Food Manufacturing Production Supervisors: With 6+ years of supervisory experience in high-volume FMCG or food manufacturing — ready for an Assistant Production Manager role at one of the world’s largest and most prestigious airline catering and food manufacturing organisations within the Emirates Group in Dubai
- Lean Manufacturing Specialists with Food Production Background: With proven 5S, Kaizen, and Six Sigma implementation experience producing measurable results in yield, waste reduction, and efficiency — ready to apply lean expertise across EKFC’s complex, high-volume food production environment
- KPI-Driven Production Leaders: With strong data analytics capability, ERP proficiency, and a track record of using production performance data to drive team accountability and measurable operational improvement in a food manufacturing or catering production setting
- Food Safety-Focused Production Managers: With experience enforcing HACCP and food safety compliance through regular audits, non-conformance management, and corrective action implementation across high-volume food production operations
- UAE-Based Food Manufacturing Managers: Currently based in Dubai or the UAE — with the leadership maturity, lean manufacturing expertise, food safety knowledge, and cross-functional collaboration skills to excel in one of the most operationally demanding and professionally rewarding food production leadership environments in the GCC
Recently opened JOBS 👇🏻
Business Development Manager Jobs Dubai 2026
Production Manager Food Manufacturing Jobs Dubai 2026
Production Supervisor Jobs Riyadh Saudi Arabia 2026
Food Safety Hygiene Supervisor Jobs Dubai UAE 2026
