PawPots, a high-growth fresh pet food subscription startup on a mission to revolutionize pet health across the Middle East, is hiring a strategic Operations & Supply Chain Manager based in Dubai, UAE. Combining veterinary-backed nutrition, technology, and data-driven personalization, PawPots is rapidly scaling operations across Lebanon and the UAE. This is a pivotal leadership role — you will act as the local Guardian of quality and cost, leading the end-to-end production cycle at a brand-new manufacturing facility, from negotiating ingredient prices with suppliers all the way through to ensuring every fresh pet food order reaches customers safely, on time, and to the strictest food safety standards.
About PawPots — Fresh Pet Food Revolution
Mission: Revolutionize pet health in the Middle East through fresh, veterinary-backed pet food subscription
Technology: Data-driven personalization and vet nutrition science combined in one platform
Scale: High-growth startup scaling rapidly across Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates
Platform: Building the region’s leading fresh pet food and pet-health platform
Culture: Pet-obsessed, execution-driven, high-autonomy environment where individual impact is visible and celebrated
Timing: Join at a pivotal stage of regional expansion — strategic, not incremental growth
The Mission — Local Guardian of Quality & Cost
Role Definition: Act as the end-to-end operational guardian from raw ingredient sourcing to customer delivery
QMS Execution: Execute Global Quality Management System (QMS) provided by HQ — adapt SOPs locally
Cost Control: Drive procurement negotiations and COGS reduction without compromising product quality
Waste Target: Minimize food wastage to below 2% — a key operational performance benchmark
Leadership: Lead daily production shifts and manage Kitchen Supervisor for on-time, efficient dispatch
Position Overview
The Operations & Supply Chain Manager at PawPots is one of the most exciting and strategically important roles available in Dubai’s food manufacturing startup ecosystem in 2026. This is a true end-to-end operations leadership position — not a desk-based management role. You will physically lead daily production shifts, manage your Kitchen Supervisor team, negotiate directly with ingredient suppliers, implement HACCP and UAE Municipality food safety compliance protocols, oversee inventory levels to drive waste reduction, optimize the logistics fleet, and report critical performance metrics including Yield, Labor Cost, and Wastage to the Regional Operations Manager.
PawPots is not a traditional FMCG employer — it is a fast-moving, technology-forward, vet-backed pet health startup that is scaling aggressively across the UAE and Lebanon. This means the Operations & Supply Chain Manager role carries genuine strategic ownership and real business impact from day one. You will be responsible for building and optimizing a brand-new production facility, not inheriting an established operation with fixed systems. The candidate who succeeds in this role will be a proactive, self-motivated, detail-oriented operations professional who is equally comfortable analyzing P&L data, negotiating supplier contracts, managing food safety compliance, and leading a production floor team on a daily basis.
If you have a proven background in food manufacturing, central kitchen management, or FMCG operations — with strong knowledge of HACCP, ISO 22000, procurement, and supply chain optimization — and you are passionate about joining a high-growth startup at exactly the right time, this Operations & Supply Chain Manager role in Dubai offers a career-defining opportunity unlike any other in the UAE market in 2026.
Why This Role Matters: As Operations & Supply Chain Manager at PawPots, you lead the entire production and supply chain operation for a high-growth fresh pet food startup scaling across UAE and Lebanon, earn a competitive performance-based package with direct bonus upside tied to your results, enjoy full strategic ownership and autonomy in building a new manufacturing facility, work at the intersection of food technology, veterinary science, and operational excellence, and join a pet-obsessed, ambitious team at a genuinely pivotal moment in the company’s regional growth story.
Key Responsibilities
Manufacturing Operations Leadership
- Lead daily production shifts end-to-end, managing the Kitchen Supervisor to ensure efficient, on-time dispatch of all fresh pet food orders
- Oversee the operational setup and ongoing maintenance of PawPots’ new UAE production facility, ensuring it meets all hygiene, safety, and efficiency benchmarks from day one
- Build and embed a high-performance production team culture focused on precision, accountability, and continuous operational improvement
- Monitor production throughput, yield rates, and labor utilization in real time — identifying and resolving bottlenecks before they impact dispatch timelines or customer experience
Food Safety Standards & QMS Implementation
- Execute the Global Quality Management System (QMS) provided by PawPots HQ — adapting all SOPs to local UAE facility conditions and regulatory requirements
- Ensure full, uncompromising compliance with HACCP protocols, ISO 22000 food safety management standards, and UAE Municipality food production and hygiene regulations
- Conduct regular internal food safety audits, corrective action implementation, and staff training on quality and hygiene protocols across the production facility
- Monitor and maintain all food safety documentation, compliance records, and regulatory reporting requirements to UAE food authority standards
Procurement, Supplier Negotiations & Cost Control
- Act as the primary procurement lead for all ingredients, packaging materials, and operational supplies required for fresh pet food manufacturing
- Negotiate contracts and pricing agreements with suppliers to systematically reduce Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) without compromising the veterinary-backed nutritional quality of PawPots products
- Build and maintain a reliable, high-quality supplier base — with backup sourcing options to protect against supply chain disruptions
- Conduct regular P&L analysis on ingredient costs, supplier performance, and procurement efficiency — presenting actionable cost reduction proposals to senior management
Inventory Management & Waste Reduction
- Design and implement robust inventory management systems to minimize food wastage across all raw material and finished product categories — with a specific target of less than 2% wastage
- Optimize inventory levels to balance stock availability against wastage risk — particularly critical given the fresh, perishable nature of PawPots products
- Implement FIFO and date management protocols across all ingredient and finished product storage to maintain freshness standards and reduce financial waste
- Track and analyze wastage data trends, identifying root causes and implementing targeted corrective actions to consistently achieve or exceed the sub-2% wastage target
Logistics Fleet & Delivery Optimization
- Oversee PawPots’ logistics fleet operations in the UAE — ensuring delivery route efficiency, vehicle maintenance compliance, and on-time customer delivery performance
- Optimize delivery route planning using data and operational feedback to maximize fleet efficiency and reduce per-order logistics costs
- Ensure cold chain integrity is maintained from facility dispatch through final delivery to pet owners across the UAE
- Coordinate logistics operations with customer experience and subscription management teams to resolve delivery issues proactively
Performance Monitoring & KPI Reporting
- Track, analyze, and report key operational performance metrics — including Yield, Labor Cost, Wastage, COGS, and on-time dispatch rates — to the Regional Operations Manager on a regular basis
- Build and maintain operational dashboards that provide real-time visibility into production, procurement, and logistics performance across all PawPots UAE operations
- Use performance data to drive continuous operational improvement initiatives — identifying efficiency gains, cost reduction opportunities, and quality enhancement projects
- Present performance analysis and strategic recommendations to senior leadership, supporting data-driven scaling decisions for UAE and Lebanon expansion
Requirements & Qualifications
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Food Technology, Supply Chain Management, or a closely related field
- Equivalent combination of relevant degree and extensive hands-on food manufacturing or FMCG operations experience considered
Experience Requirements
- 5 to 8+ years of progressive experience in Food Manufacturing, Central Kitchen Management, FMCG operations, or food supply chain management
- Proven track record in procurement leadership, P&L analysis, and cost reduction in a food production or FMCG environment
- Demonstrated experience managing production teams, implementing food safety systems, and optimizing supply chains in UAE or GCC markets strongly preferred
- Experience setting up or significantly improving a food production facility, central kitchen, or manufacturing operation is a distinct advantage
Technical Knowledge & Certifications
- Strong, practical knowledge of HACCP food safety management systems — ability to implement, audit, and train teams on HACCP protocols
- ISO 22000 food safety management certification knowledge — experience implementing or maintaining ISO 22000 compliance in a food production environment
- Thorough understanding of UAE Municipality food production codes, hygiene regulations, and commercial kitchen compliance standards
- Proficiency with inventory management systems, logistics optimization tools, and operational reporting platforms
Professional Attributes
- Excellent leadership skills — ability to manage, motivate, and develop a diverse production and logistics team in a high-speed startup environment
- Strong English language proficiency — written and verbal communication for management reporting, supplier negotiations, and cross-functional collaboration
- Self-motivated and highly capable of working independently — thrives in an autonomous, high-trust startup environment without micromanagement
- Genuine passion for the pet industry, animal health, and the PawPots mission to revolutionize pet nutrition in the Middle East
- Entrepreneurial problem-solver — comfortable navigating ambiguity, making quick decisions, and building systems from scratch in a fast-scaling startup
What PawPots Offers
Strategic Ownership: Full responsibility for building and scaling PawPots’ production and supply chain growth engine in UAE
Autonomy & Trust: Freedom to test, challenge agencies, build systems, and directly shape the UAE expansion strategy
Performance-Based Upside: Competitive compensation package with bonuses tied directly to measurable operational results
High-Growth Culture: Pet-obsessed, execution-driven environment where your individual impact is visible across the whole company
Perfect Timing: Join at a genuinely pivotal stage as PawPots scales rapidly across Lebanon and the UAE market
About PawPots Excellence
PawPots is not just a pet food company — it is a technology-driven pet health platform on a mission to transform the way pet owners in the Middle East think about what they feed their animals. By combining veterinary-backed nutritional science with data-driven personalization and a seamless subscription delivery model, PawPots is building the region’s most trusted and innovative fresh pet food brand. Every product is designed to genuinely improve the health, vitality, and longevity of the pets it serves — and that commitment to quality starts at the very heart of operations.
The company is currently scaling rapidly across Lebanon and the UAE, and this expansion is creating one of the most exciting operational leadership opportunities in Dubai’s food startup ecosystem. As a high-growth company backed by veterinary expertise and technology, PawPots offers its team members genuine strategic ownership, visible personal impact, and the rare satisfaction of building something that genuinely matters — both for pet owners and for the animals they love.
Join the Mission: The Operations & Supply Chain Manager is the cornerstone of PawPots’ ability to deliver on its customer promise at scale. If you are an operations professional who wants to do the most meaningful and high-impact work of your career — while building a best-in-class fresh pet food manufacturing operation from the ground up in Dubai — this is your role.
Who Should Apply?
- Food Manufacturing Managers: With 5–8+ years experience in food production, central kitchen management, or FMCG operations in UAE or GCC markets
- Supply Chain Professionals: With proven procurement, P&L analysis, and cost reduction experience in a food manufacturing or fresh food environment
- HACCP / ISO 22000 Certified Operations Leaders: Ready to implement and own a full quality management system in a brand-new UAE production facility
- Startup-Ready Operations Managers: Who thrive in autonomous, high-speed environments and want to build something genuinely new — not manage an established operation
- Pet Industry Enthusiasts: With operations or supply chain background who are genuinely excited about the fresh pet food and pet health revolution in the Middle East
- FMCG Career Movers: Looking to leave a large corporate environment and step into a high-ownership, high-impact leadership role with direct bonus upside in a fast-scaling Dubai startup
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