All Jobs
All Jobs
Catering Operations Manager Atlanta

Catering Operations Manager

Full Time • Atlanta
Benefits:
  • Employee discounts
  • Opportunity for advancement
  • Training & development
  • Bonus based on performance
  • Competitive salary
  • Free food & snacks
  • Paid time off

Catering Operation Manager

Company: Social Express Catering & Meal Prep (SECMP)
Location: Metro Atlanta, GA (On-site)
Job Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $50,000–$55,000/year (based on experience) + KPI bonus opportunity
Schedule: Early mornings required; some weekends/evenings depending on business needs
Reports To: COO + CEO/Executive Chef
Direct Reports: Kitchen staff (Catering Specialists/Cooks), Drivers, Shift Leads

Role Summary

Social Express Catering & Meal Prep (SECMP) is hiring a seasoned Operations Manager to run the day-to-day execution of our production kitchen, staffing, and delivery operations.

This role is for a true operator—someone who is organized, disciplined, and can lead people while driving performance through KPIs. You will be responsible for making sure our daily operations run smoothly across:

 ✅ Large-scale daily meal production + packing
 ✅ Delivery logistics and on-time dispatch
 ✅ Inventory readiness and waste control
 ✅ Kitchen structure, cleanliness, and compliance
 ✅ Staff scheduling and accountability
 ✅ Support for catering and event readiness (Chef-led execution)

This is not a desk job. You will be hands-on and fully responsible for keeping the business running without chaos.

Key Responsibilities

1) Own Daily Production & Kitchen Execution
  • Run daily operations including prep, cook, packing, staging, load-out, and reset
  • Lead daily pre-shift huddles and assign stations with deadlines
  • Enforce consistency in portioning, food quality, packaging, and accuracy
  • Prevent “fire drills” by planning ahead and controlling the pace of the kitchen
  • Ensure the kitchen is clean, organized, and production-ready at all times
2) Build the Daily/Weekly Plan (No Guesswork)
  • Create daily production timelines and prep lists
  • Coordinate staffing coverage based on volume and deadlines
  • Ensure all teams know the plan: who is doing what, by what time, and how it must look
  • Control overtime by planning ahead—not reacting late
3) Dispatch & Delivery Accountability
  • Confirm driver coverage daily and ensure smooth route execution
  • Maintain strict dispatch procedures:
    • correct loading order
    • route-ready staging
    • equipment sign-out and return tracking
    • departure time tracking
  • Identify delivery risks early and correct them before they become failures
  • Hold drivers accountable for accuracy, timeliness, and professionalism
4) Inventory, Ordering & Waste Control
  • Maintain par levels for food, packaging, and disposables
  • Track key inventory items that impact daily output (protein, trays, containers, labels, etc.)
  • Reduce waste through better forecasting, FIFO, and prep discipline
  • Communicate shortages immediately to leadership with a solution plan

5) Food Safety, Quality & Compliance
  • Enforce food safety and sanitation requirements daily
  • Ensure all required logs are completed (temps, sanitation, cleaning schedules, etc.)
  • Maintain compliance culture: no shortcuts, no excuses
  • Correct issues fast and prevent repeat mistakes
6) Staff Leadership & Performance Management
  • Train and coach staff to standards (SOPs, station expectations, speed, cleanliness)
  • Hold staff accountable for punctuality, professionalism, and performance
  • Support hiring and onboarding in partnership with CEO/COO
  • Document recurring performance issues and implement corrective actions
7) Catering & Events Support (Executive Chef-Led)

The Executive Chef owns all event strategy, planning, day-of execution, and culinary direction.
 The Operations Manager supports Chef by ensuring readiness.
  • Coordinate staffing support for event prep needs
  • Ensure equipment, supplies, and disposables are staged on time
  • Keep kitchen production protected so events don’t disrupt daily obligations
  • Ensure the kitchen is reset and ready after event prep work

8) Daily Reporting & KPI Management
  • Track performance with clear metrics and trends
  • Provide a daily recap to COO/CEO including:
    • on-time dispatch status
    • packing accuracy/mistakes
    • staffing issues/callouts
    • inventory gaps
    • corrective actions taken
  • Lead weekly KPI review and improvement actions

KPI Scorecard (What Success Looks Like)

Execution & Delivery
  • On-time dispatch: ≥ 98% weekly
  • Missed routes/sites: 0
  • Packing accuracy: ≥ 99%
Quality & Compliance
  • Log completion: ≥ 95% daily
  • Critical food safety incidents: 0
  • Client complaints: decreasing trend
Labor & Efficiency
  • Labor hours within weekly plan
  • Overtime controlled and approved only
  • Reduced waste month-over-month
Team Reliability
  • 100% route/shift coverage
  • Improved punctuality + reduced callouts
  • Training completed within required timelines

Qualifications

Required
  • 3–7+ years leadership in catering, meal prep, high-volume kitchens, or food production
  • Proven ability to manage a team and hit deadlines consistently
  • Strong organization and time management
  • Confident communicator and firm leader 
  • Comfortable being hands-on and moving fast in a production environment
  • ServSafe Manager 
  • Experience with multi-route delivery logistics and packing systems
  • Experience implementing SOPs and KPI tracking

What Success Looks Like (30/60/90 Days)

First 30 Days
  • Kitchen runs with structure (huddles, stations, deadlines, checklists)
  • Dispatch procedure locked in and consistent
Staffing schedule stabilized and reliable
By 60 Days
  • Accuracy improves, fewer mistakes, fewer emergency issues
  • Overtime reduced through planning and control
Inventory is consistent with fewer shortages
By 90 Days
  • Operations runs smoothly without owner micromanagement
  • KPI targets consistently hit
  • Staff culture becomes more accountable and performance-driven
How to Apply
Submit your resume and a short message answering:
  1. What is the largest kitchen/production operation you’ve managed?
  2. What KPIs have you been responsible for?
  3. What is your leadership style—firm, structured, fast-paced?

Compensation: $50,000.00 - $55,000.00 per year

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.





(if you already have a resume on Indeed)

Or apply here.

* required fields

Location
Or
Or

U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Information (Completion is voluntary)

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

You are being given the opportunity to provide the following information in order to help us comply with federal and state Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action record keeping, reporting, and other legal requirements.

Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 4/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

SOCIAL EXPRESS CATERING & MEAL PREP Privacy Policy