Applications are invited for the position of Assistant Vice President – Concept Development.

This position is within the Airport Production Department and reports to the Vice President – Culinary.

Key Accountabilities:

The job holder is responsible for the overall Design, lead and manage the Culinary Centre across all divisions of EKFC and be responsible for developing and implementing new and innovative food concepts aligned to the best in class in terms of quality, taste and consistency of the final product supplied to our customers.

The job holder will drive the menu design, product and concept development functions and play a lead role in creating the capability and image of EKFC as a centre of culinary expertise.

• Design, plan and lead the strategy development and execution for EKFCs Culinary Centre based on the specific and unique customer requirements whilst taking into account food quality, consistency and costs. The job holder will have to respond to the client requirements for new products and at the same time proactively research and design new food concepts and gain acceptance with clients.
• Constantly benchmark across the food industry and conduct robust design and testing to introduce new concepts within EKFC that will create an exceptional customer experience. The job holder will also co-ordinate with a network of external Consultant Chefs who will visit the Culinary Centre on a regular basis to conduct workshops and introduce new international food trends in various types of cuisines.
• Oversee the design, development and launch of new menus, recipes and dishes that deliver a consistent and superior product quality whilst optimising costs. The job holder will work closely with the production staff so that the newly launched recipes are as per defined standards and wastage is kept to a minimum.
• Manage the annual budget for manpower, equipment and materials for the Culinary Centre considering current and future business needs, after consultation with VP Culinary. The jobholder is responsible to optimise costs of the Culinary Centre as well as the food production costs, inclusive of food, equipment and staff related costs.
• Responsible for design and launch of new food concepts that will create opportunities for EKFC Group F&B business streams in increasing revenues. The job holder will have to proactively initiate R&D for new products and revenue enhancement opportunities.
• Lead the (full time and seconded) Culinary Centre team of multi-cultural staff ensuring they have clear goals, are professionally supervised and developed whilst ensuring compliance with set hygiene and quality processes and practices. Establish and communicate the Culinary Centre vision and direction to employees and provide regular feedback and development opportunities to achieve results.
• Establish and maintain good and efficient relationships with all stakeholders/clients within and outside EKFC.
• Review and approve menus and creates recipes based on material cost and yield tests.
• The job holder will check and monitor through regular checks and audits to ensure that products adhere to the defined Culinary Centre standards. Recommendations will be made to enhance processes and food production processes for sustained improvement in consistency and food quality.
• Define and implement a framework for policies, procedures and standards including implementation of the Quality Policy and Systems in accordance with ISO 9001: 2015 international standards. The job holder will ensure that Municipality standards are adhered and implemented.
• Ensure whilst planning recipes, presentations and culinary enhancements that the latest production equipment, techniques and available automation is researched in consultation with VP Culinary to maintain the highest level of Lean processes to sustain and enhance food quality and productivity

Requirements and Competencies

Qualification:

· Diploma/Certificate in Culinary Arts

· Hotel Management Diploma or equivalent preferred

· Culinary Master’s Degree desirable

· Leadership Certificates desirable

Experience & Knowledge:

· Minimum of 9 years’ experience in the culinary field with experience in leading in the capacity of Director of Culinary (or equivalent) in a 5 Star hotel or internationally recognized Catering establishment.

· Experience in Culinary planning /Concept development

Skills:

· Strategy planning and organizational skills

· Strong people management skills and stakeholder skills

· Self-motivated and demonstrated effective leadership skills

· Excellent influencing, communication, presentation skills all organisational levels

· Quality and Customer Service oriented

· Achievement oriented and problem solving capabilities

· Ability to understand business needs and anticipate future problems/risk, develop simple and effective solutions

· Strong collaboration focus to ensure shared goals are realised

· Flexibility and adaptability

· Ability to make sound decisions that take into consideration the desired outcome and any possible consequences