Title: Senior Manager, Operations Specialist
Reporting to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Location: Nairobi, with regular travel across Kenya
About Food for Education
Food4Education (F4E) is a Kenyan nonprofit that is African and women-led, revolutionizing school feeding programs across Africa by designing a blueprint, operating it, and then supporting replication. Our vision is a world where no child has to learn on an empty stomach.
By creating an innovative, scalable, and sustainable model, we’re ensuring that children and youth have not only access to nutritious meals but also the opportunity to thrive in quality education. Over the past decade, F4E has expanded its reach exponentially, serving more than 120 million meals and growing from just 25 children fed daily in 2012 to a staggering 540,000 children receiving meals every single day in 2025. With our presence now spanning 12 counties—Embu, Kajiado, Kakamega, Kiambu, Kisumu, Machakos, Mombasa, Murang’a, Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri, and Uasin Gishu—we’re delivering daily meals to children in over 1,400 public primary schools and ECD centers.
Our Values
At Food for Education, our values are guiding principles that provide us with purpose and direction and set the tone for our interactions with all stakeholders:
- Build with excellence and curiosity - We’re not afraid to try new things and iterate as much as we can to find the best and most efficient way to get results;
- Be the change you seek - We acknowledge that continuous improvement is a shared responsibility;
- We do what we say; and say what we do - We embrace an ownership mentality;
- Ask why; and commit - Share openly and question respectfully and commit fully. When we understand the why, we are able to work with a purpose.
About the Role
The Senior Manager, Operations Specialist is responsible for driving the strategic planning, execution, and oversight of all expansion and production activities across the organization. This includes establishing new kitchens, managing rural kitchen operations, leading production improvements, and overseeing facility maintenance. The role is designed to strengthen operational foundations by improving process consistency, team alignment, and scalability across kitchen operations—supporting the organization’s goal of reaching 1 million meals by 2027.
This role ensures seamless growth, production clarity, and cost efficiency across both existing and expanding kitchens. It emphasizes structured onboarding of operational staff, refinement of team structures and meeting cadences, and implementation of audit frameworks and SOPs to enable performance tracking and accountability across the organization.
Key Responsibilities:
Expansion & Strategic Growth
- Develop and execute a robust expansion strategy to scale kitchen operations across Kenya in alignment with the company’s growth targets.
- Oversee the full cycle of expansion projects, from site selection, financial feasibility studies, and construction to launch and operational handover.
- Ensure strong cross-functional alignment with all departments, including Finance, Business Operations, Technical Operations, Business Intelligence and Utilisation, Tech, through consistent communication and collaboration.
- Continuously analyze unit economics, monitor performance metrics, and adapt expansion plans to ensure cost efficiency and sustainability.
- Generate reports with actionable insights to inform leadership decisions on scaling models for different regions.
- Act as a key business partner to the COO, providing strategic updates and insights into the overall expansion roadmap.
Operations & Performance Management
- Lead the operational execution of growth initiatives, including the launch of new kitchen sites and support the onboarding of schools and other key stakeholders.
- Collaborate with the COO to establish a financial reporting framework for all expansion projects, ensuring transparency, accountability, and budget adherence.
- Build a strong data and analytics infrastructure to optimize decision-making and operational efficiencies.
- Identify risks to expansion projects and implement proactive mitigation strategies, including adjusting timelines, reallocating resources, or modifying project scopes as necessary.
- Oversee and manage contractual relationships with vendors, contractors, and other third parties involved in expansion efforts.
Production Centres Operations
- Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight to rural and urban kitchen teams across various regions.
- Ensure structured hiring, staffing, and training of kitchen teams to guarantee smooth operations pre-launch and post-launch.
- Continuously improve operational workflows, addressing inefficiencies and optimizing cost per meal in partnership with the finance team.
- Oversee inventory management systems and controls to ensure adequate stock levels while minimizing waste and inefficiencies.
- Develop and implement frameworks for continuous monitoring and evaluation of rural and urban kitchen performance.
Facility Management & Repairs & Maintenance
- Oversee all facility management operations to ensure that existing and new kitchens meet operational and regulatory standards.
- Develop and implement proactive maintenance schedules to reduce equipment downtime and ensure optimal performance of kitchen facilities.
- Ensure prompt resolution of maintenance issues, including equipment failures, infrastructure repairs, and compliance concerns.
- Prepare and manage facility maintenance budgets, ensuring cost efficiency and effective resource allocation.
- Lead the facility management team, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
Production & Systems Strengthening
- Onboarding & Team Development: Implement structured onboarding for the production team with field immersion, coaching, and tracking frameworks to ensure value.
- Team Meetings & Cadence: Review and redesign team meeting structures to reduce redundancy and improve clarity and engagement at all levels (kitchen, associate, senior associate).
- Role Alignment & Team Structure: Map current team structures (Planning & Production, School Management/Logistics), redefine roles and KPIs, and establish clear reporting lines and escalation paths.
- Process Refinement: Streamline core workflows (e.g., dispatch, delivery, stock management) through SOP reviews, visual process guides, and alignment workshops with cross-functional teams.
- Kitchen Audits & Classification: Conduct structured kitchen audits covering hygiene, staffing, layout, and compliance. Classify kitchens using a Red-Amber-Green system to guide targeted support and interventions.
- Performance Tracking: Integrate audit results and onboarding feedback into quarterly reviews to inform leadership on operational health and readiness for scale.
Desired Candidate Profile
- At least 10 years of relevant experience with a proven track record in a similar role.
- An undergraduate degree in Engineering, Management, Business, or any other relevant technical field.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Strong project management and presentation skills are critical.
- Detail-oriented and with strong execution skills. Strategy experience is also required.
- Solution-oriented, able to think on their feet, and quickly pivot.
- Independent-minded and can thrive in a fast-paced dynamic environment.
- Ability to handle multiple projects at the same time.
- Willingness and ability to handle any job assigned under your scope of work.
We are an equal opportunity employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.
Career Growth and Development
We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You will have weekly check-ins with your manager, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You will have the opportunity to shape a growing organisation and build a rewarding, long-term career.
