Head of Food & Beverages

Head of Food & Beverages (GM Level)

THE ROLE

As we build Sri Lanka's next great supermarket, you will lead our in-store bakery, hot kitchen, and prepared food business. You'll shape a fresh food offer that sets Hayleys Retail apart and make sure it runs consistently and profitably across every store.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Set the vision, strategy, and business plan for bakery, hot kitchen, and prepared food, with full P&L accountability.
• Lead product innovation and range development using customer insight, market trends, and competitor benchmarks to build a distinctive fresh food offer.
• Design a scalable operating model, including standard recipes, production standards, and SOPs, so quality stays consistent across the store network.
• Shape store design, kitchen layouts, equipment, and capex decisions so every new store is launch-ready for fresh food.
• Drive commercial performance through margin, yield, waste, and productivity management, supported by clear KPIs.
• Set and govern food safety, hygiene, and quality standards, ensuring full regulatory compliance.
• Build and lead a high-performing F&B team, and partner closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Marketing.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• A degree or professional qualification in Culinary Arts, Food Science, Hospitality Management, or a related field. An MBA or business qualification is an advantage.
• 10+ years' experience in bakery, prepared food, or food service, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• A proven record of building and scaling food programmes across multi-site operations in supermarkets, QSR, hotels, or food manufacturing.
• Demonstrated P&L ownership, with measurable results in margin growth, waste reduction, and productivity.
• Strong command of food safety and quality frameworks such as HACCP, ISO 22000, and GMP.
• Experience with greenfield launches or new store openings is highly desirable.