Executive Head Chef

What you'll be doing:

Executive Head Chef - Kia Oval, London | Full-Time / Permanent

£75,000, plus excellent benefits including healthcare, wellbeing support, 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, life assurance, meals on duty, and more.

As Executive Head Chef, you will provide overall culinary leadership for the Kia Oval, responsible for the quality, consistency, creativity and commercial performance of the food operation.
 
 Reporting to the General Manager, the role will lead and develop the senior culinary team, including the Conference & Events Head Chef, Matchday Head Chef and Performance Chef, ensuring a consistent culinary vision across all areas of the business.
 
 Working across matchdays, premium hospitality, conference and events, retail and performance nutrition, the Executive Head Chef will ensure exceptional food experiences for guests, clients, players and colleagues.
 
 A key focus of the role will be people leadership and development, creating a positive, inclusive and high-performing culinary culture while developing talent and succession across the kitchen operation.

 The role will also lead the Kia Oval's sustainable food agenda, embedding seasonality, responsible sourcing, plant-forward menus and food waste reduction into the culinary strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Culinary Leadership & Menu Development

• Lead the overall culinary vision and food strategy for the Kia Oval.
• Develop innovative, seasonal and commercially successful menus across matchdays, hospitality, events, retail and performance catering.
•  Maintain consistently high standards of food quality, presentation and guest experience.
• Ensure menus reflect dietary, cultural, nutritional and allergen requirements.
• Keep the culinary offer relevant through innovation, trends and guest insight.

People Leadership & Development

• Lead, inspire and develop the Conference & Events Head Chef, Matchday Head Chef and Performance Chef.
• Create a positive, inclusive and accountable kitchen culture.
• Develop talent, succession plans and career pathways across the culinary team.
• Coach and mentor senior chefs and support them in developing their own teams.
• Work with the GM, DGM and People team, along with the wider leadership team on recruitment, engagement, wellbeing and performance
•  Champion Levy's values around diversity, inclusion and colleague development.

Matchday, Events & Performance

• Provide culinary leadership across the Kia Oval's busy matchday and event calendar.
• Ensure the kitchen operation is appropriately staffed, planned and resourced to deliver exceptional service.
• Work closely with the Conference & Events and Matchday Head Chefs to deliver consistent standards 
• Support the Performance Chef in delivering high-quality, nutritious food aligned to athlete requirements.
• Be visible and hands-on during key matchdays and major events.

Sustainability

• Lead the Kia Oval and Levy UK&I’s sustainable food strategy.
• Increase the use of seasonal, local and responsibly sourced ingredients.
• Develop attractive plant-forward and lower-impact menu options.
• Drive food waste reduction through effective planning, menu engineering and ingredient utilisation.
• Engage and educate the culinary team around sustainable food practices.
• Work with suppliers and Levy's sustainability teams to deliver agreed environmental targets.

Commercial & Operational Management

• Take overall responsibility for culinary cost, labour and profitability.
• Work with the General Manager and finance team to deliver agreed financial targets.
• Manage purchasing, suppliers, food cost and waste effectively.
• Ensure kitchen operations meet the highest standards of food safety, hygiene and compliance, working alongside the Venue Compliance Manager on current and future challenges.
• Drive efficiency and continuous improvement across the culinary operation.

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with the General Manager and wider senior leadership team.
• Build strong relationships with clients, event teams, operational colleagues and key stakeholders.
• Ensure the culinary proposition supports the wider commercial and guest experience strategy of the Kia Oval.
• Represent Levy and the Kia Oval professionally at senior level.

Person Specification

Skills & Competencies

• Extensive senior culinary leadership experience within a large-scale hospitality, sporting, events, hotel or contract catering environment.
• Proven experience leading large and diverse culinary teams.
• Exceptional culinary and menu development skills.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding.
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong knowledge of food safety, allergens and operational compliance.
• Genuine passion for sustainable food and responsible sourcing.

Leadership

• Inspirational, visible and approachable leadership style.
• Proven ability to develop and retain culinary talent.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Able to create a high-performing, inclusive and accountable culture.
• Passionate about developing the next generation of chefs.

Experience

• Minimum 8–10 years' progressive culinary experience, including significant senior leadership experience.
• Proven track record at Executive Chef, Executive Head Chef, Senior Head Chef or equivalent level.
• Experience delivering high-volume sporting, hospitality or event operations.
• Experience managing multiple culinary teams or functions.
• Proven experience in menu development, cost control and financial management.
• Experience of sustainable food initiatives is highly desirable.

Personal Attributes

• Passionate about food, people and hospitality.
• Creative, innovative and commercially minded.
• Resilient and calm under pressure.
• Strong attention to detail and high personal standards.
• Positive, collaborative and approachable.
• Committed to sustainability, diversity, inclusion and colleague wellbeing.

Additional Requirements

• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends and public holidays in line with the Kia Oval's match and event calendar.
• Commitment to maintaining the highest standards of food safety and operational compliance
• Passion for continuous learning, culinary innovation and developing people.

Benefits & Additional Role Information

Work Enhancements

• Competitive salary
• Private health cover (Medicash, Aviva)
• Discretionary bonus
• Enhanced holiday allowance (27 days, bank holidays and birthday off annually)
• Free staff meals
• Job enhancement training and development courses
• Company pension scheme
• Exclusive benefits and wellbeing (Perks at Work)

Hours of Work

Hours of work will be determined by the needs of the business and subject to the Working Time Directive and any Workforce agreement that is in place. 

Benefits:

• Medicash - Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children)
• Aviva Digicare - Free annual healthcare check
• Exclusive Benefits & Wellbeing site (Perks at Work)
• Entertainment discounts - up to 55% off cinema tickets
• Health & Wellbeing discounts - Discounts for Nuffield Health (20%) and Pure Gym (10%)
• Travel discounts - Discounts with holiday companies such as TUI and Expedia
• Shopping discounts - Save up to 15% at high street and online stores by purchasing Shopping Cards
• Meals on duty
• Vodaphone discounts
• Pension scheme and Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 23 days + BH's and additional day off for your birthday
• 2 days additional leave, following return from Maternity leave during first year back
• Competitive and supportive family benefits
• Day off for baby's first birthday
• Holiday purchase scheme
• On-going training & development and career pathways
• Professional subscriptions paid
• Financial wellbeing programme and preferred rates on salary finance products

As part of Compass you'll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK's biggest businesses.

Job Reference: com/0810/68717001/52838015/IN/SU #Levy UK

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!