Executive Sous Chef (All Genders)

Verden, Niedersachsen, Germany · On-site

About this role

 

Your role

As Executive Sous Chef, you will play a central leadership role in our kitchen operations — not just managing day-to-day execution, but shaping the culture, capability, and performance of the entire culinary team. You will act as the critical bridge between shifts, ensuring that production cycles run seamlessly and that our standards for quality, safety, and efficiency are met consistently.

  • This role is available for a 24-month contract (extension possible).
  • Please submit your resume in ENGLISH.

Your area of responsibility

  • Team Leadership & Development

    • Lead, inspire, and hold accountable a high-performing kitchen team, setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of excellence, ownership, and continuous improvement
    • Provide direct mentorship and strategic oversight to Area Managers, strengthening their operational decision-making and leadership capabilities
    • Guide Area Managers through performance management processes, HR alignment, and the effective escalation of critical operational risks

    Shift & Operational Management

    • Act as the central pivot between shifts, orchestrating handovers that guarantee continuity, consistency, and alignment across production cycles
    • Implement and maintain a structured shift handover process, ensuring no gaps in communication, staffing, or output between teams
    • Oversee cross-shift collaboration, proactively identifying and resolving bottlenecks before they impact production

    Performance & Data-Driven Decision Making

    • Monitor and analyze KPIs across productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction — using data insights to drive operational improvements
    • Make informed, timely decisions that optimize kitchen efficiency and elevate culinary outcomes
    • Track resource utilization and ensure responsible, cost-conscious management of kitchen operations

    Food Safety & Standards

    • Uphold and enforce all food hygiene protocols and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) without exception
    • Maintain a kitchen environment that meets the highest standards of cleanliness, compliance, and safety at all times

    Culinary Excellence

    • Champion precision and consistency in food preparation, ensuring every product meets established quality benchmarks
    • Foster a culture of innovation, encouraging the team to bring creative thinking to process improvements and culinary execution

Your profile

  • Culinary leadership experience: A solid track record of leading kitchen teams in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, with the ability to manage both people and production simultaneously
  • Operational expertise: Deep understanding of kitchen operations, shift management, and cross-functional coordination — you know how to keep things moving even when challenges arise
  • KPI fluency: Comfortable working with performance data, identifying trends, and translating metrics into actionable improvements for the team
  • People development skills: Experience mentoring supervisors and team leads, with a genuine commitment to growing the people around you
  • Food safety knowledge: Thorough, practical understanding of GMP standards, food hygiene protocols, and compliance requirements
  • Communication & collaboration: Clear, direct communicator who builds trust across teams, conveys expectations effectively, and creates an environment where feedback flows both ways
  • Adaptability & resilience: Calm and decisive under pressure, able to pivot quickly when operational demands shift without losing sight of quality or safety standards

What we offer you

  • Growth & Development: Internal training opportunities plus a yearly Learning & Development budget
  • Food & Lifestyle: Discounts on Factor_-boxes
  • Compensation & Vacation: Competitive salary and 30 days of vacation
  • Health & Well-being: Access to well-being initiatives, with discounted fitness offers currently being rolled out
  • Future Benefits: We’re working on introducing additional perks, including mobility support and a company pension scheme, to give our team even more flexibility and security

Are you up for a challenge?

Apply now with your complete application documents, also without a photo and without stating specific personal characteristics such as nationality or gender if you choose to do so. German or English language certificates and documents regarding residence and work permits are welcome.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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#basecampproduction
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Company at a glance

HelloFresh is on a mission to change the way people eat, forever!

The HelloFresh Group is a global digital-native FMCG company and the world's leading meal kit provider.

Founded in 2011 in Berlin, the HelloFresh Group today consists of eight brands that provide customers with high quality food and recipes for different meal occasions. Every ingredient needed for our meals are carefully planned, responsibly sourced and delivered to your door when it’s most convenient for you. Only HelloFresh gives you the tools to achieve something delicious every day.

Making a meal a delicious achievement - not just fuel for your day - takes a lot of work and smart people. From Designers and Copywriters to Data Scientists and DevOps Engineers, to potato farmers, pasta makers and the people who ensure every box is perfectly packed for every customer, we’re collectively disrupting the food supply chain and the multi-trillion-dollar food tech industry.

Our more than 18,000 high-performing and ambitious employees across the globe from New York to Berlin, London to Sydney and Toronto to Milan enjoy a number of benefits including flexible working arrangements, discounts on our boxes, health and well-being and learning and development programs.

We’re always looking for quality ingredients to perfect our recipe, so join us now! https://www.hellofresh.com/careers/locations

Founded2011
Team Size10,001+ employees
WorkspaceOn-site
IndustryConsumer Services
Location
Verden (Aller), Lower Saxony, Germany

Top Benefits

  • Internal training opportunities
  • Learning and development budget
  • Discounts on Factor boxes
  • 30 days of vacation
  • Well-being initiatives
  • Discounted fitness offers
  • Mobility support
  • Company pension scheme

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