Area Manager – Operations | Hubli-Dharwad Region

Area Manager – Operations | Hubli-Dharwad Region
Company: K Star Food & Hospitality Services
Department: Operations
Location: Hubli-Dharwad, Karnataka
Employment Type: Full-time
Travel: Frequent travel across assigned sites in Karnataka and nearby locations
About the Role
K Star Food & Hospitality Services is looking for an experienced and ownership-driven Area Manager – Operations for the Hubli-Dharwad region.
We are specifically looking for candidates who have strong hands-on experience in Industrial Canteen Operations along with exposure to Educational Institutions / Hostel Mess / Campus Catering.
This is a multi-site, field-intensive leadership role. The selected candidate will be responsible for the complete operational and commercial performance of assigned sites, including manpower, P&L, food cost, client management, procurement consumption, hygiene, compliance, staff training and process implementation.
This is not an office-based coordination role. The Area Manager will be expected to visit sites frequently, identify operational gaps and take ownership until issues are fully resolved.
Key ResponsibilitiesMulti-Site Operations Management
Take end-to-end responsibility for assigned industrial canteens and institutional catering sites.
Ensure smooth daily operations across breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and shift-based meal services.
Monitor food quality, service standards, hygiene, manpower, stores and client requirements.
Conduct frequent site visits and operational audits.
Identify recurring operational problems and implement corrective and preventive actions.
Industrial Canteen Operations
Manage high-volume and shift-based industrial catering operations.
Understand production planning based on shift timings and expected meal counts.
Ensure timely meal availability for different employee shifts.
Monitor service speed, counter management and peak-hour execution.
Control portion sizes, wastage and food cost.
Coordinate with factory/client representatives regarding meal schedules, employee feedback and operational requirements.
Ensure compliance with factory-specific safety, hygiene and access requirements.
Education / Institutional Catering
Manage hostel mess, college, university or campus dining operations.
Handle changing meal counts, student feedback and menu-related concerns.
Ensure consistency of food quality across all meals.
Coordinate with institutional administration, hostel teams, mess committees and other stakeholders.
Support special meals, events and high-volume service requirements where applicable.
Manpower Management
Ensure availability of adequate manpower at each site including Unit Managers, Supervisors, Chefs, Cooks, Storekeepers, Helpers, Utility and Service staff.
Review manpower deployment against meal volume, service pattern and operational requirement.
Coordinate recruitment and replacement requirements with HR.
Manage absenteeism, attrition, weekly offs and shift deployment.
Identify weak performers and initiate training, counselling or replacement as required.
Develop capable second-line teams at every site.
P&L and Cost Control
Take direct responsibility for site profitability.
Monitor and control:
Raw-material / food cost
Manpower cost
Purchase consumption
Inventory
Wastage
Local purchases
Petty cash
Operating expenses
Client penalties and deductions
The Area Manager should be able to identify why a site is underperforming and implement practical corrective actions.
Procurement & Inventory Control
Review procurement quantities against meal count, menu, stock and consumption trends.
Identify abnormal consumption, excess buying and repeated emergency purchases.
Review high-value and fast-moving items.
Monitor stock levels, FIFO/FEFO, wastage, variance and physical stock.
Work with Purchase and site teams to ensure timely availability of materials without overstocking.
Monitor vendor service quality, delivery performance and rejection/replacement issues.
Client Management
Maintain strong working relationships with industrial and institutional clients.
Meet client representatives during site visits.
Resolve operational complaints within committed timelines.
Identify recurring complaints and implement root-cause corrective action.
Escalate major commercial, contractual or compliance matters appropriately.
Ensure that client satisfaction is maintained without creating uncontrolled cost or manpower commitments.
Training & Process Implementation
Train Unit Managers, Supervisors, Chefs and Storekeepers.
Implement standard processes for:
Menu and production planning
Indenting
Stores and inventory
Receiving
Portion control
Wastage control
Attendance
Cleaning and hygiene
Client complaint handling
Daily MIS
Audit and CAPA
Ensure processes continue to function consistently after implementation.
Hygiene, Food Safety & Compliance
Ensure compliance with applicable FSSAI, hygiene and client requirements.
Monitor kitchen and dining-area cleanliness.
Ensure pest-control, cleaning, temperature, sample-retention and related records are maintained.
Ensure staff grooming, medical fitness and food-safety practices are followed.
Coordinate closure of audit and compliance observations.
Candidate ProfileExperience
8–15 years of experience in institutional catering / contract food services / large-scale food operations.
Mandatory: Strong experience in Industrial Canteen Operations.
Mandatory: Experience in Educational Institutions, Hostel Mess, College or University Catering.
Prior experience managing multiple sites simultaneously is strongly preferred.
Experience handling large manpower teams, client relationships, food cost and site P&L is essential.
Candidates having experience only in hotels, standalone restaurants, QSRs or banquet operations without contract catering / industrial canteen exposure may not be suitable for this role.
Education
Degree or Diploma in Hotel Management, Hospitality, Food Production, Business Administration or a related field preferred.
Strong candidates with extensive hands-on contract catering experience may also be considered.
Required Skills
Industrial canteen operations
Institutional / education-sector catering
Multi-site management
P&L ownership
Food-cost and consumption control
Manpower planning
Inventory and store management
Client handling
Vendor coordination
Staff training
Process implementation
Root-cause analysis
Hygiene and compliance
Excel / Google Sheets and operational MIS
Good communication in English and Hindi
Knowledge of Kannada is must.
What We Are Looking For
We need someone who:
Takes complete ownership of assigned sites.
Is comfortable spending significant time at operating locations.
Understands both industrial and educational catering environments.
Can manage high-volume and shift-based food operations.
Understands numbers, P&L and food cost.
Can identify cost leakages and operational inefficiencies.
Can manage and develop Unit Managers and site teams.
Does not depend only on phone calls or WhatsApp to manage operations.
Is comfortable handling manpower shortages and operational emergencies.
Identifies problems before they become client escalations.
Implements systems and follows through until they become routine.
Key Performance Areas
Performance will be measured on:
Site P&L and profitability
Food-cost control
Manpower productivity
Client satisfaction
Complaint closure
Audit and compliance scores
Inventory and wastage control
Staff availability and retention
Process compliance
MIS accuracy
Stability of assigned sites
Important Eligibility Requirement
Candidates should apply only if they have meaningful hands-on experience in both Industrial Canteen Operations and Education / Institutional Catering.
Candidates whose experience is limited to hotels, restaurants, banquet operations or a single standalone unit may not be suitable for this position.
How to Apply
Send your updated resume to hiring@kstarhospitality.com with the subject:
Application – Area Manager Operations – Hubli-Dharwad – [Candidate Name]
Please mention:
Current location
Current CTC
Expected CTC
Notice period
Total years of catering operations experience
Years of Industrial Canteen experience
Years of Education / Institutional Catering experience
Number of sites handled simultaneously
Approximate manpower handled
Experience in site P&L and food-cost control
Major clients / industries handled
Languages known
Willingness to relocate / travel within Karnataka

Work arrangement
No