About RAWAJ and the Opportunity

RAWAJ, a leading Saudi holding company with a growing portfolio of restaurants and B2B catering services, is seeking an experienced Executive Chef to join its team in Riyadh. This full-time role is central to delivering exceptional international cuisine and ensuring culinary excellence across all operations.

Role Summary

The Executive Chef will lead the entire culinary function, focusing on operational excellence, consistent food quality, innovation, cost optimisation, and culinary governance. This position requires a hands-on culinary leader capable of building high-performing kitchen teams, driving menu innovation, strengthening food safety standards, and supporting business growth within a dynamic, fast-paced hospitality environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all culinary operations across restaurants, central production kitchens, and B2B catering projects, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality international cuisine.
• Oversee menu planning, recipe development, food presentation standards, and product innovation while maintaining consistency across all outlets.
• Manage food production planning, kitchen operations, labour scheduling, inventory control, and procurement coordination to maximise operational efficiency.
• Ensure full compliance with Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) regulations, HACCP requirements, food safety standards, hygiene protocols, and company quality policies.
• Monitor food cost, gross profit margins, waste control, portion management, and overall kitchen financial performance.
• Develop and standardise recipes, production procedures, kitchen SOPs, and quality assurance processes across all brands and catering operations.
• Lead culinary planning and execution for large-scale corporate, governmental, hospitality, and event catering projects.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives in kitchen operations, production workflows, equipment utilisation, and culinary efficiency.
• Build, structure, and develop the culinary organisation, including kitchen staffing, succession planning, performance management, and capability development.
• Partner closely with executive management on business strategy, new concept development, expansion projects, customer experience, and profitability initiatives.
• Manage supplier relationships, ingredient sourcing, product quality, and procurement collaboration.
• Lead, mentor, coach, and inspire kitchen teams, fostering a culture of accountability, creativity, collaboration, and culinary excellence.
• Support new restaurant openings, catering mobilizations, client presentations, menu tastings, operational audits, and business development initiatives.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• 5-10 years of strong experience within restaurants, hospitality, catering, cloud kitchens, or large-scale food service operations.
• Proven expertise in international cuisines, high-volume food production, banquet operations, and corporate or institutional catering.
• Strong knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP, SFDA requirements, hygiene standards, and quality assurance practices.
• Experience operating within multi-site restaurant groups, catering organisations, or high-growth hospitality businesses.
• Proven capability in developing kitchen structures, implementing operational standards, and leading culinary transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated success in building and restructuring kitchen operations while driving efficiency, consistency, and cost optimisation.

Essential Skills and Leadership Qualities

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to motivate, mentor, and develop diverse culinary teams.
• Excellent menu engineering, food costing, production planning, and operational problem-solving skills.
• Strong commercial awareness with the ability to balance culinary creativity, customer satisfaction, and business profitability.
• Ability to perform under pressure, manage multiple operations simultaneously, and lead effectively within fast-paced environments.
• High attention to detail, execution excellence, organisational discipline, and commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Application Information

We invite qualified candidates to apply for this full-time Executive Chef position in Riyadh. Salary for this role will be discussed during the interview process.