Regional Catering Operations Manager

Sodexo France; Sevenoaks; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading service provider is seeking a Regional Business Operations Manager to support independent schools in Scotland. This role involves operational support, relationship-building, and ensuring top-quality food service standards. The ideal candidate will have experience in catering and food services, excellent client relationship skills, and the ability to manage teams across multiple sites. This position offers a competitive salary and several benefits, including hybrid working and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Highly competitive salary

28 days holiday

Hybrid working

Training & development

Free lunch on site

Qualifications

• Essential experience in catering/food services.
• Confident in leading and motivating teams.
• Strong client relationship skills required.

Responsibilities

• Support the Senior Account Manager in operational excellence.
• Drive continuous improvement across service standards.
• Build relationships with clients and stakeholders.

Skills

Catering/food services experience

Client relationship skills

Organisational skills

Attention to detail

IT confident

Tools

Teams

eProfit

Power BI

Job description

Overview

Regional Business Operations Manager – Independents by Sodexo (Scotland)

Salary: Competitive
Location: Multi-site role across central Scotland (regular travel) – ideally based around Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Midlothian, West Lothian

Benefits:

• Highly competitive salary
• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Site closures on Christmas day & New Year day
• Hybrid working
• Day shifts with very occasional evenings/weekends as required
• Mileage paid for business travel
• Company pension scheme
• Free lunch on site
• Company laptop & mobile
• Free on-site parking and/or good public transport links
• Wellbeing support (Employee Assistance Programme + Occupational Health)
• Training & development (including apprenticeships for all levels)
• Access to Sodexo’s internal career pathways
• Paid PVG/DBS check
• Retail, leisure and lifestyle discounts (high street, holidays, cinema + cashback)
• Discounted gym/health club memberships
• Recognition programmes to celebrate great work
• 3 paid volunteering days
• Refer a Friend bonus up to £500 (for Sodexo employees)
• Cycle to Work scheme

About the role

This is a brand-new opportunity to join Independents by Sodexo – Scotland in a key support role that helps our school sites consistently deliver outstanding food, service and client experience. You’ll work closely with the Senior Account Manager, providing hands-on operational support across a portfolio of independent schools and stepping in to cover and keep things running smoothly when needed.

You’ll be the kind of person who loves variety: relationship-building one minute, troubleshooting the next, then rolling your sleeves up on site to support teams, service standards, workforce planning and reporting.

Where you’ll be based

This is a multi-site Scotland role with regular travel, primarily supporting sites in and around Edinburgh, Perth, St Andrews and Ayrshire (with occasional additional locations and limited UK travel around once per year).

• You’ll typically spend one day per week at Strathallan School, Peth
• The rest of the week will flex depending on business needs and site priorities
• Hybrid working is possible (typically 1 day per week from home, with more flexibility during the summer months)

What you’ll be doing

• Supporting the Senior Account Manager to deliver operational excellence and strong, long-term client relationships
• Driving continuous improvement across people, systems, processes and service standards
• Building trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, representing Sodexo professionally at all times
• Supporting managers with HR processes including recruitment, performance, absence and engagement, in line with Sodexo policy
• Coordinating and communicating best practice and initiatives across the district (e.g. marketing activity, projects, WFM)
• Championing Health & Safety, compliance and safeguarding requirements in schools (including PVG and food safety/allergen standards)
• Supporting service delivery with strong admin and reporting—accurate, on time, and to a high standard
• Providing on-site operational cover when required (e.g. absence cover)
• Supporting stock/equipment controls and ensuring services are delivered within budget
• Deputising for the Senior Account Manager when needed

What you’ll bring

• Catering/food services experience is essential
• Confident leading, supporting and motivating teams across multiple sites
• Strong client relationship skills—credible, calm and solutions-focused
• Organised and able to prioritise in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Excellent attention to detail (especially with admin, compliance and reporting)
• Comfortable presenting, training and engaging teams
• IT confident and happy working across multiple systems (e.g. Teams, eProfit, Power BI, workforce management tools)
• Happy to travel regularly and provide on-site support when required (full driving licence preferred; mileage paid)

Why join us?

You’ll be joining a supportive, high-performing team in a role with real variety, visibility and impact—helping shape consistent standards across some fantastic independent school environments. If you enjoy developing people, improving operations, and delivering a fresh-food, high-quality service, you’ll feel right at home.

Our food ethos: You’ll help champion our Fresh Food From Scratch philosophy across the region.

About Sodexo

At Sodexo, our purpose is to create a better every day for everyone to build a better life for all. As the global leader in services that improve the Quality of Life, we operate in 55 countries, serving over 100million consumers each day through our unique combination of On-Site Food and FM Services, Benefits & Rewards Services and Personal & Home Services.

We are committed tobeingan inclusive employer. We are a forces friendly employer. We welcome and encourage applications from people with a diverse variety of experiences, backgrounds and identities. We encourage our employees to get involved with our Employee Networks such as Pride, Sodexo Parents & Carers, Sodexo Disability, Ability network, SoTogether, Generations and Origins.

We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations. We run a Disability Confident interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the job.

Read more about what we do to promote an inclusive culture in the section above.

Ready to be part of something greater?

Sodexo reserves the right to close this advert early if we are in receipt of a high number of applications