Sous Chef de Cuisine (Bakery)

Position: Sous Chef de Cuisine (Bakery)

Level: Mid-level

Location: Central Africa

Industry: Retail & Distribution

Nationality: Kenyan

Age Group: 28 to 40 Years

Salary: Competitive

Job role

The Sous Chef de Cuisine plays a pivotal, high-impact role in leading the daily operations of the bakery division within a high-volume retail and distribution environment. This position focuses on driving product innovation by developing creative, seasonal, and demand-driven menu options while ensuring flawless, timely execution. As a key operational leader, the successful candidate will manage inventory, onboard and train talent, enforce strict public health and sanitation standards, and step in to lead the entire cross-functional team in the Chef de Cuisine's absence.

Academic & Professional Requirements

• A Certificate in Culinary Arts, Pastry/Bakery Arts, or a relevant professional culinary field.

Experience.

• A minimum of 2 to 4 years of proven, progressive experience in a similar kitchen leadership, commercial bakery, or Sous Chef position.

Technical Skills

Commercial Baking & Production Mastery

• Deep, comprehensive knowledge of large-scale commercial baking techniques, dough fermentation, proofing, and temperature control.
• Proven ability to design and formulate creative, seasonal, and demand-driven bakery menus and product lines.
• Highly skilled at reading, interpreting, and precisely scaling industrial recipes to maintain product consistency across high-volume outputs.
• Strong technical capability in advanced pastry decoration, artisan bread shaping, and retail product presentation/plating.

Kitchen Operations & Technology

• Expert knowledge in safely operating, troubleshooting, and maintaining commercial kitchen and bakery equipment (e.g., deck ovens, industrial mixers, proofers, and laminators).
  
• Technical skill in tracking, recording, and managing raw ingredient stock levels, calculating par levels, and placing accurate procurement orders.
  
• Practical literacy in using modern restaurant and retail software, Point of Sale (POS) systems, inventory management programs, and Microsoft Office (Word and Excel).
  

Food Safety, Sanitation, and Quality Assurance

• Strict execution and enforcement of public health sanitation rules, hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP), and occupational safety regulations.
  
• Expert knowledge of food handling procedures, specifically regarding the correct storage, rotation (FIFO), and temperature logging of perishable bakery ingredients.
  
• Ability to monitor production lines closely to minimize shrink, control ingredient portions, and maintain strict cost-efficiency standards.

Responsibilities & Requirements

1. Product Innovation & Commercial Execution

• Design and develop creative, high-quality bakery and pastry menu options aligned with seasonal shifts and changing consumer demand across retail floors.
  
• Actively assist with the overall preparation, design, and strategic planning of large-scale meal and baked good designs.
• Oversee commercial kitchen and bakery workflows to guarantee that all production activities operate in an efficient, timely manner to meet distribution schedules.

2. Cross-Functional Leadership & Team Management

• Supervise and manage the bakery and kitchen team dynamically, assuming full operational leadership and decision-making authority in the Chef de Cuisine’s absence.
  
• Create optimized shift schedules for kitchen employees and systematically evaluate their performance to ensure maximum productivity.
  
• Provide direct guidance and support to junior kitchen and bakery staff, assisting with various day-to-day technical tasks including line cooking, food preparation, and retail product plating/presentation.
  
• Lead the recruitment onboarding process and train new kitchen employees to ensure they consistently meet or exceed established brand and kitchen standards.

3. Operations, Problem Resolution & Supply Chain

• Actively resolve daily operational problems, supply chain bottlenecks, and staff concerns personally and professionally.
  
• Monitor, track, and record ingredient inventory levels closely; proactively place bulk orders for new supplies and raw materials to maintain uninterrupted retail availability.

4. Compliance, Sanitation & Safety

• Strictly adhere to, implement, and enforce all regional public health sanitation regulations and corporate occupational safety guidelines across the production floor.

Benefits: As per the company policy

Joining: Immediate

Kindly apply to: careers@msvlgroup.com