Cost Controller

Overview

The Cost Controller role at Kempinski Hotels in Doha, Qatar, involves overseeing, regulating, and reducing operational costs focused mainly on Food & Beverage (F&B) and retail segments. Collaborating closely with culinary, procurement, and finance teams, this position ensures all goods received, stored, and issued comply with budgetary constraints and profit objectives. The role emphasizes strict inventory management, variance investigation, and waste reduction to enhance overall hotel profitability.

Key Responsibilities

• Calculate and track food and beverage cost ratios on daily, weekly, and monthly bases.
• Collaborate with the Executive Chef and F&B Director to develop standard recipes, yields, and portion guidelines.
• Compare theoretical menu costs with actual expenses to uncover pricing inefficiencies or cost overruns.
• Perform regular inspections of portion control, food preparation, and waste management in kitchens and bars.
• Manage and coordinate monthly and ongoing physical inventory audits for all food, beverages, supplies, and retail stock.
• Investigate significant differences between system inventory and physical stock counts.
• Conduct random inspections at receiving docks to verify order conformity concerning quantity, price, and quality.
• Ensure storeroom cleanliness, stock rotation via FIFO, and security measures to minimize spoilage and theft.
• Maintain and update procurement and inventory systems with precise pricing, recipes, and supplier details.
• Review purchase requests and orders in line with anticipated occupancy and banquet demands.
• Analyze market trends and supplier pricing to negotiate favorable contracts or propose alternative vendors.
• Compile monthly cost reports, variance analyses, and reconciliation documents for the Finance Director.
• Identify costly items, slow-moving stock, and near-expiry goods and advise management with practical recommendations.
• Engage in monthly financial reviews to address budget variances and suggest cost-saving strategies.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Hospitality Management, or related disciplines.
• Three to five years’ experience in cost control, inventory management, or procurement within hotels or high-volume restaurants.
• Proficient with hotel inventory and procurement software such as Materials Control (MC), BirchStreet, Adaco, or FMC.
• Advanced skills in Point of Sale (POS) systems including Simphony and Micros, alongside strong Microsoft Excel capabilities.
• Excellent analytical abilities with attention to detail for spotting numerical inconsistencies.
• Effective communication skills to impose control measures across multiple departments.
• Ability to perform efficiently under pressure, especially during deadline-driven month-end closing.

Application Details

Application deadline is 31 August 2026. Position is based in Doha, Qatar within the Finance & Procurement department.