Grocery Operations Manager

About the Company

The company is focused on changing how people buy food and groceries, with a strong emphasis on fast, reliable, and high-quality customer experiences. Its New Verticals business is one of the fastest-expanding parts of the organisation and works closely with leading grocery partners.

About the Team

The UAE Grocery Operations team supports top grocery retailers in delivering a quick, on-demand shopping experience. The team coordinates a network of picker sites where trained agency pickers prepare and pack orders efficiently. The aim is to keep every order accurate, speedy, and smooth from start to finish.

Role Overview

The Grocery Operations Manager is responsible for the complete operational picture across the UAE market. This role manages Site Leads, Team Leads, and Fulfilment Associates, and serves as the main owner of site performance, execution standards, and operational stability across all picker locations.

This position covers the full operating cycle, including on-site execution, picker performance, reporting, agency coordination, and project delivery. It requires someone who is highly analytical, comfortable working on the ground, and able to review performance data with the same confidence they bring to store visits.

What You Will Do

• Run daily operations at picker sites across UAE grocery partner locations, keeping execution aligned with service levels and partner expectations.
• Lead Site Leads directly by giving direction, feedback, and development support, while overseeing Team Leads and Fulfilment Associates through that layer.
• Visit sites regularly to review execution quality, picker behaviour, and adherence to partner requirements.
• Take full ownership of the order journey at picker sites, including pick accuracy, packing quality, readiness time, and rider handoff.
• Prepare sites for new launches through pre-launch checks, SOP walk-throughs, and post-launch performance assessment.
• Handle escalations related to service breaches, operational issues, or partner-side incidents at site level.
• Track and manage the main performance indicators for the picker network, such as order accuracy, item unavailability, customer cancellation rate, late orders, and rejection rate.
• Write the weekly business review commentary, explaining metric changes at market level and adding partner-specific examples where useful.
• Create and maintain dashboards and trackers for picker productivity, site KPIs, and trend analysis across the grocery partner network.
• Perform structured root cause analysis when metrics drop, separating broader system issues from isolated cases and driving corrective actions with owners and deadlines.
• Convert observations from the field into practical recommendations for senior leadership.
• Continuously monitor accuracy, availability, and picker utilisation, and quickly highlight any unusual patterns.
• Act as the main operational contact for third-party staffing agencies that supply pickers across UAE sites.
• Manage agency headcount planning, shift rosters, and compliance for the picker workforce.
• Review agency performance over time, including productivity, conduct, and contractual adherence.
• Support contract renewal discussions by preparing operational data, performance evidence, and recommendations for senior and commercial teams.
• Work with agencies to strengthen onboarding, training standards, and incentive compliance in line with internal operating procedures.
• Make sure agencies remain audit-ready, including health and safety compliance and operational governance standards.
• Own the weekly business review process end to end, from pulling data and writing commentary to distributing updates before the review meeting.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly review inputs for senior stakeholders, including trend analysis, site-level detail, and strategic suggestions.
• Keep a structured incident log covering issues, corrective actions, and site changes for audit and governance needs.
• Lead site-level performance discussions with grocery partners and escalate commercial or strategic matters when needed.
• Drive improvement projects from scoping and analysis through implementation and post-launch review.
• Develop business cases and project documents for new operating models, initiatives, or process changes, including data support and financial modelling where appropriate.
• Coordinate cross-functional work with tech, product, commercial, and partner teams to improve order flow, picker tools, and site execution.
• Identify and roll out improvements to SOPs, escalation processes, and picker performance programmes.
• Support leadership on strategic work such as expansion planning, new category launches, and changes to the operating model.

Requirements

• At least 4 years of experience in operations management within grocery, retail, or on-demand delivery.
• Demonstrated success leading multi-site operations and large, distributed teams.
• Strong analytical ability, with experience building trackers, writing commentary, and drawing insights from operational data independently.
• Background in managing third-party agencies or vendors in an operational setting.
• A hands-on leadership style, with comfort being present in the field and leading by example.
• Excellent written communication skills and the ability to create clear reports and business cases.
• Strong command of Google Sheets / Excel, along with comfort using data tools and dashboards.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment with solid organisation skills.
• Experience in performance management, KPI setting, and team development.
• Good understanding of grocery retail operations, inventory handling, and picker fulfilment models.
• Comfort working within agency and contractual compliance structures.
• Strong written and spoken English; Arabic is a plus.

Additional Information

The company states that people are central to the business and that employee wellbeing is a priority. Competitive benefits are offered across health, family, finance, community, growth, and relocation. The workplace is intended to be inclusive and welcoming, with emphasis placed on individuality, a positive attitude toward food, and enthusiasm for joining a fast-growing regional company.

Location

This role is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is expected to be performed onsite.