Manager - Design

Job Description

Kitopi is the world?s leading tech-powered multi-brand restaurant. With a mission to satisfy the world?s appetite, Kitopi operates a portfolio of both invested and franchised F&B brands, serving as enablers in the food market by helping brands to grow and scale, both in the delivery and dine-in space.Launched in Dubai, UAE in January 2018, Kitopi has grown to become one of the greatest success stories in the cloud kitchen and food tech space. In July 2021, Kitopi announced its $415 million Series C funding round, led by the world?s largest technology-focused investment fund, Softbank Group Corp?s Vision Fund 2. This investment catapulted Kitopi to the prestigious Unicorn status, making it the fastest Unicorn to have emerged from the MENA region.As a leading food-tech business, Kitopi?s growth has been largely fueled by its innovative and scalable software solutions. Kitopi?s kitchens are powered by its proprietary Smart Kitchen Operating System (SKOS) - an in-house suite of applications that optimizes cloud kitchen operations in real-time. As part of its growth roadmap, technological innovation, data science, artificial intelligence, and robotics will take center stage as Kitopi continues to reinvent the food industry as we know it today.With over 4,000 employees, Kitopi currently operates 200+ locations across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar, and runs its engineering hub in Krakow, Poland, its robotics hub in Denmark, and its global customer experience center in Dubai, UAE.We are looking for a Design Manger to oversee the new builds and uplifts for all Kitopi acquired brick and mortar restaurants, dark kitchens, as well as moving brands from online only presence to a physical presence. The ideal candidate is a real multitasker who can organize a team of in-house designers and external design agencies to deliver kitchen designs, concept designs and detailed designs in time in line with the project timelines. Strong communication skills are key given the multidisciplinary impact of the design on the overall business, moreover an energetic personality with a strong drive to continuously deliver is essential to thrive at Kitopi!In this role he/she will design projects internally with a team of designer from various backgrounds as well as manage outsourced designers to complete projects at target dates and within predefined budgetsWhat Youll Do

• Defining project requirements and schedule during the ?brief?
• Attending all meetings and site visits with clients and coordinating with other parties
• Extracting relevant information efficiently from various stakeholders (operations, brand managers, etc. and taking appropriate actions and decisions to instruct the relevant design team
• Managing a team of designers to deliver submission of design packages on time: Kitchen Design is managed in-houseConcept interior design is managed both in-house as well as through agencies Design is managed through outsourced designers
• Ensure the various design packages (kitchen, ID, , etc) are coordinated and integrated when necessary
• Manage the filing of all design deliverables for ongoing and completed projects
• Develop and maintain the Kitopi Design library with design standards (equipment set-ups, kitchen blueprints, typical joinery details, agile design details, etc.)
• Knowledgeable on site with contractor and construction methods to assure that construction matches design intent
• Suggest solution to safeguard design intent when clashes occur
• Preparing and reviewing a high level BOQ and FFE schedules
• Preparing and reviewing RFQ, & Cost Comparisons
• Suggest value engineering solutions to ensure designs are on budget in line with the project requirements
• Preparing and maintaining project design programs.
• Selecting reviewing and approving materials and furniture, contacted suppliers and prepared FF&E schedules and specifications
• Producing and reviewing detailed drawings and knowledgeable in Joinery shop drawings
• Red marking detailed design packages and shop drawings from contractors
• Preparing high level Capex?s and budgets and tracking them throughout project timeline
• Supervising site visits, comparing construction drawings with on site, noting discrepancies, and preparing snag reports

• Bachelor?s degree in Architecture and Interior
• 10+ years of experience in a related field of F&B design
• Very strong administrative, organizational and planning skills
• Strong problem solving skills
• Critical thinking, coaching, interpersonal, and verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency with AutoCAD, Sketch up and Adobe programs
• Expertise in layout, color, lighting, materials selection, custom furniture and all installations
• Experience with kitchen design (preferred)
• Communication and presentation skills
• Creative talent, imagination and eye for design
• Ability to plan for and keep track of multiple projects and deadlines
• The ability to work within a team and lead a team

Keyskills :