Head of Food

The Head of Foodisastrategicand hands-on leaderwhoholdstheend-to-endaccountability fortheWatchHousefood proposition;from long-term visioninnovationand strategythrough to daily operational excellence and launch execution. This role brings togethertheleadership of Bakery and Kitchen teams with ownership of product development and launch pipeline across foodatWatchHouse.

With aroughly50/50split between food leadership and product launch delivery the role is central to driving growth consistency and quality asWatchHousescales across the UK US and franchise markets. You willestablishrobust systems lead high-performing teams and ensure every product launched is operationally soundcommercially successful and unmistakablyWatchHouse.

Reports into:Commercial Director.

• Lead and develop UK & US Bakery and Kitchen teams(around50 people)fostering a high-performance people-first culture.

• Linemanagethe UK Kitchen Manager UK Bakery Manager and US Executive Head Baker providing clear leadership support and accountability to ensure a high-performing aligned team.

• Enable and inspire your team to achieve their best while aligning them toward a shared vision.

• Set clear direction responsibilities and performance expectations ensuring strong follow-through and accountability holding your team to the highest of standards.

• Act as a visible on-the-ground leader acrossKitchen BakeryandHouse kitchen teams.

• Coach and support managers on team development succession planning and continuous improvement.

• ChampionWatchHousevaluesofPassionDriveDiligenceand Empathy inall leadership behaviours.

Food Vision Strategy & New Product Development (NPD)

• Own and evolve the WatchHouse food vision ensuring alignment with brand guest expectations and commercial strategy.

• Lead the end-to-end NPD lifecycle across food from research ideation through to validationlaunchand review.

• Build and manage a structured innovation pipeline that feeds seasonal menus and long-term global hero products.

• Chair and run all food and launch meetings aligning key stakeholders across Food Coffee Marketing and Operations.

• Ensure all new products are scalable operationally robust and consistent across multiple territories.

• Oversee central food operations including bakery and kitchen production ensuring consistencyefficiencyand scalability.

• Own food sales performance across the business ensuring the food proposition drives strong commercial results margin performance and guest satisfaction.

• Own standards for food quality tastepresentationandportioncontrol across all food operations.

• Partner closely with the Procurement Manager to shape supplier strategy support supplierselectionand negotiation and manage supplier performance and risk across the food supply chain.

• Manage food cost control marginperformanceand waste reduction in partnership with Finance and Operations.

• Embed food operational excellence in our Houses through a centralised Food Audit.

• Ensure seamless delivery of food and coffee from central production intoWatchHousesmaintainingquality and freshness.

• Support operational readiness for new openings and expansions working closely with central operations teams.

• Ensure all production sitesoperateto the highest standards aligned with certifications such as SALSA or equivalent.

• Co-ordinate monthly Head Chef meetings to ensure communication and alignment across all Houses.

• Track and analyse post-launch product performance including sales margin guestfeedbackand operational impact.

• Use data-driven insights to inform iterationoptimisationand future NPD decisions.

• Build clear reporting frameworks to support commercial reviews and strategic planning.

• Partner with Commercial Finance and Operations teams to ensure visibility of performance and risks.

• Translate data into clear actions for teams on the ground.

• Teams are engaged developed accountable and clear on expectations.

• Food launches land on time on brand and perform commercially.

• Central food operations run smoothlysafelyand cost-effectively.

• Quality and consistency are uncompromising across allWatchHouses.

• Data is used proactively to drive better decisions and continuous improvement.

• Experience within food production or hospitality at scale.

• Strong background incertified food production environmentsand food safety frameworks.

• Highly process-driven with the ability to design implement and improve systems.

• Outstanding team leadership clear inspiring consistent.

• Strategic thinking balancingcreativityand commerciality.

• Operational excellence mindset scalablesystemsand smooth execution.

• Commercially astute with experience managing food costs and margins.

• Confident cross-functional leader with excellent stakeholder management skills.

• Genuine passion forfoodcoffeeandtheWatchHousebrand.

• Live and breathe our core values ofpassionempathydriveanddiligence.

Role Details:

• Full time (40 hours per week) with flexibility acrossWatchHousekitchen Bakery and Houses in London and Bath

• Occasional weekend workto supportoperational needs.

• FrequentUK & International travel.