Unit Manager for the Food Service Operations

In the picturesque town of Karlskoga, exciting developments are taking place right now. In our city, you are always close to both beautiful nature and a high-tech industrial sector. We offer you a welcoming workplace where people and innovations can thrive. The Community Building and Service Administration operates under a trust-based leadership model, where management, culture, and working methods focus on confidence in employees' knowledge, judgment, and willingness to perform well and meet citizens' needs. In the administration, we actively work to strengthen team spirit, create a good working environment, and improve our working methods. All employees participate in this improvement work with the goal of being an efficient and cohesive team that enjoys and develops at work. The food service in Karlskoga is purposefully engaged in continuous development related to meals – from composition, appearance, and dining experience to environmental considerations and economics. The team possesses extensive and solid expertise in the field, and we utilize food data systems for both menu planning and orders. Currently, there is also a development initiative regarding preparedness within the food service, where we enhance our ability to ensure meals during disruptions and crises. This means that preparedness issues will be an important future concern, and expertise in this area will need to be further developed. Dialogue and collaboration with schools are an obvious part of the work, as we prioritize quality and satisfied guests. Additionally, an exciting development is underway in Karlskoga, where a new school with an accompanying kitchen is being built in the eastern area. The new kitchen is expected to be completed in 2029 – and you, along with your team, will be involved in this process. Welcome to a meaningful job where you can truly make a difference! JOB RESPONSIBILITIES As a unit manager, you will lead an engaged team of approximately 20 employees consisting of chefs and kitchen assistants. The operations are conducted in two production kitchens and three receiving kitchens, with the largest being the production kitchen at Österled School, which daily prepares and delivers around 1300 servings to the receiving kitchens in the area. Your main responsibilities include leading and developing the operations to achieve the board's goals within the given financial framework. You will have overall budget responsibility and continuously monitor results, quality, and resource utilization. In this role, you will support, guide, and inspire employees, drive health-promoting workplace initiatives, and create conditions for learning and continuous improvement. You will actively work on the development and transformation of the operations while also leveraging what is already working well. Collaboration is an important part of the assignment, both within your own administration and with other administrations, authorities, and external stakeholders. QUALIFICATIONS To be suitable for this role, we expect you to have the ability to work in a structured manner, both in daily tasks and in long-term development work. You should be able to effectively manage finances, personnel, operations, and quality work. Furthermore, we see you as a confident and stable leader capable of creating calm, clarity, and trust within the team. As we actively work with digital tools, food data systems, and follow-ups, you need to have good analytical skills and an interest in these areas. This includes the ability to draw conclusions, prioritize, and connect daily work to the organization's goals. Finally, we expect you to be collaborative and have a trusting interaction with other professional roles and functions, which we see as crucial for creating high quality and satisfied guests. You recognize the importance of participation and develop the operations through dialogue and shared learning. You should also have: • Several years of experience in the food industry • Leadership experience in the field (in a managerial or supervisory role) • Good IT skills and computer proficiency It is advantageous if you have: • Experience as a chef • A degree from a college/university in food science (e.g., nutritionist, food economist, or food and leadership). OTHER The selection process will be ongoing. Karlskoga Municipality works with competency-based recruitment aimed at recognizing each individual's skills and thereby counteracting discrimination. If you have protected personal information, do not register your application documents in our recruitment system. Instead, contact PA-support (HR department) at tel: 0586-610 55 for further handling. Karlskoga Municipality is part of a Finnish administrative area and thus has a responsibility to uphold the status of the Finnish language. This includes offering preschool services and elderly care in Finnish. We kindly decline all offers of advertising and recruitment assistance in connection with this advertisement.