Margin Optimisation Analyst

Margin Optimisation Analyst - Contract Catering

Site-based, London (3 days) - 2 days from home - Fast paced contract catering business

£45,000 + 5% bonus + study support + private healthcare

Are you a foodie who knows how to watch the pennies? Do you understand the operation of a kitchen and how it should work?

We Do Group are delighted to be supporting a contract catering business in London, recruiting a permanent Margin Optimisation Analyst, to drive margin improvements and cost efficiency across multiple commercial catering contracts.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a commercially savvy Margin Optimisation Analyst to make a tangible impact on profitability and cost efficiency across multiple commercial contracts. Sitting at the intersection of finance, procurement, and kitchen operations, this role plays a vital part in ensuring that F&B production, pricing, and procurement strategies align with business goals. If you love digging into data, analysing margins, and identifying opportunities to boost profitability, this is the role for you.

With a deep understanding of F&B margins and cost control, the ideal candidate will analyse sales mix, menu costs, and production levels to ensure that theoretical gross profit (GP) margins are both realistic and optimised. This is a hands-on role, requiring direct collaboration with chefs, procurement teams, and back-of-house operations to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and navigate inflationary pressures. If you’re excited by the idea of stepping into kitchens, observing production in action, and working closely with teams to implement real change, this role offers the perfect blend of strategy and hands-on impact!

WISH LIST

• Keen foodie who knows how a commercial kitchen operates
• Love of data!
• Ability to travel to London sites 3 x per week

THE ROLE

Food & Beverage Cost Control & Margin Optimisation

• Monitor and analyse food and beverage production vs. sales weekly, ensuring production levels match demand
• Identify menu costing opportunities to improve GP, ensuring realistic and achievable margins
• Conduct sales mix analysis, helping operations maximise profitability through pricing and product selection
• Work with chef teams to optimise recipes, portioning, and waste control, driving margin improvements
• Collaborate with procurement to identify and quantify product swaps that enhance profitability while maintaining quality
• Mitigate inflationary pressures by ensuring cost increases are absorbed through smart purchasing and pricing strategies

Financial & Operational Analysis

• Work with finance teams to provide clear, actionable insights on cost trends, GP variances, and sales mix movements
• Ensure that actual margins align with theoretical GP expectations, identifying and resolving discrepancies
• Conduct benchmarking exercises to compare pricing, margins, and product costs across sites and industry standards
• Support existing business reviews and new business tenders with strong cost analysis and recommendations

Operational Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with BOH operations and site teams, providing guidance and challenge to achieve GP targets
• Conduct regular kitchen visits to observe production, identify inefficiencies, and implement best practices
• Work closely with General Managers, Finance Managers, and the wider Commercial Growth Team to ensure financial goals are met
• Act as the key liaison between finance, procurement, and culinary teams, ensuring strategies are aligned

YOUR PROFILE

• Experience in the operation of a commercial kitchen
• Cost-conscious mindset
• Good working knowledge of MS Excel
• Able to work across multiple London sites 3 x per week

SALARY & BENEFITS

• £45,000
• 5% bonus
• Fully funded study support (if desired)
• Hybrid - 3 days across London, 2 days from home
• 25 days holiday
• Pension match <5%
• Private healthcare