Cost Control Associate

Kitopi is a creator of magical food experiences—we discover, create, and curate homegrown brands from the region, for the region.

With a purpose to satisfy the world’s appetite to create joy, Kitopi owns and operates a diverse portfolio of over 200+ brands. These brands are either created, discovered, or curated with their customers in mind.

Launched in Dubai, UAE, in January 2018, Kitopi has grown to become one of the greatest success stories in the food tech space. By July 2021, Kitopi achieved Unicorn status, becoming the fastest company in the MENA region to reach this milestone.

Kitopi’s growth has been 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 and remain the leading food company in the region.

With over 6,000 employees, Kitopi currently operates 200+ locations across the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. It also operates its Customer Experience Center in Amman, Jordan, and its Engineering Hub in Krakow, Poland.

Job Summary:

The Cost Controller at Kitopi is responsible for tracking, analyzing, and optimizing food and

beverage costs across all kitchens and brands. This role plays a vital part in ensuring profitability by monitoring inventory movements, validating recipe costing, and identifying areas for cost efficiency. The ideal candidate possesses a solid understanding of F&B operations, strong analytical skills, and experience with inventory and ERP systems.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monitor and analyze daily, weekly, and monthly F&B cost reports across all kitchen
• locations.
• Review and validate recipe and menu costing in collaboration with the Culinary and Procurement teams.
• Conduct variance analysis between actual and theoretical costs and investigate deviations.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Operations to ensure proper inventory control, stock levels, and wastage tracking.
• Ensure timely and accurate data entry of purchases, transfers, consumption, and waste in inventory systems.
• Participate in month-end stock counts and reconcile discrepancies.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and support pricing strategies to enhance margins.
• Maintain a database of standard costs and update pricing based on supplier rate changes.
• Support budgeting and forecasting activities related to food and beverage cost components.
• Ensure compliance with internal controls and standard operating procedures.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Hospitality Management, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in F&B cost control or finance roles within hospitality, restaurants, or catering.
• Strong understanding of F&B operations, inventory management, and recipe costing.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel; experience with ERP and inventory systems (e.g., FMC, Oracle, NetSuite).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Culinary, Supply Chain, and Operations teams.
• Prior experience in the GCC or a multi-market environment is a plus.

Recruitment Process and Timeline

First, you apply, and our talent attraction team will review your profile. If your profile matches our requirements, you will receive a link to schedule a meeting with a recruiter at your convenience. This meeting is an opportunity for you to share more about yourself and for us to get to know you better.

If you are shortlisted, you will meet with our hiring managers. Depending on the role and its requirements, you may need to attend 2-3 interview rounds. These rounds could include a case study, role-play, trial assignment, or live coding session, which will be communicated to you in the initial conversation.

Upon successful completion of the interview rounds, your recruiter will contact you to discuss the offer. We aim to complete this process within 2-3 weeks.

So, what does it really mean to work at Kitopi?

We are constantly striving to make Kitopi the best place to work, by empowering you to be the best version of yourself every day. Our company values act as our guiding principles to help ensure that everyone feels safe, included, and like they truly belong.

Kitopi is an equal-opportunity employer. While we currently operate in 6 countries, we are over 70 different nationalities of talented Kitopians. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a recent graduate, or someone looking to return to the workforce after a break, we encourage you to apply. We celebrate rich diverse backgrounds, lifestyles, and cultures and have a 0-tolerance policy towards racism, bigotry, and hate. Please apply if you see a position that makes your heart skip a beat and help us build a company that we are all proud to work for.

Customer-obsessed and tech-enabled, at Kitopi, we are a team of passionate humans who are on a mission together to satisfy the world’s appetite.