About Us:

OKAMI Japanese Restaurant is a pioneer in bringing Japanese style All You Can Eat into Australia. Every dish at OKAMI is freshly made to order from the menu with 45+ options. Combined with the cozy atmosphere, this makes OKAMI an essentially family and group gathering friendly venue. Learn more about us: https://www.okamirestaurant.com.au/

Package: $80k–$90k base + super + performance bonus

Work Arrangement: Flexible hybrid arrangement (Oakleigh South office + weekly VIC site visits + occasional interstate travel), including occasional weekend work to support national operations.

About the role

We’re seeking a hands-on, multi-site BOH Operations Leader to build and drive excellence across our back-of-house teams. You’ll be the guardian of our kitchen standards—designing and implementing BOH SOPs, leading menu R&D, and optimizing training, labour, and workflows—while ensuring compliance, cost control, and seamless cross-functional execution.

What you’ll do

Oversee daily BOH operations across national locations, ensuring consistent execution of standards.

SOPs & BOH output standards: Build, implement, refine and maintain BOH SOPs (prep, cook lines, food safety, inventory & waste, cleaning, opening/close) to brand and compliance standards.

Menu R&D & deployment: Lead development, testing and standardisation of new dishes (specs, yields, batch plans, station flows, cook times, equipment, allergen controls); trial → refine -> national rollout.

Training: Planning efficient training programs, developing and maintaining training materials, delivering training, and optimising staffing and schedules—assessing training outcomes to drive continuous improvement.

Labour planning: Review and optimise store rosters and prep cover for peak/off-peak periods; set clear daily staffing targets to lift throughput and control labour.

Cross-functional delivery: Liaise across functions as needed (e.g. operations, supply chain, marketing, IT) to drive process improvement and consistent execution.

Paperwork & comms. Keep documentation accurate and current (SOPs, spec sheets, training logs, etc.). Cascade clear updates to store leaders.

What We're Looking For

We’re seeking a hands-on, commercially minded BOH operations leader with:

3–5 years’ BOH leadership in multi-site or high-volume Asian kitchen operations; Japanese kitchen experience highly preferred.

Deep practical menu-design experience with understanding of Australian and diverse customer tastes.

Solid cost awareness (Profit & Loss mindset, data, speed, quality).

Willing and able to work flexibly across office and stores, with regular on-site visits.

Strong creative problem-solving skills and a practical, hands-on approach.

Patient, people-first coaching style with real passion for management and team growth.

Highly organised with strong coordination and follow-through.

Fluent in English, bilingual/multilingual candidates highly regarded.

Valid Australian work rights and full driver’s licence.

What We Offer

Competitive salary + super + performance bonus, with potential salary progression based on performance.

Structured onboarding & training to fast-track your understanding of our BOH systems and standards.

Supportive, high-energy team culture that values practical problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Career growth in a national, multi-site hospitality group with real scope to shape standards and outcomes.

Hybrid flexibility with meaningful field time; travel across VIC/NSW/QLD (expenses covered).