Unit Food Manager

You are a passionate, hands-on leader who thrives on running your own business within a larger business. As the IKEA Food Manager, you'll lead a significant operation that includes a 400-seat customer restaurant, a Swedish food market, a bistro offering quick take-away food, and a co-worker restaurant. With a team of over 50 people and serving more customers annually than the store itself, this is a substantial leadership role requiring both strategic vision and operational excellence.

You understand that IKEA Food is a central part of our business and a powerful way for customers to experience the IKEA Brand and our Swedish heritage. You're driven to deliver simple, delicious everyday food at affordable prices that appeal to people's senses and emotions. You balance form, function, low price, quality, and sustainability, ensuring every product reflects our identity and delivers clear value.

You recognize that food safety is a precondition for all operations and the foundation for customer trust. You build strong partnerships with your leadership team and partners across the business to ensure IKEA Food is a key contributor to store success. Your leadership style is flexible – you're equally comfortable supporting frontline operations as presenting financial results to the leadership team. You're passionate about food, people's everyday life at home, and creating a workplace where people can grow and thrive.

You will have a proven track record in the following areas:

Financial Management & Commercial Performance:

• Managing full P&L responsibility for large, multi-concept food operations with significant revenue and profitability targets.
• Developing and executing commercial strategies that drive sales growth, enhance customer satisfaction, and maintain competitive market positioning.
• Optimizing product mix and pricing to balance value and premium offerings while maximizing profitability.

Food Safety & Operational Excellence:

• Leading food safety compliance in high-volume environments, ensuring all regulatory and industry standards are consistently met.
• Implementing audit systems, quality control processes, and continuous improvement initiatives across multiple food service operations.
• Managing end-to-end operations – purchasing, inventory, production, service, and waste – to deliver consistent quality across all channels.

Product Excellence & Customer Experience:

• Balancing multiple product attributes – including taste, nutrition, affordability, quality, and sustainability – in how you design, communicate, and present the food offer.
• Creating versatile, operationally efficient food offerings that meet diverse customer preferences and dietary needs, with clear, transparent information that supports customer trust.

Brand, Heritage & Customer Experience:

• Leading large, multi-level teams of 50+ employees in a fast-paced hospitality environment.
• Building high-performing, engaged teams through effective talent management, coaching, and leadership development.
• Managing workforce planning, scheduling, and labour costs while maintaining strong service quality and employee satisfaction.

People Development & Leadership:

• Leading large, multi-level teams of 50+ employees in a fast-paced hospitality environment.
• Building high-performing, engaged teams through effective talent management, coaching, and leadership development.
• Managing workforce planning, scheduling, and labour costs while maintaining strong service quality and employee satisfaction.

Strategic Partnership & Collaboration:

• Acting as a senior leader contributing to enterprise-wide strategy and decision-making.
• Building strong cross-functional partnerships with operations, marketing, facilities, finance, and HR.
• Positioning food services as a strategic business driver that enhances overall customer experience and supports organizational goals.

Financial Management & Commercial Performance:

• Manage P&L ownership, budgets, forecasting, and profitability across all food concepts.
• Analyse financial data and KPIs to identify opportunities and create action plans.
• Develop commercial strategies that maximize sales and ensure competitive pricing.

Operational Excellence & Food Safety:

• Lead operations across 4 distinct businesses, ensuring seamless execution.
• Ensure absolute compliance with food safety standards and IKEA food mandatories as a non-negotiable requirement.
• Prepare for operational and commercial reviews, ensuring standards are met and action plans are implemented.

People Development & Leadership:

• Lead through a small leadership team who collectively manage 50+ team members in a hierarchically flat organization where accessibility and engagement are key.
• Develop your direct reports to be strong, autonomous leaders who can effectively lead their teams while maintaining close connection to frontline operations.
• Manage hiring, training, performance management, and succession planning across all levels of the organization.
• Coach leaders to build capability and ensure they can develop their own teams effectively in a collaborative, non-hierarchical environment.
• Create a culture where leadership is visible, approachable, and hands-on, with minimal layers between yourself and frontline team members.

Brand, Heritage & Customer Experience:

• Champion IKEA identity and Swedish heritage throughout all food touchpoints.
• Present and communicate the food range, balancing Swedish traditions with local and international dishes.
• Create memorable experiences where food looks good, smells good, and tastes delicious.

Driving Traffic & Enhancing the Shopping Experience:

• Position IKEA Food as a traffic driver that attracts visitors and gives them reasons to come to the store.
• Create a welcoming experience where customers can pause, recharge, and thoughtfully consider their purchases.
• Build customer loyalty through excellent food experiences, recognizing that today's food customers may be tomorrow's home furnishing customers.

Strategic Partnership & Collaboration:

• Participate as an active store leadership team member.
• Build cross-functional partnerships to drive integrated success.
• Leverage IKEA Food to drive customer visits and increase time in store.

Thanks to us, customers, co-workers and people at home can have a better everyday life through food that’s good for both people and planet. Together we serve more than 660 million customers yearly at the IKEA restaurants worldwide, underlining our Scandinavian heritage by offering a modern taste of Sweden. We also offer a variety of foods in our bistros and in the “Swedish Food market”. We are a diverse group of people who all live by the motto: Laughter is brightest in the place where the food is!

This position is full time 37,5 h/week and permanent. Starting in the role by agreement.

Main working place is located in IKEA Raisio store. In this role your working hours may vary from 08.00 - 20.00 based on business needs, including weekend work. Leaders are encouraged to find a way of working that suits both business and personal needs.

The salary for the position starts at 3940 €/month and will be specified during the recruitment process based on the selected candidate’s experience, skills, and the final content of the role.

You can apply by clicking the “Apply now” button and by attaching an updated CV with your application and salary request latest on 25.2.2026, so we can get to know you better.

We are interviewing the applicants in March. We will communicate about the progress of recruitment via email.

For more information about the position, please contact Unit People & Culture Manager Assi Ojala, assi.ojala@ingka.ikea.com.

World needs more people like you. So do we. Come to work with us just as you are.

Working at IKEA is more than just a job – with us you are part of an equal and diverse working community. A sense of belonging is important to our employees, and team spirit is at the heart of what we do. IKEA offers a variety of career paths and opportunities to develop yourself in roles that are right for you. We give you the opportunity to bring your ideas to the table to help us develop our work, and to create new IKEA success!

In addition to your salary, you will also enjoy a wide range of comprehensive staff benefits, including flexible Smartum saldo, staff discounts on our products, healthy and delicious breakfast and lunch menus at very low prices in our staff restaurants, One IKEA Bonus, gifts on special days and at Christmas, and much more!