Grocery Operations Manager at Deliveroo

GROCERY OPERATIONS MANAGER New Verticals | UAE About Deliveroo Deliveroo is on a mission to transform the way people shop and eat. We want to be the platform people turn to whenever they think about food or groceries. Our New Verticals business is one of our fastest-growing areas, working with world-class grocery partners to deliver speed, accuracy, and outstanding customer experience. About the Team The UAE Grocery Operations team partners with leading grocery retailers to deliver a best-in-class on-demand grocery experience. We operate across a network of picker sites where trained agency pickers fulfil and pack Deliveroo orders at speed. Our mission is to make every order accurate, fast, and frictionless. The Grocery Operations Manager owns the full in-market operational picture. You will be the direct line manager for a team of Site Leads, Team Leads, and Fulfilment Associates, and will be the primary point of accountability for performance, execution quality, and operational continuity across all picker sites. The Role The Grocery Operations Manager leads all picker-site operations across our UAE grocery partner network. You will own the full operational lifecycle from site execution and picker performance to data reporting, agency management, and project delivery. You are a data-first operator who is as comfortable on the shop floor as you are in a weekly performance review. Key Responsibilities SITE & TEAM OPERATIONS - Manage day-to-day picker-site operations across all active UAE grocery partner locations, ensuring consistent execution against SLAs and partner standards. - Directly manage Site Leads, providing clear direction, feedback, and development support. Indirectly oversee Team Leads and Fulfilment Associates through the site lead layer. - Conduct regular field visits across sites to audit execution quality, picker behaviour, and partner compliance. - Own the full order lifecycle across picker sites including pick accuracy, pack quality, readiness time, and handoff to riders. - Ensure operational readiness for new site launches, including pre-launch audits, SOP briefings, and post-launch performance reviews. - Lead escalation management for any SLA breach, operational failure, or partner incident at site level. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & DATA - Own all core operational KPIs across the picker network: order accuracy, item unavailability, customer cancellation rate, late orders, and rejection rate. - Be the primary author of weekly business review commentary, reporting metric movements at a market level with partner-level examples where relevant. - Build and maintain dashboards and trackers covering picker productivity, per-site KPI performance, and trend analysis across the grocery partner portfolio. - Run structured root cause analysis on metric dips, identifying systemic issues versus one-off events, and driving corrective actions with clear owners and timelines. - Translate field data and site observations into actionable recommendations for senior leadership. - Monitor order accuracy, item availability, and picker utilisation metrics continuously and flag anomalies proactively. AGENCY & VENDOR MANAGEMENT - Serve as the primary operational contact for all third-party staffing agencies supplying pickers across UAE picker sites. - Oversee agency headcount planning, shift scheduling, and compliance across the picker fleet. - Manage ongoing agency performance reviews, including productivity benchmarks, conduct standards, and contractual compliance. - Support contract renewal discussions by providing operational data, performance evidence, and model recommendations to senior management and commercial teams. - Work with agencies to implement structured picker onboarding, training standards, and incentive compliance as per Deliveroo SOPs. - Ensure agencies meet audit readiness standards at all times, including H&S compliance and operational governance requirements. REPORTING CADENCE - Own the weekly business review reporting cycle end-to-end: pull metric data, write commentary, flag drivers, and distribute to stakeholders ahead of the weekly review. - Prepare monthly and quarterly business review inputs for senior stakeholder reviews, including trend analysis, site-level breakdowns, and strategic recommendations. - Maintain a structured operational log of incidents, corrective actions, and site-level changes for audit and governance purposes. - Lead partner performance conversations with grocery brands at a site level, escalating to senior management where commercial or strategic decisions are required. PROJECT OWNERSHIP - Own and drive operational improvement projects end-to-end, from scoping and analysis through to execution and post-launch review. - Build structured business cases and project documents for new operational models, initiatives, or process changes, with supporting data and financial modelling where relevant. - Lead cross-functional workstreams with tech, product, commercial, and partner teams to improve order flows, picker tooling, and site execution. - Identify and implement process improvements across SOPs, escalation frameworks, and picker performance programmes. - Support senior management on strategic initiatives including expansion planning, new category launches, and operational model redesign. Core Competencies - In-store operations leadership across multi-site grocery networks - Data-driven performance management and KPI ownership - Agency and vendor oversight at scale - Root cause analysis and structured problem solving - Weekly, monthly, and quarterly business review reporting and executive communication - Project ownership and structured business case development - Cross-functional stakeholder management - SOP design, continuous improvement, and operational governance Requirements - 4+ years of experience in operations management within grocery, retail, or on-demand delivery. - Proven experience managing multi-site operations and large, dispersed teams. - Strong data skills: you build trackers, write commentary, and derive insight from operational metrics without needing hand-holding. - Experience managing third-party agencies or vendors in an operational context. - Hands-on mentality: you are comfortable in the field, visible to your team, and lead from the front. - Strong written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, structured reports and business cases. - Proficient in Google Sheets / Excel and comfortable with data tools and operational dashboards. - Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with strong organisational skills. - Experience with performance management, KPI setting, and team development. - Good understanding of grocery retail operations, inventory management, and picker fulfilment models. - Comfortable working within agency and contractual compliance frameworks. - Strong written and spoken English. Arabic is an advantage. Workplace & Diversity At Deliveroo, we know that people are the heart of the business and we prioritise their welfare. We offer a wide range of competitive benefits across health, family, finance, community, growth, and relocation. We believe a great workplace reflects the world we live in. We have no judgement when it comes to what makes you who you are. All we ask for is a passion for (most) food and the drive to be part of one of the most exciting companies in the region.