Just Eat is not just your go-to for late-night takeaways during challenging case assignments – although MBAs at London-based Imperial College and Cass Business School will no doubt be familiar with the brand.
The company may be renowned for getting a chicken korma to your door after a few swipes of your finger across an iPhone, but their technology department is on a major recruitment drive.
The managers at Just Eat Technology are the brains behind the app development and delivery system that services thousands of customers.
The UK-based online fast food ordering start-up is set for the biggest IPO in London’s tech cluster, known to Britain’s MBAs as Tech City, at a valuation in the range of £700m to £900m.
That figure is potentially up to 90 times the company’s projected 2013 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Just Eat’s net revenues were expected to be £100 million in 2013. They have just appointed banking giants JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to advise on the IPO.
This week the start-up acquired Meal2Go, a maker of electronic point of sale technology tailored to the restaurant sector, in a move aimed at expanding its service to offer its takeaway partners additional services. They seem to have one eye on expansion, and it is easy to see why they need to boost hiring.
Founded in Denmark in 2001, Just Eat is the largest online takeaway group in the UK and operates in 13 countries. They are partnered with 20,000+ takeaway restaurants in the UK alone.
The technology branch is an independent team that maintains the start-up ethos, insists Bennie Johnston, Head of APIs at Just Eat Technology.
MBAs won’t be making pizzas. Rather, they’ll be tasked with improving the entire ordering process for a company that is set to be one of the most expensive tech stocks on the London Stock Exchange. Specific roles available this month include sales managers and business development consultants.
The tech arm of the food giant speaks exclusively to BusinessBecause, and Bennie, who was on a recruitment drive in London last month, says there are numerous job opportunities on offer.
Business school grads may find a thriving team culture, flexibility and a strong passion for the technology sector at the company.
Tell us what Just Eat Technology is about.
We’re an independent team and that helps give us that startup ethos, and we still maintain that. We're a tech company; it’s not cooking; it’s not delivering, we don’t do those things. Its restaurants that do that.
We own the entire process of the technology on the website, to the devices we put in the restaurants. We build that ourselves and we maintain it. But we're not just [about] tech; we have jobs in other departments. We need good people that know what they’re doing.
So why Just Eat? What do we provide for you? We have [the] flexibility of small independent teams that can make their own decisions.
Are you currently hiring, and what roles are available at the company?
We are looking to hire. It’s a growing company and we’re struggling to find good people in the market. We do have jobs in business; we have a large product section.
We represent the technology department, so we really look across the board: developers, backend, big data experts, anything really. If you've got skills we can find a place for you.
Are business backgrounds desirable?
Yeah, we look for top-notch people, people with good backgrounds who know what they’re doing and are happy to come in and help us grow, and help us learn.
A lot of people want jobs but its finding the right people. We need to grow twice as much this year as last year.
MBAs will get to work in London’s Tech City – what’s the area like for start-ups?
We’re near St. Paul’s [East London]. It’s a great place to be, it’s not full of suits. It’s a lovely place to work and meet like-minded individuals.
A lot of the time the businesses we do collaborate with have been near us. So it makes that sort of thing easy. For small scale start-ups, there are loads of office spaces. And once you do grow bigger, it’s cheaper than going to an office in the West End.
Why should MBAs want to work at Just Eat Technology?
It’s all about small teams. And being empowered to make the decisions. There are no great levels of bureaucracy or management. It’s up to the individuals to decide what they think is best for the company and make change happen.
What level of education is required?
It’s the skills of the people rather than the background they have. If you've got a Doctorate and you know your stuff then come along and talk to us. But if you’ve been building websites and playing with apps in your house and you know what you’re doing, then come and talk to us. Your background doesn’t matter, it’s the skills that u have.
Any recruitment tips?
Know what you're talking about and be honest when you don’t. And come and impress us.
To find out more about MBA job opportunities at the company, visit: http://www.just-eat.com/jobs/
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