Operations Director - RoSSA

An established multinational organisation operating within the restaurant and food-service sector is seeking an accomplished Operations Director to lead the execution of its South African operations strategy across a network of company-owned and franchised restaurants.
The successful candidate will be responsible for driving sustainable sales and revenue growth, improving profitability, strengthening operational capability and ensuring a consistent customer experience across the national restaurant network.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the operational excellence agenda across company-owned and franchised restaurants.
• Translate the national operations strategy into consistent execution across the restaurant network.
• Drive continued improvement in sales growth, profitability, customer experience and operating standards.
• Ensure that all restaurants operate consistently and in accordance with established brand and service standards.
• Build a unified, performance-driven operating culture across the restaurant network.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with franchisees and other key stakeholders.
• Strengthen operational capability across the business.
• Lead the development and performance of field operations teams.
• Provide operational expertise and practical guidance across the South African network.
• Participate in field visits, business reviews, operational reviews and relevant leadership forums.
• Identify and implement opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement.
• Improve fixed, variable and above-store costs to strengthen the overall restaurant business model.
• Collaborate closely with Leadership, Commercial, Marketing and People and Culture teams.

Minimum Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Engineering or a related field.
• An MBA or relevant master’s degree would be advantageous.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in a senior Operations, Sales or Commercial leadership position.
• Direct accountability for sales, profitability and people management is essential.
• Proven experience within the retail, service, restaurant or multi-outlet sector.
• Demonstrated experience in developing people and delivering results through teams.
• Experience working within a multinational organisation would be advantageous.
• Experience working with franchisees or within a franchise-led operating model would be highly advantageous.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong commercial and financial acumen.
• Ability to formulate, interpret and analyse financial and operational data.
• Strong operational management and strategic execution capabilities.
• Excellent planning, directing and leadership skills.
• Strong people-development and coaching capability.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder-management capabilities.
• Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders at senior level.
• High personal accountability and a strong work ethic.

Application

Experienced operations leaders with a strong record of driving growth, profitability, operational excellence and people performance within complex, multi-site environments are invited to apply.