Director of Cafe Operations

Job Purpose: To lead the Cafe Operations department and drive overall operational excellence through financial performance, talent development, and community leadership. Most importantly - this person will help define & then be accountable to uphold the standard for hospitality set for Saxbys, a Certified B Corp and pioneer of the Saxbys Experiential Learning Platform (ELP).  Saxbys’ ELP cafes are entirely designed for and run by students on the college & university campuses they serve.  The Director of Café Operations will directly oversee, coach, and develop Heads of Area Operations across all organizational pods (geographic clusters of cafes).  They will be fully accountable for the P&L of this entire corporate cafe system; which currently represents 30+ cafes across 7+ states.  The business is fast-paced & fast-growing.  This role will put into place scalable standard operating procedures that will set the team up for success as Saxbys grows with higher ed partners across several new regions across the country.

Summary of Responsibilities: 

Serve as the primary liaison between Saxbys HQ team and the broader Operations Team.  Connect the team to Saxbys Mission and Core Values.  Leverage Saxbys’ Three Pillars of Leadership of Team Development, Community Leadership, and Financial Management to empower & support the Cafe Operations team:

Team Development

• Lead & develop a team of 3+ direct reports (Head of Area Operations) to empower each in their roles to lead their own direct reports & network of cafes

• Collaborate with the Ops Excellence (training) team to set in place Standard Operating Procedures that provide clear & consistent direction to all cafe team members

• Work within and across departments to ensure every cafe is well-staffed and well-trained.  

• Hold all cafe & Pod leaders accountable to training standards and metrics for all team members

• Support Head of Area Operations as they identify & groom student talent to be successful leaders

• Serve as the Operations subject matter expert for all systems including but not limited to, XtraChef, 7Shifts, Toast, Greenhouse, Rise, Bamboo, Monday.com, and all campus ordering systems.  Assign owners across the team to ensure a clear understanding of how to best leverage all systems. 

Community Leadership

• Create a culture of performance; partnering with Marketing & Product teams to provide the tools & resources needed for student leaders to propose, develop, and execute highly-effective campus marketing plans

• Serve as the liaison to Saxbys partner institutions and/or landlords - often stepping in to advocate for Saxbys’ in negotiating operation hours, hosting events, and accommodating special requests from VIPs 

Financial Management

• Own the P&L & Budgeting process for Saxbys’ cafe operations and align up to executive team

• Advocate for team while gathering input & enlisting support from cross-functional partners 

• Leverage the HoAOps to understand the competitive & campus landscape around each cafe

• Be the finger on the pulse of the business - ready to answer questions & provide solutions from internal & external partners 

• Provide regular feedback to student leaders & supporting ops team based on analysis of key metrics for financial growth of café, including but not limited to, Profit and Loss Statements, Weekly Financial reports, and scheduling budgets

• Create the structure for HoAOps to manage facilities vendor relationships and set an effective preventative maintenance schedule to drive efficiency and minimize unnecessary expenses

Qualifications:

• Support, exhibit, and promote Saxbys Mission Statement, Make Life Better, and Core Values in all daily activities. Our Core Values include:

• We are a community serving our community

• We embrace being O.D.D. (Outgoing, Detail oriented and Disciplined)

• Profit creates opportunity

• We live with pride, passion, and purpose

• Care personally and communicate openly

• Serve yourself by serving others

• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience within multi-unit hospitality management or in a large institution leading multiple departments; ideally working across multiple geographies; e.g. higher education, sports & entertainment, or hotel management 

• Coffee shop, cafe, or QSR experience a huge plus

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience   

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Outstanding passion for hospitality and servant leadership

• Experience managing teams and processes effectively 

• Ability to travel up to 50%-80% of the time 

• Valid driver's license 

• Physical requirements:

• Able to stand, walk, and smile for extended periods of time 

• Able to stoop and kneel

• Push, pull, lift or carry up to 35 lbs

• Ascend or descend ladders, stairs, ramps