Associate Director of Cafe Operations

Job Summary : The Associate Director, Cafe Operations works independently as a regional leader for up to fifteen cafes at Saxbys partner schools and universities. This role’s primary purpose is to ensure all cafes in their Pod maintain Saxbys operational and financial standards. This will be done by providing proactive strategic input to the executive team, coaching their team of Pod Leads on their individual and cafe performance, being a collaborative professional to external partners, and working cross-departmentally to ensure all inputs are working together for the success of the Pod. An individual in this role is expected to take initiative, provide frequent feedback whenever necessary, and have an owner mentality for their Pod.

What You Will Own

• Labor Model : Discover opportunities to optimize labor expenses, make recommendations to the executive team, and implement improvements frequently through the coaching of Operations Leads.


• PARS & Inventory : Optimize processes to manage expenses and NOI. Provide Cafe Ops perspective and needs in Product Reviews.


• Financial Success : Ensure every cafe in the assigned Pod is meeting or exceeding budget targets. Have a deep understanding of the levers affecting cafe performance in order to narrate a clear and succinct story of the P&L to executive leadership, as well as coach direct reports on how to improve their profitability. 


• Cafe Talent Management : Accountable for Leadership Benchmarks across the Pod. Understand root causes of termination patterns and propose policy changes that improve the hiring process to better vet incoming Team Members and reduce turnover.


• HQ Talent Management : Develop Pod Leads into strong coaches with deep understandings of financial models, team management, and partner collaboration. Conduct regular 1:1s, provide coaching, assess performance, and assign quarterly goals. 


• Situation Assessment : Expert in campus situations across Pod, and able to coach Pod Leads on identifying and navigating campus situations. 


• Partnership & Stewardship : Accountable for being the Brand & Cafe Ops internal & external representative for all cafes within the Pod.


• Marketing : Accountable for cafes developing Campus Marketing Plans, applying the Campus Marketing Toolkit, and utilizing Marketing Consultant support. 

Who You Will Support

• Experiential Learning & Impact : Directly collaborate to ensure successful partnerships with higher education institutions.


• Marketing Team : Partner with to continuously improve and implement toolkits.


• Product & Ops Implementation : Provide direct input and feedback on SOPs, training plans, and policies in order to optimize processes and tools. 


• Recruiting : Interview and approve final SCEO candidates and ensure Pod Leads are effectively communicating hiring needs to Campus Recruiters.


• Cafe Operations : In the event a cafe in the pod is without a lead, this role will step in until a replacement is hired.

Who You Will Supervise

This position oversees all Operation Leads in a Pod, ranging from 4 - 8 direct reports.

What Success Looks Like

• All assigned cafes operate at or above budgeted revenue


• All assigned cafes operate at or above budgeted NOI


• 35% of the cafe staff are Team Leads


• 100% of SCEOs are hired by March 31 for the fall semester or October 31 for the spring semester

Where You Excel

• Financial acumen


• Strategic planning


• Cross-departmental relationship building


• Developer of managers


• Partner management

What Else is Expected

• Support, exhibit, and promote Saxbys Mission and Core Values in all daily activities. 


• Proven success of at least 3 years in hospitality multi-unit management with progressive leadership roles


• Achieved a 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 


• Maintain a valid drivers license 


• Physical requirements:




• Able to stand and walk 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