Associate Restaurant Manager

Overview

The Associate Restaurant Manager (ARM) serves as the assistant to the Restaurant General Manager and provides additional management coverage of operating hours and direct supervision of operations in an individual restaurant.

Focal points include driving excellence in customer service, maintaining company standards in product and facility specifications, supervising food handling procedures and operational processes, and exercising basic shift-to-shift financial control to meet the restaurant profit margin targets.

The ARM assumes full responsibility for specific financial controls, crew training assignments and the screening of prospective employees under the direction of the RGM. The ARM directly performs hands-on operational duties and, on an ongoing basis, trains employees, responds to customer service needs and role models appropriate skills and behaviors in the restaurant.

The candidate for the ARM position is expected to be promotable to RGM within a year and a half, demonstrating the leadership skills necessary to become an RGM with continued training and coaching. ARM’s that do not show progress towards the Individual Development Plan within the first year may be subject to demotion or termination.

Principle Accountabilities

• Customer Satisfaction/Product Quality
  • Maintains fast, accurate service, positive guest relations and ensures products are consistent with company quality standards.
  • Drives a customer-focused culture by serving as a role model in resolving customer issues and training managers and crew to meet or exceed customer service standards.
  • Tracks, analyzes and resolves sources of customer complaints.
  • Ensures that food safety standards are met.
• Financial
  • Develops and drives restaurant annual operating plan.
  • Analyzes sales, labor, inventory and other controllable accounts on a continual basis and takes corrective action to meet or achieve margin and sales growth targets.
  • Trains and mentors subordinates on financial analyses and profitability tips for the restaurant.
  • Develops store CAPEX requests and is the principal interface with all vendors.
• Operations
  • Ensures that facilities and equipment are maintained to Company standards.
  • Monitors inventory, food preparation and order fulfillment daily to ensure adherence to company standards.
  • Establishes restaurant speed with service (SWS) targets, monitors performance and resolves bottlenecks to achieve SWS goals.
  • Oversees development and revision of weekly management and crew schedules.
• Human Resources
  • Directs all restaurant level HR activity including personal accountability for crew hiring decisions, Learning Zone planning and execution, performance management, compensation, and employee relations issues up to and including termination.
  • Provides hands-on training for management staff in advanced Learning Zone modules and develops all Shift Managers and Assistant General Managers to assume higher level responsibilities.
  • Develops and monitors staffing plans and directs crew sourcing activities.
  • Manages the work environment on all shifts to ensure fair and equitable employee treatment, as well as adherence to all company, state and federal workplace regulations.

Success Measures

• Achievement of restaurant annual operating plan.
• Margin improvement over previous year; sales growth.
• Weekly/period restaurant performance in sales, labor, and COGS.
• PRC results and DISSAT scores.
• Learning Zone certification levels, crew turnover and staffing levels.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and Skill Requirements
  • Delivers Excellence in Customer Service: aware of customer needs, maintains high standards of product quality and speed, and demonstrates proactive customer interactions.
  • Presents a positive image and uses customer feedback tools to improve restaurant performance.
• Team Leadership
  • Supervises others, delegates tasks, remains effective in difficult situations, and leads by example.
  • Communicates goals, provides feedback, and fosters pride and commitment among staff.
• Business Savvy
  • Identifies problems, develops solutions, and analyzes financial data to drive margin targets.
• Team Development
  • Identifies development needs, provides coaching and opportunities for learning, and follows up on progress.
• Restaurant Operations
  • Proficient in food preparation, production, delivery, and food safety procedures; knowledgeable about basic equipment troubleshooting.
• Educational Attainment/Experience Requirements
  • High school diploma or GED.
  • Supervisory experience in either a food service or retail environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to maintain financial controls and coach and train hourly employees.
  • Proven ability to drive customer satisfaction, financial performance and employee satisfaction.

Disclaimer

The list of requirements, duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive but is merely the most accurate list for the current job. The Company reserves the right to revise the job description and to require that other tasks be performed when the circumstances of the job change (for example, emergencies, changes in personnel, workload or technical development).