Vice President of Operations

ABOUT HIGHWIRE COFFEE ROASTERS Highwire Coffee Roasters started with a roaster, a vision, and a stubborn belief that Oakland deserved world-class specialty coffee. Eight cafes and a production roastery later, that belief hasn't changed. We source with intention, roast with precision, and show up every day for the communities we're part of. The brand is strong. The team is talented. Now we're building the infrastructure to match. THE OPPORTUNITY Highwire is at the kind of moment most operators dream about: real momentum, real community loyalty, and a clear path forward. What we need now is someone to build the operational foundation that gets us there. The Vice President of Operations reports directly to the Founders and will come in with fresh eyes, earn trust quickly, and get to work. That means understanding what's working, identifying what isn't, and building what doesn't exist yet. It means developing a management team that operates with confidence and accountability. And it means thinking beyond the day-to-day to ask: what does Highwire look like at the next level, and how do we get there? You won't be handed a playbook. You'll help write one. WHAT YOU'LL DO Lead and Develop the Store Management Team This is the core of the role. Assess each store manager, build individual development plans, and create the coaching rhythms and accountability structures that support their growth. Be present in the field. Maintain a clear understanding of what's happening across all of Highwire's retail locations. Build a team that performs consistently and develops sustainably. Drive Financial Performance Across All Locations Own the KPI framework that gives ownership and the management team clear, real-time visibility into store performance. Build and maintain the tools and reporting structures that make it easy to identify where a location is on track and where it needs attention. Work directly with store managers to understand the numbers, close performance gaps, and build financial literacy across the team. Accountability to results is shared; the infrastructure to support it starts here. Support Hiring and Staffing Partner with store managers and the people operations function to keep locations appropriately staffed. Support hiring decisions, help evaluate candidates, and think proactively about bench strength before gaps become problems. Drive Execution of New Products and Initiatives When Highwire launches something new, whether it's a menu item, a program, or a wholesale initiative, you make sure it lands consistently across every location. Own the rollout: align the team, build the training, sequence the launch, and follow through until execution matches the standard. Build the Operational Toolset Develop and maintain the systems, templates, and processes that help store managers do their jobs well. Scheduling tools, performance frameworks, SOPs, onboarding materials. If a manager needs something to run their location effectively, you either build it or make sure it exists. Own Field Communications Be the connective tissue between the founders, the support functions, and the cafe teams. Translate strategy into clear direction for the field. Keep store managers informed, aligned, and unblocked. Make sure nothing important gets lost between the office and the floor. Assess and Improve Operations Conduct a ground‑up operational audit across all of Highwire's retail locations and the roastery. Understand the business as it actually runs. Identify where things break down, where energy gets wasted, and where targeted improvements create meaningful impact. Build a roadmap and move on it. Build for Growth The growth part of this title is real. New revenue streams, channel expansion, product development: whatever the next chapter looks like, you'll help shape it and build the infrastructure to execute it. WHO YOU ARE You lead people before you manage them. You build trust before you set expectations, and then you hold them. You're the kind of person who walks into a complicated situation and gets quieter, not louder. You bring: A genuine interest in developing people and building their capabilities over time. You're patient with the process and firm about the standard. Financial fluency and a track record of using data to drive performance, not just report on it. Real organizational discipline. You create clarity without creating bureaucracy. Good judgment under ambiguity. You make decisions with incomplete information and adjust as you go. Strong communication across levels. You can present to the Founders and have a real conversation with a barista on the same day. Passion for the product. Specialty coffee isn't just a category to you. You care how it's made and how it's experienced. EXPERIENCE & BACKGROUND 5+ years leading operations in multi‑unit food and beverage, hospitality, or a related field. A track record of developing managers and building accountable, high‑performing teams. Experience owning or contributing to financial performance: KPI development, P&L management, or store‑level financial oversight. Experience supporting hiring and staffing in a retail or hospitality environment. Exposure to product or initiative rollouts where your job was to make sure execution matched the vision. Time spent in a founder‑led or growth‑stage company where resources were limited and the work required was not. Familiarity with specialty coffee or craft beverage is a genuine plus. Comfort with AI tools and modern operations software. WHY HIGHWIRE We're not a franchise. We're not trying to be. Highwire was built by people who care about the coffee, the craft, and the neighborhoods we operate in. This role comes with real authority, a direct line to the Founders, and the kind of scope that lets you look back in two years and point to something you actually built. If that's what you're looking for, we'd like to meet you. Robert Myers and Rich Avella first met in the mid-1990s and share an approach to coffee we call "approachable excellence". Our shops are welcoming spaces where we connect around our enthusiasm for coffee, our communities, and our love of music. Our coffees are always the freshest green coffees available in any season and we roast them along a roast spectrum that captures the range of coffee lovers' tastes from lighter, bright Single Origins, to the deeper chocolatey body‑forward coffees typical of a darker roasted coffee. #J-18808-Ljbffr