Head of Finance, Payroll & Operations

Reporting Structure
This position typically reports to the Vice President of Finance, Controller, or Chief Financial Officer and works directly with operations leadership, area directors, district managers, restaurant general managers, and support department leaders.
Lead financial operations reporting for approximately 220 fast food restaurants, including sales, labor, food cost, controllable expenses, cash variances, and restaurant-level profitability.
Develop, maintain, and distribute recurring financial dashboards and scorecards that help operations leaders identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
Partner with operations leadership to evaluate weekly and period-end performance, explain variances, and recommend corrective actions.
Support annual budgeting, forecasting, and reforecasting processes for restaurant operations, including labor models, sales assumptions, cost of goods, utilities, repairs, and controllable expenses.
Analyze restaurant P&L performance and identify opportunities to improve margins, reduce waste, control overtime, and strengthen operating discipline.
Provide financial guidance for new restaurant openings, remodels, closures, capital projects, equipment investments, and operational initiatives.
Collaborate with Accounting to ensure accurate period-end close activities, proper expense coding, accrual review, and timely resolution of discrepancies.
Monitor cash handling, deposits, paid-outs, refunds, inventory processes, and other field-level controls to reduce financial risk and improve compliance.
Partner with Payroll and HR to analyze labor trends, staffing levels, overtime, bonus accruals, wage changes, and incentive plan performance.
Prepare executive-ready summaries, variance explanations, and financial recommendations for senior leadership review.
Assist with process improvements, system enhancements, automation opportunities, and financial controls that support scalable multi-unit growth.
Train and support field leaders on financial reporting tools, P&L interpretation, cost controls, and operational financial expectations.
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or related field required; MBA, CPA, CMA, or advanced finance certification preferred.
Five or more years of progressive finance, accounting, financial planning and analysis, or operations finance experience.
Experience supporting multi-unit restaurant, retail, hospitality, franchise, or field operations strongly preferred.
Strong understanding of restaurant P&L statements, labor models, food cost, controllable expenses, cash controls, and operational KPIs.
Advanced Excel skills required; experience with financial reporting systems, ERP platforms, business intelligence tools, payroll systems, and restaurant management systems preferred.
Demonstrated ability to translate financial data into clear business insights and practical action plans for non-finance leaders.
Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume operating environment.
Operational business partner mindset with strong financial discipline.
Ability to influence field leaders and support departments without direct authority.
High attention to detail with the ability to see broader business patterns and risks.
Ability to simplify complex financial information for restaurant operations teams.
Comfortable working with large data sets and identifying trends across multiple locations.
Professional communication style suitable for senior leadership, field operations, and cross-functional teams.
Key Performance Measures

Timely and accurate delivery of weekly, period-end, quarterly, and annual financial reporting.
Improved visibility into restaurant-level profitability and controllable expense performance.
Reduction in unexplained variances, cash discrepancies, and controllable cost overages.
Effective partnership with operations leaders to improve labor, food cost, and margin performance.
Successful implementation of reporting improvements, process efficiencies, and financial controls.
This role is typically based in a corporate or support center environment with regular interaction with field operations. Occasional travel to restaurants, regional meetings, or operational reviews may be required. The role requires the ability to work under deadlines during weekly reporting cycles, period close, annual budgeting, and key business planning periods.