Operations Head - F&B & Restaurant Expansion

About the Role

We seek a seasoned professional to lead and oversee restaurant operations, driving brand expansion across multiple Indian cities. This pivotal position goes beyond typical restaurant management, requiring expertise in Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) operations, food retail systems, staffing, cost management, SOP development, and multi-unit oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of daily operations across all outlets, ensuring seamless coordination of kitchen, service, billing, and front-of-house activities.
• Monitor and control sales, food costs, labor expenses, wastage, and overall operational efficiency.
• Enforce adherence to company SOPs and maintain high operational standards across locations.
• Resolve operational challenges by implementing effective corrective measures and conducting routine outlet audits and performance assessments.
• Enhance QSR and restaurant operations by increasing service speed, elevating customer experience, standardizing recipes, and controlling wastage and pilferage.
• Collaborate with kitchen teams to maintain product quality and consistency.
• Recruit and develop a robust operations team including managers, supervisors, chefs, and support staff, establishing a strong hiring pipeline especially for new city expansions.
• Train managerial staff to operate outlets independently, fostering accountability and performance-based management.
• Support geographic expansion by evaluating manpower, vendor, logistics, and operational feasibility while developing launch systems and checklists.
• Conduct travel as needed to new locations for set-up, audits, and team training.
• Continuously refine operational SOPs, ensuring replicable systems in multiple outlets covering kitchen and service protocols, inventory and procurement management, wastage control, attendance tracking, hygiene, safety, customer complaint handling, and financial controls.
• Partner with leadership to boost outlet profitability, analyze performance metrics, increase sales productivity, control costs without impacting service quality, and set KPIs for operational teams.

Candidate Profile

• Extensive experience (preferably 8+ years) in F&B, restaurant, or QSR operations with multi-unit management expertise.
• Strong leadership skills encompassing team building, talent hiring, and performance management.
• Hands-on approach with commercial acumen and proven problem-solving abilities.
• Comfortable frequent travel within India to manage expansion and operational setups.
• Ability to implement and uphold strict SOPs and operational discipline.
• Experience working in a fast-growing entrepreneurial environment.

Preferred Backgrounds

• QSR and Restaurant Chains
• Food & Beverage Groups
• Hospitality/Hotel Groups
• Food Retail and Food Court Operations
• Franchise Operations and Multi-outlet Restaurant Management