Senior Operations Manager / Head of Operations in City of London

We are working with an established, owner-led food and franchise business that is looking for an experienced Senior Operations Manager / Head of Operations to take ownership of its growing multi-site estate. This is a genuine build opportunity for an operator who wants to move beyond simply managing stores and take full responsibility for operational performance, people development and future growth.

The business has a strong operational foundation, an experienced management team and a track record of year-on-year improvement. The owners are now looking to step back from the day-to-day operation and appoint a senior operator who can become the key operational leader, providing structure, accountability and commercial direction across the estate. The business is also continuing to grow, with further acquisitions in progress and longer-term ambitions to expand into additional sites and brands.

What you will own

• Operational Performance: Take ownership of performance across the estate, including delivery times, labour productivity, food costs, sales and overall store standards.
• Leadership & Accountability: Develop existing management talent, set clear expectations and have the difficult conversations required to raise performance.
• Training & Development: Professionalise training, onboarding and management sign-off processes, ensuring capability is genuinely assessed and developed.
• Structure & Growth: Help design the next layer of operational leadership as the business grows, including future Area/Multi-Site Manager structures.
• Commercial Performance: Use data, reporting and operational tools to identify opportunities, improve underperforming locations and drive sustainable like-for-like growth.
• Owner Partnership: Become the senior operational point of contact for the owners, providing clear reporting, recommendations and confidence that the estate is being effectively managed.

The first objective

You'll be expected to quickly understand the operation and establish where the real opportunities are. This will include:

• Completing a structured operational review across the estate
• Assessing management capability and training standards
• Identifying underperforming locations and creating improvement plans
• Introducing stronger training and sign-off processes
• Building a strong relationship with the existing Regional Manager
• Developing the future operational structure
• Taking increasing ownership of the day-to-day business from the owners

Who we are looking for

We're particularly interested in speaking with experienced Area Managers, Regional Managers, Operations Managers or Senior Multi-Site Operators who have:

• Strong multi-site leadership experience, ideally within QSR, hospitality or franchising
• Experience managing a significant multi-site operation and P&L
• A track record of improving sales, productivity and operational standards
• Strong people-development and team-building capability
• The confidence to challenge performance and have difficult conversations
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills
• A hands-on, commercially minded approach
• The ambition to grow into a Director-level position as the business continues to expand

The right person may currently be working within a larger corporate or franchise environment but wants the opportunity to have far greater ownership, influence and visibility within an entrepreneurial, owner-led business.