At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead restaurant operations, ensuring high standards and team performance across the North region.
- Company: Join Dobbies, a historic garden centre retailer with a passion for gardens and community.
- Benefits: Enjoy 33 days holiday, generous discounts, pension contributions, and access to wellness resources.
- Why this job: Be part of a supportive culture that values growth, collaboration, and community impact.
- Qualifications: Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset are essential; experience in hospitality is a plus.
- Other info: Regular travel required; embrace a dynamic role with opportunities for personal development.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
We have an exciting opportunity for a Regional Restaurant Coach – North to join our Restaurant team working field based in our North region covering Scotland and Northern England, with regular travel to our Central Support Office in Lasswade.
The Regional Restaurant Coach will focus daily on driving performance across customer experience, team development, sales growth, and cost control – all through the consistent delivery of brand standards and the development of high-performing store teams. Working closely with the Head of Restaurant Operations, Centre Support Team and Regional Manager supporting them in the execution of the operational strategy across the Region.
Responsibilities
Operational leadership and compliance:
- Drives high standards across all restaurant operations – from food safety and compliance to customer experience
- Executes company strategies efficiently and adapts to individual restaurant needs
- Ensure all day-to-day operational processes are compliant, efficient and continuously improving across the region
- Ensures restaurant teams meet all legal, food safety and brand requirements – via regular store visits, audit checks and team coaching
- Supports successful delivery of new store openings and seasonal transitions
- Support the creation and execution of operational designs by restaurant format that optimise the experience and productivity
Commercial and strategic delivery:
- Review monthly performance data against targets, identify gaps and work with the Head of Restaurant Operations and Regional Manager to implement action plans
- Focus on by restaurant, within the region, profitability through margin control, cost and waste management, and sales-driving initiatives
- Support the delivery of the deployment model and labour hours control to protect profit and maximise the contribution flowthrough.
- Uses data and KPIs to guide decisions and prioritise actions for maximum impact
- Ensures store colleagues understand the link between service excellence and commercial success
- Support the implementation of sales and marketing activity to drive revenue and brand engagement
Leadership
- Coaches with empathy and clarity; supports individuals to grow while holding them accountable
- Adapts leadership style to suit different personalities and challenges
- Builds trust, motivates teams, and champions a high-performance culture
- Delivers clear, actionable feedback to drive improvement and ownership
- Strong communicator who can influence across multiple levels of the business
- Collaborates cross-functionally with General Managers, Support Teams, and Suppliers
- Acts as a conduit for sharing best practices and operational insight
Brand standards and values:
- Promotes our company values through all internal and external relationships
- Ensures all our operational partners meet our ethical and brand standards
Measures of success
- NPS: YOY growth of company performance delivered by strong operational processes
- EBITDA: YOY growth of bottom-line profit through efficient operational mechanisms
- Audit: Maintains strong operational controls enabling strong store and company audits performance
- Waste and Food Cost: Ensures operational process support effective cost and waste management controls
- Performance feedback: Strong manager and key stakeholder feedback
- Gross Margin: Support delivery of healthy gross margin within all supplier arrangements and operational processes
Who we are looking for
- Collaboration: Effective collaborator across key stakeholders, informing and empowering other departments to support delivery of Restaurant strategy
- Commerciality: Ensures commercial thinking in the design and delivery of all operational processes. Maintaining a robust approach to protect the business from risk factors.
- Communication: Effective communicator across all relationships, presenting clear and well thought out business presentations
- Influence: Able to influence colleagues of all levels across the business with clearly articulated strategy.
- Personal effectiveness: Methodical, organised and data driven in approach
- Values led behaviour: Acts as an example of our values in all interactions
What we offer
- Holiday – enjoy a well deserved break with 33 annual leave days per year (pro-rata for part time)
- Discount – treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls
- Pension – save for the future with our company contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan
- Season ticket loans – spread the cost of travel with an interest free loan
- Access to Wagestream – support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice
- Access to Retail Trust – seek confidential support, access to a Virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform
- Access to Dobbies Academy – continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes
- Study assistance – invest in your professional development with funded courses and qualifications
- The little things to keep you going through the day – free tea, coffee, and milk
- Collaborative office space – with access to our wellbeing room, learning resources and even a book swap
- Invites to our annual company conference, summer and Christmas social events
About us
At Dobbies, we\’re proud to have a history dating back to 1865. We were founded by James Dobbie and are the only garden centre retailer to have stores in every nation across the UK.
Our passion and joy for gardens and plants is what makes us special. In our stores, we showcase this through own brand and branded products, concession partners and services. We champion garden living all-year-round.
Many of our stores feature a restaurant or coffee shop, where customers can enjoy refreshments or meals in a relaxed and welcoming environment.
We offer a calendar of events and experiences that bring people and communities together, and we have a national charity partner that both our colleagues and customers raise money for,
We\’re committed to being a great place to work. We\’re one team and we encourage our colleagues to be the best version of themselves, every day; to share their wins and celebrate success. Together, we make it work for our customers. #J-18808-Ljbffr
Regional Restaurant Coach - North employer: Dobbies Garden Centres
Contact Detail:
Dobbies Garden Centres Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Regional Restaurant Coach - North
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with Dobbies' brand values and operational standards. Understanding what the company stands for will help you align your approach during interviews and discussions, showcasing that you're a perfect fit for their culture.
✨Tip Number 2
Network with current or former employees in similar roles. They can provide valuable insights into the day-to-day responsibilities and expectations of a Regional Restaurant Coach, which can help you tailor your conversations during the interview process.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss specific examples of how you've driven performance in previous roles. Highlighting your experience in coaching teams, managing costs, and improving customer experiences will demonstrate your capability to excel in this position.
✨Tip Number 4
Stay updated on industry trends and challenges within the restaurant sector. Being knowledgeable about current market conditions and competitor strategies will allow you to engage in meaningful discussions and show your proactive approach to the role.
We think you need these skills to ace Regional Restaurant Coach - North
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in restaurant operations, team leadership, and performance management. Use specific examples that demonstrate your ability to drive customer experience and sales growth.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: In your cover letter, express your passion for the restaurant industry and how your values align with those of the company. Mention your understanding of operational compliance and your approach to coaching teams effectively.
Showcase Your Data Skills: Since the role involves using data and KPIs to guide decisions, include any experience you have with data analysis or performance metrics. Highlight how you've used data to improve operations or drive profitability in previous roles.
Prepare for Potential Questions: Think about how you would respond to questions regarding your leadership style, your approach to team development, and how you handle operational challenges. Be ready to provide examples from your past experiences.
How to prepare for a job interview at Dobbies Garden Centres
✨Understand the Brand Standards
Familiarise yourself with the company's brand standards and values. Be prepared to discuss how you can uphold these standards in your role as a Regional Restaurant Coach, especially in terms of customer experience and operational compliance.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples of how you've successfully coached and developed teams in the past. Highlight your ability to adapt your leadership style to different personalities and challenges, as this is crucial for motivating high-performing store teams.
✨Be Data-Driven
Demonstrate your ability to use data and KPIs to guide decisions. Discuss specific instances where you've analysed performance data to identify gaps and implement action plans that led to improved profitability and operational efficiency.
✨Communicate Effectively
Practice articulating your thoughts clearly and confidently. You may need to present business strategies or influence colleagues at various levels, so being an effective communicator will be key to your success in this role.