Area Manager in Huddersfield

WHO WE ARE: Soul Foods Group is a leading multinational quick-service restaurant franchisee founded in 1985 operating KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King (Canada) and Starbucks outlets in the UK and Canada. Currently we have over 160 units operating in the UK and around 390 in Canada. We have strong ambition to continue to grow our business in both countries. Our people are our differential, and we pride ourselves on ensuring we are a great place to work, get results the right way, and have fun doing it.

OUR MISSION To make a difference to people's lives, their opportunities, and their communities through great tasting food and coffee.

OUR VISION To build a global food and coffee business, rewarding an engaged and diverse workforce with career and life opportunities, connecting with communities through great tasting food and coffee, and making a difference by giving back in abundance.

MORE ABOUT THE ROLE: We are looking for an experienced Area Coach who will lead an Area by implementing and embedding people and operational capability and excellence in every KFC restaurant. The successful candidate should be commercially minded, results orientated and with a passion for people growth and development. We are looking for someone who can hit the ground running so the ideal candidate will already be in an area/multisite operational role. The purpose of the job will be to provide coaching and support to ensure business results, brand standards, sales drivers and growth objectives are met and exceeded. As an Area Coach, you will provide transformational leadership and high-impact coaching for multiple restaurant teams. The Area Coach role will be focused on driving performance across four key metrics – People, Customer, Sales, and Profit. The role requires a high degree of commercial acumen and the ability to think beyond core operational elements, thinking on your feet, being solution orientated.

This role is for the M62 Corridor - covering locations including but not limited to Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds.

YOU WILL DO:

• Thrive on our People Culture: Establish and lead a mindset and culture of People First, creating a high level of employee engagement at every stage of the employee life cycle (Attraction, Selection, On-boarding, Development, Performance, Retention and Separation).
• Develop a robust talent pipeline establishing ‘Bench’ or ‘Ready Now’ strength for all management positions throughout the district to enable succession planning for core and new business growth.
• Ensure training and development execution and compliance at every level throughout the area, to maximize employee confidence to deliver the best customer experience every visit driving consistent mandatory brand standards.
• Manage the restaurant’s recruitment process, to bring in the best talent who demonstrates our core Soul Foods Group and KFC values.
• Develop talent in your area to identify our future leaders and drive retention, showing our potential candidates that KFC is a great place to work.
• Lead the teams with excellence to drive the right behavioural competencies at RGM and ARGM level.
• Ensuring Operational Excellence: Coach and support the store teams to execute consistently against SFG UK and KFC brand standard requirements driving operational capability through robust systems and processes delivering Area Coach success routines.
• Develop, lead, understand the operational requirements for KFC brand – function as our KFC expert for SFG UK ensuring our 100% compliance to brand standards.
• Instil attention for detail, providing coaching and support to restaurant management teams to continually raise the bar on operations standards through the stores.
• Restaurant auditing delivers executional excellence achieving brand standards through compliance to EHO 5* SOTD, Brand Audits, customer satisfaction program, team feedback programs, Financial Audits – all require audit processes.
• Ensure standards comply with all UK regulatory bodies ensuring Health & Safety and Food Safety in all restaurants.
• Elevate Customer Experience: Coach and support the store teams to ensure the best experience in a restaurant for both customer and team.
• Generating engagement and satisfaction for every customer whilst ensuring the store teams drive the customer’s first approach.
• Respond to Customer feedback programs – utilizing feedback to drive, improve exceed customer experience through all channels.
• Drive Financial Performance: Have a clear understanding of Restaurant and Area P&L. Able to identify opportunities key trends to ensures focus and action with the correct areas.
• Ensure Restaurants, and the Area achieves outlined financial performance metrics, to maximize sales and profit growth.
• Provide leadership and commercial direction to ensure decisions are implemented to maximize financial efficiency without detrimentally affecting team or customer experience.
• The Area Coach needs to demonstrate the relevant analytical and strategic capability to ensure the continuing growth of the restaurants in their control.
• Manage restaurant strategy and projects, creating stretch goals for your team.
• Flex your commercial acumen by identifying and unlocking core growth opportunities in your restaurants.
• Own quarterly business reviews, focusing on profit, people, process, and product.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• Essential - 2+ years multi-site experience preferably in QSR or similar sector.
• Demonstrated experience leading a team across multiple sites.
• Ability to establish, build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders at all positions, work collaboratively across various levels in an organization and have excellent people management skills as well as being able to engage and influence.
• Passionate with natural energy to drive your teams to achieve fantastic results and brand standards as well as deliver fabulous customer experience and consistent products every time.
• Confident, decisive communication style not only to communicate new launches, concepts and processes to your teams but to have the ability to motivate your teams.
• The willingness to learn, be hands-on and take the lead on strategy and planning.
• Strong use of all Microsoft systems including excel.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills especially strong when creating reports.
• Strong commercial mindset, high fiscal management competence and attention to detail.
• Excellent resource, organization, planning, and time management skills.
• Ability to embrace new challenges and deal with ambiguity.
• Proof of right to work in the UK on a full time, permanent basis.
• Full UK Driving Licence.

Soul Foods Group are an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse environment for all colleagues. If you do require any reasonable adjustments or support during the application process; please contact soulcareers@soulfoodsgroup.com.

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