Head of Operations (London)

About Us

Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), serves and delivers more pizzas than any other pizza company. Pizza Hut is committed to providing an easy pizza experience across all channels, including Dine-in, Take-Away, Own Delivery, Aggregators, Web and App. Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut has become the most-recognized pizza restaurant in the world, operating more than 19,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.

Together, we strive for culinary excellence and unmatched dining experiences, whether in our restaurants or at home.

Job Purpose

The Head of Operations, Europewill be a key leader, reporting directly to the General Managerand working closely with Pizza Hut Global Operations. This role is critical in establishing a roadmap for operational excellence, optimizing technology adoption and utilization, and building a repeatable modelthat drives the Metrics That Matter—including Guest & Team Member satisfactionand performance metrics—to lay the foundation for transaction growth.

This individual will play a pivotal role in enhancing franchise capability and profitabilityby elevating the Guest & Team Member experience. The ideal candidate must bring a strong sense of accountability, urgency, and ownership, coupled with a continuous growth mindset. A proven track recordin operations, building scalable success routines, and leading high-performing teamsis essential.

Job Functions

Operational Leadership:

• Lead and execute Pizza Hut's operational strategyacross Europe, ensuring excellence at every touchpoint.
• Establish success routinesand processes to enhance efficiency, consistency, and customer experience.

Franchise Management & Support:

• Guide and support franchisees in aligning with Pizza Hut’s operational and brand standards.
• Work closely with franchise partners to drive and sustain operational improvements.
• Foster strong franchisee relationships, acting as a trusted advisoron operations and performance.

Operational Excellence & Standards:

• Develop and implement SOPsto drive consistency in service, product quality, and customer experience.
• Monitor key metrics (speed of service, accuracy, cleanliness) to enhance performance.
• Improve product execution and delivery to meet brand standards.

Guest Experience Enhancement:

• Lead initiatives to enhance guest satisfaction and service consistencyacross restaurants.
• Analyze guest feedback and service metrics, providing actionable improvement strategiesfor franchisees.

Team Leadership & Development:

• Mentor and develop franchise business coaches and Ops leads, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Identify development opportunities to strengthen operational leadershipwithin franchise teams.
• Build a talent pipelinewithin both the business unit and franchise organizations.

Operational Strategy & Innovation:

• Leverage industry trends, tools, and technologyto drive innovation and efficiency.
• Align operational initiatives with broader business goalsand promotional strategies.
• Use data-driven insightsto develop strategies for operational and customer experience improvements.

Compliance & Brand Protection:

• Ensure strict adherence to food safety, health regulations, and brand standards.
• Conduct regular audits and assessments to maintain operational excellence.

Financial Accountability:

• Support franchisees in maximizing profitabilitythrough cost control, labor efficiency, and inventory management.
• Analyze financial performance, providing data-driven recommendationsto optimize revenue and reduce costs.

Knowledge & Skill Required

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years experience in operations, ideally within the QSR industry.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to flex between communicating with restaurant team members, franchise partners and cross-functional/global stakeholders.
• Business/Management qualification
• Proven adaptability to a fast-moving environment and high sense of urgency and accountability, you will need to manage multiple complex data sets and reporting deadlines simultaneously.
• Proven analytical skills with a keen attention to detail, accuracy and an eye toward continuous process improvement.
• Strong knowledge of business operations and unit economics.
• Franchise experience
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint,
• Strong interest in food as a category with past experience in the QSR/Casual Dining Food Franchising industry.
• Relationship management crutial in this role.
• Customer-obsessed with a performance-driven and digital-first mindset.
• A change agent who will challenge the status quo and is emotionally intelligent.

People Leadership:

• FBP (Franchise Business Partner) to support in cascading and embedding systems, processes and procedures

Working Relationships:

• BMU LT (Leadership Team)
• PH Global (Ops, Technology, QA, FIT and Training)
• BMU Ops leaders

Skills:

• Excellent project management.
• Sound analytical skills and commercial acumen.
• Organized, with the ability to prioritize time-sensitive assignments.
• A sense of urgency and a bias for action.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (clear and concise in written and oral form).
• High work ethic.
• Strong relationship-building skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Influence and persuade key stakeholders.

Abilities:

• Desire to commit to and deliver results.
• Passion for continuous improvement with exceptional project management, influencing, and communication skills.
• Ability to review and identify issues and opportunities in business processes and systems.
• Capability to develop and articulate reliable plans and link them to functional and business financial plans.
• Ability to build an environment where the organization and its people learn naturally from experiences and apply their learning to benefit the organization.
• Understanding of the impact of strategic and operational decisions on profitable business growth.
• Great organizational skills, with excellent planning and time management skills

Beware of fake job postings using Yum! and/or our brand logos — KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill — on fraudulent sites. Yum! Brands only posts jobs on official career pages and never asks for money during onboarding. Avoid unsolicited contacts via Telegram, WhatsApp or similar social apps.

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