Area Manager / Operations Manager

AWD online; Greater London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

AWD online is seeking an Area Manager / Operations Manager to oversee a growing multi-site restaurant territory. You will lead 6–8 restaurants, drive people development, and ensure high standards in customer experience, sales and profitability.

With a commercially focused, hands-on approach, you will embed operational excellence, coach leaders, and support ongoing expansion across the territory while maintaining brand integrity and quality across all sites.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading teams across multiple sites.
• Strong people management and coaching skills to develop talent.
• Commercially minded with solid financial management and P&L understanding.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing abilities.
• Confident, clear communication and decisive leadership.
• Hands-on, strategic planning and execution mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a cross-site team across 6–8 restaurants.
• Drive sales, customer experience and profit performance.
• Embed brand standards and operational excellence across the area.
• Coach and develop restaurant leaders and future talent.
• Oversee audits, compliance, health & safety, and financial controls.
• Identify growth opportunities and support expansion plans.

Skills

Team leadership

Multi-site management

People development

P&L understanding

Stakeholder management

Excel

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Area Manager / Operations Manager

Take ownership of a growing multi-site restaurant territory and lead teams to deliver outstanding people, customer, sales and profit performance. This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded, hands‑on leader who enjoys developing people, raising operational standards and helping an expanding restaurant network achieve ambitious growth plans. The current territory covers Milton Keynes, Wandsworth, Uxbridge and High Wycombe, with further locations planned.

If you’ve also worked in the following roles, we’d also like to hear from you: Multi‑Site Manager, Regional Manager, District Manager, Multi‑Site Operations Manager, Regional Operations Manager, Restaurant Operations Manager, Hospitality Operations Manager, Retail Operations Manager, Store Manager, Retail Manager, Senior Operations Manager, Multi‑Site Hospitality Manager

SALARY: Up to £55,000 per annum + Benefits

LOCATION: South & South East - covering Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Uxbridge and Wandsworth

JOB TYPE: Full-Time, Permanent

JOB OVERVIEW

This is an exciting opportunity for an Area Manager / Operations Manager to lead a growing multi-site restaurant territory, shape performance and develop high‑performing teams.

With responsibility for around 6-8 restaurants, the Area Manager / Operations Manager will drive results across People, Customer, Sales and Profit while embedding operational excellence and brand standards.

Combining commercial acumen with high‑impact coaching, you will develop talent, strengthen customer experience and identify opportunities for sales and profit growth.

The Area Manager / Operations Manager will also support continued expansion across the territory, bringing a hands‑on, solutions‑focused approach to operational and business performance.

DUTIES

• People Leadership and Development: Create a people‑first culture across the area, coach restaurant leaders, strengthen employee engagement and support attraction, selection, onboarding, development, performance and retention
• Talent and Succession Planning: Develop a strong management talent pipeline, identify future leaders and build succession strength to support both existing restaurants and future business growth
• Training and Brand Standards: Ensure training and development programmes are implemented consistently across the area, building team capability and maintaining required standards
• Operational Excellence: Coach restaurant teams to deliver consistently high operational standards through effective systems, processes, routines and attention to detail
• Compliance and Auditing: Oversee restaurant audit activity and ensure compliance with food safety, health and safety, environmental health, financial controls and relevant UK regulatory requirements
• Customer Experience: Support restaurant teams to deliver an excellent customer experience, using customer feedback and satisfaction programmes to identify opportunities and drive improvements
• Commercial and P&L Performance: Understand restaurant and area P&L performance, analyse trends and opportunities, and take action to maximise sales, profit and financial efficiency
• Business Growth and Planning: Identify and unlock growth opportunities, set stretch goals, lead restaurant strategy and projects, and support the continued expansion of the restaurant network
• Quarterly Business Reviews: Own business reviews covering profit, people, process and product, ensuring clear priorities and actions are established
• Stakeholder Management: Build collaborative relationships with senior leadership, restaurant management teams, HR, recruitment, training, finance, development teams, external partners, vendors and the franchisor

CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

ESSENTIAL

• Proven experience leading teams across multiple sites
• Strong people management and coaching skills, with the ability to develop talent and motivate teams to achieve strong results
• Commercially minded with strong financial management capability and a good understanding of operational and P&L performance
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to establish effective relationships and influence people across different levels of an organisation
• Confident and decisive communication skills, including the ability to communicate new initiatives, concepts and processes clearly
• A hands‑on and solutions‑focused approach, with the willingness to take the lead on strategy and planning
• Strong organisational, planning, resource management and time management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, including strong report‑writing capability
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft systems, including Excel
• Ability to embrace new challenges, work through ambiguity and think on your feet
• Full UK driving licence
• Full right to work in the UK without restrictions
• Based within the operating patch, ideally centrally positioned to the current restaurant locations in Milton Keynes, Wandsworth, Uxbridge and High Wycombe
• Able to undertake regular travel across the territory, including nights away from home where required
• Flexible approach to working requirements

DESIRABLE

• Previous multi-site experience within QSR or a similar sector