Operations Director – Growing Restaurant Group – London

COREcruitment; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Ruth Wagstaff Recruitment Ltd is seeking an Operations Director for a growing restaurant group in London. You will lead multi-site operations, shaping the future of the business with hands-on leadership and a focus on guest experience.

You’ll drive operational strategy, build scalable processes, and use data to improve labour, productivity and profitability, while developing senior leaders and sustaining a people-first culture to support long-term growth.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as an Operations Director or Head of Operations within a multi-site restaurant business.
• Hands-on leadership to support teams on the floor.
• Strong commercial acumen to drive sales and profitability.
• Experience implementing operational systems and processes.
• Track record of coaching and developing leadership teams.
• High standards with focus on guest experience.
• Ambition to lead the next growth stage of a restaurant business.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational strategy across the estate and drive consistency.
• Build scalable processes without losing brand personality.
• Use data to improve labour efficiency, productivity and margins.
• Develop high-performing leaders with a people-first culture.
• Drive guest experience and maintain quality standards.
• Collaborate with senior leadership on growth plans.

Skills

Ops leadership

Multi-site experience

Commercial acumen

People development

Attention to detail

Guest experience

Job description

Operations Director – Growing Restaurant Group
London
£120,000 – £160,000 + Incentives

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing restaurant business at a pivotal point in its journey. They are looking for an experienced Operations Director who wants to play a key role in shaping the future of the business, bringing structure, pace and commercial thinking while remaining close to the operation.

Who will you be?

You’ll be a true hospitality operator. Someone who has grown through restaurants, understands what great looks like on the floor and believes the best leaders spend their time supporting their teams, not sitting behind a desk.

Working closely with the senior leadership team, you’ll lead the operational strategy across the estate, driving consistency, improving standards and creating an environment where both people and the business can thrive. You’ll enjoy building scalable processes without losing the personality that makes the brand successful.

You’ll have a strong commercial mindset, using data to improve performance across labour, productivity, margins and profitability, while working alongside the People team to develop high-performing leaders and maintain an engaging, people-first culture.

We’re looking for someone who has operated at a senior multi-site level within quality restaurant businesses, with experience across both branded and independent operators. You’ll be passionate about hospitality, quality food and drink, have exceptional attention to detail and be confident making decisions that support long-term growth.

You will have:

• Proven experience as an Operations Director or Head of Operations within a multi-site restaurant business.
• A hands-on leadership style with a genuine passion for being in the restaurants and supporting your teams.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to drive sales, improve profitability and maximise labour efficiencies.
• Driving operational systems, processes and best practice across a growing estate.
• A track record of coaching, developing and inspiring high-performing leadership teams.
• High standards, exceptional attention to detail and a relentless focus on guest experience.
• The credibility, resilience and ambition to help lead the next stage of growth for an exciting restaurant business.

Job Tenure: Permanent