Area Leader

Cava Group; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Telemedicine

Pet insurance

401k enrollment

Unlimited PTO

Paid sick leave

Parental leave

Free CAVA food

Casual work environment

Growth opportunity

Job summary

The Area Leader at CAVA Group oversees the Garden Area, directing 8–10 Restaurant General Managers and ensuring profitable operations while upholding CAVA's brand standards and guest experience.

You will translate company strategy into daily actions, coach leaders, analyze restaurant P&Ls, implement programs, and build a high-performing, accountable team across multiple locations. This role demands hands-on leadership, strong communication, and drive for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Multi-unit restaurant management experience.
• Hands-on managing style and lead-by-example approach.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Analytical skills to identify trends and drive decisions.
• Proficient with PC and MS Office Suite.

Responsibilities

• Lead the General Manager leadership team to support growth goals.
• Ensure GMs uphold brand standards and profitability while enhancing guest and team member experience.
• Translate strategy into day-to-day execution with coaching and feedback.
• Oversee planning, preparation, and performance analysis of restaurant P&Ls in the area.
• Execute programs and develop internal leaders; attract high-potential candidates.
• Guide operations to connect metrics to business processes and pursue continuous improvement.
• Cultivate high performance and accountability across restaurants.
• Improve consistency and synergy; partner with peers across markets.

Skills

Multi-unit management

Hands-on leadership

Communication skills

Analytical mindset

PC & MS Office proficiency

Tools

MS Office Suite

Job description

At CAVA, we make it deliciously simple to eat well and feel good every day. We are guided by a Mediterranean heritage that’s been perfecting how to eat and live for four thousand years. We prioritize authenticity, curiosity and the pursuit of excellence in everything we do. We are working towards something big , together.

Wefoster a culture built on five core values:

Generosity First , Always : We lead with kindness. Our best work happens when we act in service of others.

Constant Curiosity: We are eager to learn, grow, and explore beyond the obvious.

Act with Agility: We welcome change; it’s the only constant. We embrace, adjust, adapt.

Passion for Positivity: We greet each day with warmth and possibility.

Collective Ambition: We have high aspirations that are achieved when we work together with a shared purpose.

The Area Leader is responsible for providing direction and executing operational processes and procedures for our GARDEN AREA. This multi-unit leader will be expected to provide oversight and development of their direct reports, approximately 8-10 Restaurant General Managers, while working in cooperation with other functional leaders to ensure CAVA remains profitable.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the General Manager (GM) leadership team to support and enable the growth goals for the company.
• Ensure that each GM upholds the standards and reputation of the CAVA Brand, while enhancing Guest and Team Member experience, as well as profitability.
• Translate the overall business strategy into day-to-day execution, providing coaching and feedback to the GMs.
• Oversight of the planning, preparation and performance analysis of all restaurant P & L’s in the assigned area of responsibility.
• Execute on all programs introduced to the field.
• Build organizational talent by promoting the development of internal leaders, as well as championing the identification and attraction of high potential external candidates.
• Provide guidance to Operations leaders to help them connect the metrics to business processes and focus on continuous improvement strategies to achieve business objectives.
• Cultivate a culture of high performance and accountability
• Identify objectives and systems to improve consistency and synergy throughout our restaurants.
• Partner with peer Area Leader’s to ensure consistency between markets.

The Qualifications

• Multi-unit restaurant management experience
• Must believe in a hands-on managing style and be willing to lead by example
• Excellent written/verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• Analytical skills to identify trends, make operational decisions and solve problems
• Knowledgeable of and have the ability to use a PC and MS Office Suite proficiently

Benefits

We’ve got you covered. Here are just some of the benefits available to support center team members:

• Competitive base salary, plus bonus
• Unlimited PTO
• Health, Dental, Vision, Telemedicine, Pet Insurance plus more!
• 401k enrollment with company contribution
• Paid sick leave, parental leave, and community service leave
• Free CAVA food
• Casual work environment
• The opportunity to be on the ground floor of a rapidly growing brand

We run background checks on all new hires in this position.