Area Leader

sweetgreen; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Flexible PTO

401k program

Paid family leave

Complimentary greens

Sweetgreen swag

Job summary

Sweetgreen is seeking an Area Leader to drive performance across multiple stores in the United States. You will develop succession plans, coach head coaches, and lead initiatives to grow top-line sales, productivity, and guest experience.

You will build cross-functional partnerships, manage P&L with a focus on financial, people, and customer metrics, and mentor teams to deliver consistent, high‑quality culinary operations aligned with Sweetgreen policies.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of restaurant experience with 3+ years in multi-unit management.
• Proven ability to balance new store openings with existing performance.
• Strong communication that engages teams genuinely.
• Highly organized; able to multi-task and adapt to change.
• 2+ years managing front of house and back of house operations.
• Disciplined priority setting with root-cause analysis.
• Experience with restaurant regulatory areas (safety, HAACP, wage/hour, immigration, food safety).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Develop internal succession plans and a deep bench of managers at all levels of store operations by developing head coaches and the ability to identify “raw” talent.
• Developing and coaching an understanding of the sweetgreen profile and driving recruitment of high-potential internal and external talent.
• Driving continuous performance improvement focusing on leading indicators and established key metrics.
• Meeting/exceeding annual P&L objectives with a primary focus on top-line sales, productivity, and production management.
• Driving top-line sales performance by fostering customer connections through community marketing, throughput and technology initiatives, new product launches and an in-depth merchandising mentality.
• Training, coaching, and inspiring all locations to deliver exceptional customer experiences and high quality culinary operations ensuring a commitment to sweetgreen’s operational policies and procedures.
• Leading head coach development both personally and professionally through goal setting, coaching and feedback.
• Developing strong cross-functional partnerships that ensure the right support is provided to the stores to improve performance and remove barriers to focusing on the customer, people, and results.
• Fostering a positive, team-oriented environment with a healthy competitive spirit that ensures the sharing of best practices and a commitment to goal achievement.
• Fostering and growing strong community connections within each restaurant neighborhood by leading head coaches to develop brand ambassadors and maximizing sweetgreen community-based programs.

Skills

Multi-unit management

Staff development

Operational leadership

Communication

Organizational skills

Food safety compliance

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Area Leader has the following core responsibilities

• Developing internal succession plan and a deep bench of managers at all levels of store operations by developing head coaches and the ability to identify “raw” talent. Candidate will have a clear understanding of how to move capability and performance and a sense of urgency to do so.
• Developing and coaching an understanding of the sweetgreen profile and driving recruitment of high-potential internal and external talent.
• Driving continuous performance improvement focusing on leading indicators and established key metrics. Candidate will be balanced in their approach focusing on people, financial, and customer experience metrics equally.
• Meeting/exceeding annual P&L objectives with a primary focus on top-line sales, productivity, and production management.
• Driving top-line sales performance by fostering customer connections through community marketing, throughput and technology initiatives, new product launches and an in-depth merchandising mentality.
• Training, coaching, and inspiring all locations to deliver exceptional customer experiences and high quality culinary operations ensuring a commitment to sweetgreen’s operational policies and procedures.
• Leading head coach development both personally and professionally through goal setting, coaching and feedback, and an innate understanding of what makes people tick, always connecting development to improved performance.
• Developing strong cross-functional partnerships that ensure the right support is provided to the stores to improve performance and remove barriers to focusing on the customer, people, and results.
• Fostering a positive, team-oriented environment with a healthy competitive spirit that ensures the sharing of best practices and a commitment to goal achievement.
• Fostering and growing strong community connections within each restaurant neighborhood by leading head coaches to develop brand ambassadors and maximizing sweetgreen community-based programs.

About You (minimum requirements)

• 5+ years of prior restaurant experience with 3+ years of multi-unit management.
• Proven experience balancing focus on new store openings and existing business performance: can manage multiple projects, delegates freely with quality follow and drive new store support and project management.
• Strong communication skills that engage people in a genuine, authentic way. Proactively connects to the team to drive behavior and results.
• Highly organized, able to multi-task, and easily adapts and respond to change.
• 2+ years of experience in both front of house and back of house/kitchen operation management.
• Disciplined approach to priority setting with the ability to identify the root cause of store operations and people opportunities, and move quickly to improve performance.
• Demonstrated management of applicable restaurant regulatory areas, including: employee safety; HAACP; wage + hour; immigration; food safety.
• Proficient computer skills in the Microsoft Office suite.
• Personal characteristics reflective of sweetgreen: high-energy, action oriented, self-motivated, positiveand humble attitude, service-focused, flexible, fun-loving personality, and ethical with a high degree of integrity.
• Belief in and passion for the sweetlife and sweetgreen’s core values.

About our sweetlife:

• Competitive base salary + 20% bonus potential
• Stock options
• Medical, dental + vision insurance plans to suit your and your family's needs
• Flexible PTO plan
• 401k program
• Paid family leave; we believe in fully supporting new parents
• Complimentary greens
• Free sweetgreen swag
• An opportunity to make a real impact on the people around you, both by growing them and by connecting them to real food
• A collaborative team of people who live our core values and have your back
• A clear career path with opportunities for development, both personally and professionally

About Us:

Sweetgreen is a national restaurant brand dedicated to building healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Since 2007, Sweetgreen has reimagined fast food to be fresh, flavorful, and rooted in relationships with farmers and communities. As we grow, we are committed to developing our people in our restaurants and at our support center, so that everyone can be part of the movement. When you join Sweetgreen, you not only invest in your own future but help create spaces where food, people, and purpose come together

Sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for all employees and applicants, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service in the uniformed services of the United States, or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.

sweetgreen participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.