Chief Operating Officer - QSR

Leap Brands; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Job summary

Leap Brands, in partnership with a rapidly growing multi-unit QSR franchisee, seeks a Chief Operating Officer to guide the next growth phase. This role oversees day-to-day restaurant operations and drives performance across the portfolio while building scalable structures for continued unit expansion.

The ideal candidate has deep experience scaling complex restaurant networks, leading field leadership teams, and enhancing profitability without compromising culture or operating speed.

Qualifications

• Significant senior operations leadership within QSR, fast casual, restaurants, or a similar multi-unit consumer business.
• Experience overseeing a large portfolio of locations across multiple markets.
• Previous responsibility for substantial P&L.
• Demonstrated experience scaling a business through aggressive unit growth.
• Strong understanding of restaurant-level economics: labor, COGS, throughput, pricing, productivity.
• Experience building and developing multi-layer field leadership organizations.
• Proven ability to improve underperforming locations and markets.
• Experience opening restaurants at scale.
• Strong understanding of franchise systems and the franchisor/franchisee relationship.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational execution.
• Strong analytical capabilities and comfort using data to make operating decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the company's operations organization, including senior operations leaders, directors, district/area managers, general managers, and restaurant teams.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, KPIs, scorecards, and accountability throughout the field organization.
• Drive improvements in same-store sales, restaurant-level EBITDA, labor productivity, food cost, controllables, guest satisfaction, and overall unit economics.
• Build an organizational structure capable of supporting significant additional unit growth.
• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing field leaders while strengthening the internal leadership pipeline.
• Create consistency across markets while maintaining the speed and entrepreneurial mentality of a growing organization.
• Partner with ownership to establish annual operating plans, budgets, growth priorities, and performance expectations.
• Work closely with Finance to understand restaurant-level performance and identify opportunities to improve margins and cash flow.
• Partner with Development, Construction, HR, Training, Marketing, and Supply Chain to ensure the operating organization can support the company's growth.
• Oversee operational readiness and execution for new restaurant openings.
• Develop scalable systems, processes, training programs, and operating procedures without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Maintain strong relationships with franchisor leadership and ensure compliance with brand standards and franchise requirements.
• Identify underperforming restaurants and leaders quickly and build actionable plans to improve performance.
• Create a culture where operators understand their numbers and are accountable for both the guest experience and financial results.
• Spend meaningful time in the field. This is not a corporate-office COO position.

Skills

Senior operations leadership

QSR / fast casual experience

multi-unit portfolio management

P&L responsibility

franchise systems understanding

data-driven decision making

people development

growth leadership

Job description

We are partnering with a rapidly growing, multi-unit QSR franchisee to identify a Chief Operating Officer who can help lead the organization through its next stage of growth.

This is not a role for someone who simply knows how to operate restaurants. We are looking for an operator who has helped scale a multi-unit organization, built strong field leadership teams, created accountability across the business, and knows how to grow without allowing the operating model or culture to break.

The COO will have responsibility for day-to-day restaurant operations and will work directly with ownership and the executive leadership team to improve performance across the existing portfolio while building the infrastructure required to support continued unit growth.

What You'll Own

The COO will lead all restaurant operations across the organization, with responsibility for field leadership, operational performance, profitability, people development, guest experience, execution of brand standards, and new restaurant openings.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Lead and develop the company's operations organization, including senior operations leaders, directors, district/area managers, general managers, and restaurant teams.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, KPIs, scorecards, and accountability throughout the field organization.
• Drive improvements in same-store sales, restaurant-level EBITDA, labor productivity, food cost, controllables, guest satisfaction, and overall unit economics.
• Build an organizational structure capable of supporting significant additional unit growth.
• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing field leaders while strengthening the internal leadership pipeline.
• Create consistency across markets while maintaining the speed and entrepreneurial mentality of a growing organization.
• Partner with ownership to establish annual operating plans, budgets, growth priorities, and performance expectations.
• Work closely with Finance to understand restaurant-level performance and identify opportunities to improve margins and cash flow.
• Partner with Development, Construction, HR, Training, Marketing, and Supply Chain to ensure the operating organization can support the company's growth.
• Oversee operational readiness and execution for new restaurant openings.
• Develop scalable systems, processes, training programs, and operating procedures without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Maintain strong relationships with franchisor leadership and ensure compliance with brand standards and franchise requirements.
• Identify underperforming restaurants and leaders quickly and build actionable plans to improve performance.
• Create a culture where operators understand their numbers and are accountable for both the guest experience and financial results.
• Spend meaningful time in the field. This is not a corporate-office COO position.

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate has already experienced significant growth inside a QSR, fast-casual, restaurant franchisee, or similarly complex multi-unit organization.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate that they have helped take an organization from one stage of growth to another rather than simply operating inside an already mature system.

Candidates should have:

• Significant senior operations leadership experience within QSR, fast casual, restaurants, or another high-volume multi-unit consumer business.
• Experience overseeing a large portfolio of locations across multiple markets.
• Previous responsibility for a substantial P&L.
• Demonstrated experience scaling a business through aggressive unit growth.
• Strong understanding of restaurant-level economics, including labor, COGS, throughput, pricing, productivity, and four-wall profitability.
• Experience building and developing multi-layer field leadership organizations.
• Proven ability to improve underperforming locations and markets.
• Experience opening restaurants at scale.
• Strong understanding of franchise systems and the franchisor/franchisee relationship.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational execution.
• Strong analytical capabilities and comfort using data to make operating decisions.
• A track record of developing people who have gone on to assume larger leadership roles.
• The ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment.