Director, Strategic Operations (Applebee’s)

Applebee's Services Inc; Pasadena (CA); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Applebee's Services Inc in Pasadena, California, is seeking a Director of Strategic Operations to drive clarity and focus across key operational priorities. Reporting to the COO, the role requires a visionary thinker with strong analytical skills, capable of using data for strategic recommendations.

Responsibilities include serving as the strategic partner to the COO, preparing executive updates, and leading operational initiatives. Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s degree from a top-tier institution, 5+ years of relevant experience, and exceptional communication skills.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in strategy, implementation, business planning or transformation roles.
• Prior experience in top tier management consulting or corporate strategy strongly preferred.
• Industry expertise in restaurant or multi-unit retail environments is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic thought partner and right hand to the COO.
• Act as the operational hub for Applebee’s strategic initiatives.
• Prepare executive updates and leadership communications.

Skills

Analytical & Financial Rigor

Clear, concise communication

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Ability to travel 25–30%

Executional Agility

Bias for Action

Influence without Authority

Education

Bachelor’s degree from a top tier academic institution

MBA preferred

Job description

Based in Pasadena, California, Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN), through its subsidiaries and franchisees, supports and operates restaurants under the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar®, IHOP®, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop® brands. As of December 28, 2025, these three brands comprised over 3,500 restaurants across 20 international markets. Dine Brands is one of the largest full‑service restaurant companies in the world and in 2022 expanded into the Fast Casual segment. For more information on Dine Brands, visit the Company’s website located at www.dinebrands.com.

Job Location Type: Hybrid – The Director of Strategic Operations is a high‑impact, highly visible leader responsible for driving clarity, focus, and forward momentum across Applebee’s most important operational priorities. A newly created function reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this role will serve as the right hand to the COO and sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and organizational alignment.

This individual must be a visionary thinker with strong analytical horsepower, capable of using data to shape recommendations, inform trade‑offs, and influence decisions across the organization. They should thrive in ambiguity, move quickly from ideas to action, and be comfortable rolling up their sleeves when initiatives need additional momentum or structure. Success in this role requires an exceptional ability to influence without authority, build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, and navigate a matrixed, cross‑functional environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic thought partner and right hand to the COO, ensuring alignment, focus, and execution across Applebee’s key operational priorities.
• Act as the operational hub for Applebee’s strategic initiatives, leading quarterly reviews of priority initiatives and ensuring progress against annual goals.
• Prepare executive updates, leadership communications, board‑level content, and franchisee‑facing narratives that accelerate clarity and decision‑making.
• Drive execution of the COO’s enterprise‑wide priorities by coordinating cross‑functional teams and ensuring operational discipline.
• Own the design, development, and maintenance of key performance dashboards to maximize utilization by internal teams and franchisees.
• Guide teams through organizational, process, and strategic changes by defining clear transitions, enabling adoption, and ensuring stakeholders embrace new ways of working.
• Build forecasting and financial models to pressure‑test concepts, draft communications, or lead working sessions when initiatives need added momentum.
• Ensure that all financial and operational metrics distributed are completely accurate and verified across key stakeholders.
• Personally lead select strategic initiatives, including scoping work, conducting analysis, developing solutions, and driving measurable outcomes.
• Align stakeholders across departments by facilitating discussions, surfacing trade‑offs, and resolving competing priorities.
• Build data‑backed insights, frameworks, and recommendations that inform long‑range planning and organizational direction.
• Craft compelling narratives that clarify the "why," "what," and "how" behind key strategic priorities to build alignment and momentum.
• Evaluate the operational, financial, and guest impact of new ideas, ensuring proposals are grounded in real operational realities.
• Engage with franchisees and field operators to gather insights that shape strategy and ensure initiatives reflect real‑world needs.
• Proactively identify gaps, risks, and dependencies that may impede progress, and shape solutions to address them.
• Introduce frameworks and ways of working that enhance focus, alignment, and execution across the Operations team.
• Champion a culture of transparency, curiosity, accountability, and continuous improvement across the Operations organization.

Skills & Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree from a top tier academic institution, ideally with a rigorous analytical or quantitative foundation. MBA preferred.
• Experience: 5+ years in strategy, implementation, business planning or transformation roles. Prior experience in top tier management consulting, corporate strategy, or investment banking/private equity strongly preferred (McKinsey, BCG, JPMorgan, etc.). Industry expertise in restaurant, hospitality, or multi‑unit retail environments is a plus.
• Analytical & Financial Rigor: Skilled in analyzing complex data, building business cases, and understanding P&L dynamics to drive unit‑level profitability.
• Communication: Clear, concise, and persuasive communication skills, including verbal, written materials, and high‑quality PowerPoint presentations tailored for executive audiences.
• Executional Agility: Ability to fluidly move between high‑level strategy discussions and detailed, on‑the‑ground execution work as priorities evolve.
• Influence without Authority: Demonstrated skill in influencing without direct authority, leveraging relationships, credibility, and data to drive adoption of initiatives.
• Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to navigate matrixed, cross‑functional environments with exposure to senior leaders.
• Bias for Action: Thrives in ambiguity, can make recommendations and decisions with imperfect information, and iterates quickly based on feedback.
• Travel: Ability to travel 25–30% to spend time in the field understanding the business and learning from franchisees.

Target Base Salary: $175k–$200k depending on experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Dine Brands Global strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the California Fair Chance Act, and/or other applicable laws and regulations in other jurisdictions. Dine Brands reviews criminal history in connection with a conditional offer of employment. The following is a list of all material job duties which Dine Brands reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: implement brand standards such as food safety at all restaurants for a uniform guest experience; physically inspect restaurant premises belonging to franchisees; and facilitate frequent and close interactions with franchisees, franchisee employees, guests, and other third parties.

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