Manager, Food Operations, Innovation & Support

panerabread; United States; Hybrid; USD 84,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Panera Bread is seeking a Manager, Food Operations, Innovation & Support in Newton, MA. The hybrid role focuses on developing and validating new products and processes, partnering with Culinary, Operations, and Support Center teams.

You will validate concepts, plan deployments, and balance guest experience with quality and execution. You will lead cross-functional collaboration, manage multiple projects from ideation through rollout, and escalate issues to keep programs on schedule.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent preferred.
• 5+ years' experience in restaurant operations environment.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Detail-oriented with analytics and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize, and manage varying workloads.
• Excellent communication and cross-departmental collaboration.
• Strong MS Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Detail-oriented with analytical problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Culinary and cross-functional teams to identify operational impacts, risks, and complexity of new menu items and programs during development.
• Lead product testing efforts, ensuring concepts are thoroughly vetted and validated before deployment.
• Evaluate operational readiness and recommend solutions balancing innovation, quality, execution, and guest experience.
• Manage multiple projects from concept through rollout with plans, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Monitor milestones, identify risks, escalate issues to ensure execution, and provide status updates.
• Drive accountability across project teams to deliver results on time and within scope.
• Serve as a liaison between Operations, Culinary, Training, Marketing, Supply Chain, Technology, and others.
• Influence stakeholders and facilitate decision-making to align priorities and project objectives.
• Apply creative problem-solving to transform innovative ideas into scalable Panera solutions.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Communication skills

Multitasking

Prioritization

Detail-oriented

Travel availability

Restaurant operations experience

Education

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Manager, Food Operations, Innovation & Support

The Manager, Food Operations, Innovation & Support manages a portfolio of New Product Development projects from ideation through deployment. This role partners closely with Culinary, Operations, and Support Center teams to ensure new products, programs, and operational processes are fully validated, operationally feasible, and ready for successful national implementation.

This role is Hybrid, and requires a minimum of three days a week at our Newton, MA offices.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development & Operational Validation

Partner with Culinary and cross-functional teams to identify operational impacts, risks, and complexity of new menu items and programs during development.

Lead product testing efforts, ensuring concepts are thoroughly vetted and validated before deployment.

Evaluate operational readiness and recommend solutions that balance innovation, quality, execution, and guest experience.

Project Management & Execution

Manage multiple projects simultaneously from concept through rollout, developing project plans, timelines, and resource requirements.

Monitor project milestones, identify risks, remove barriers, and **escalate** issues when needed to ensure successful execution.

Provide accurate status updates and drive accountability across project teams to deliver results on time and within scope.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Innovation

Serve as a key liaison between Operations, Culinary, Training, Marketing, Supply Chain, Technology, and other support teams.

Influence stakeholders and facilitate decision-making to align priorities and achieve project objectives.

Apply creative problem-solving and operational expertise to transform innovative ideas into scalable Panera solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent preferred.
• 5+ years' experience in restaurant operations environment needed.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Detail-orientated and curious, able to quickly evaluate inter-dependencies between projects and programs, and use analytics and creative problem-solving skills to identify a clear pathway to best solutions.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize and balance varying workloads to ensure delivery of high-quality results.
• Elevated performance in a fast-paced, time-sensitive environment with demonstrated ability to complete projects on time based on scope, people/resources and business value.
• Outstanding communication and cross-departmental team building skills with the ability to effectively persuade through oral and written means.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Outstanding communication skills with the ability to effectively persuade through oral and written means.
• Detail-oriented, possess strong analytics and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time depending on project needs.

Competitive Pay $83,686 to $100,423 annually.

The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate's relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Newton Support Center