Operations Manager, Chicago Taproom

Diageo; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 89,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a renowned multinational beverage company as you lead the expansion of their Open Gate brand into Chicago. This strategic role encompasses site operations, guest experience enhancement, and collaboration with various partners. Candidates should have previous experience in guest-facing roles and budget management, as well as a passion for hospitality and beer.

Benefits

Healthcare benefits

Retirement benefits

Short-term and long-term disability coverage

Industry-leading parental leave

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience leading outstanding guest-facing operations.
• Experience with third-party operators preferred.
• Cicerone certification or significant experience with beer varieties preferred.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for achieving site financial plans and performance metrics.
• Lead collaboration with third-party operators and community engagement.
• Oversee site events and cleanliness standards.

Skills

Guest-facing operations

Budget management

Collaboration

Strategic planning

Data analysis

Education

Experience in Attractions/Destination/Premium Offering

Job description

The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewed using four main ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world's most popular stout brand. The iconic beer is brewed in 49 countries worldwide and sold in over 150 with almost 9 million glasses of Guinness beers enjoyed every day around the world. The most GUINNESS is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria, and Cameroon!

In 2018, Guinness opened the brand’s home in America at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, MD (“OGB Baltimore”), revitalizing an 85-year-old whiskey barrel aging warehouse and crafting a guest destination and brand innovation center. Irish heritage, tradition, grit, and resilience all run deep in Chicago, and in the not-too-distant future, so too will Guinness roots. This phenomenal American city will be the home to the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery (“OGB Chicago”), slated to open to the public in 2023. The 15,000-square-foot “brand hub” will be situated within a revitalized historic railroad depot, embracing the spirit of the Windy City and rapidly growing the Open Gate Brewery footprint to the second largest Guinness market in the US. Are you ready to learn more about an amazing role with Guinness?

Profile

We are seeking a highly strategic, ambitious, and collaborative individual who can lead the expansion of the Open Gate brand into the Chicago market. The individual must be comfortable being a proactive self-starter, that can not only set the site’s operating vision and strategy as part of the Guinness and Open Gate brands, but also align multiple partners to deliver results. Comfort with developing sound guest hospitality programs, leading the third-party operator, and ensuring delivery of the Guinness experience is a must. This role also requires strong collaboration with the Open Gate Brewery team in Baltimore.

Role Responsibilities:

• This role reports directly to the General Manager of the Open Gate Brewery.
• Accountable for ensuring site achieves financial plan, critical metrics, guest review ratings, and secret shopper scores.
• Create and refresh OGB Chicago on-site events and experiences that highlight the repeatability for visitors
• Ensures facility is follows safety requirements and upholds Open Gate cleanliness standards
• Leads capital process for site, including budget approval and project management
• Partner with third-party operator to develop and update menus for bakery, taproom, and private events that combine local flavors and traditional Guinness favorites to achieve guest ratings/sales/margin targets
• Own the relationship with the third-party operator, including approval of site staffing strategy, audit compliance, safety program, and sustainability efforts
• Partners with Guinness licensing agency and OGB Baltimore to develop and source retail merchandise
• Liaison with local community, brewing industry, government, and others as operations face of OGB Chicago.
• Responsible for crafting and sourcing Chicago-specific onsite signage as needed for events and programming.
• Leads internal and external team members on OGB Chicago work streams, including legal, merchandise, compliance, and safety.
• Work with site marketing and third-party operator to develop and implement onsite activations that drive visitation and extend the reach of the brand into the market.
• Ensure compliance with Diageo Marketing Code standards and brand guidelines.
• Understand and evaluate the effectiveness of operational strategies and tools implemented at brand homes around the world to optimize and apply them as standard processes at OGB Chicago.
• Budget management and performance reporting.

Experience / skills required:

• 5+ years experience leading outstanding guest-facing operations
• Experience in Attractions/Destination/Premium Offering preferred.
• Experience leading third-party operators preferred.
• Cicerone certification or significant experience with beer varieties preferred.
• Experience building and implementing strategic operating plans and activations based on consumer insights.
• Ability to analyze data and specific market information while recommending business action steps.
• Shown success in fast-paced, fluid environments where independence, self-initiation and bias for action are required.
• Effective budget management and experience with performance reporting.
• Demonstrate ability to enroll and motivate a sophisticated collaborator organization.

Flexible Working Statement:

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Diversity statement:

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this. We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mentalities, and more.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to the next level and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.

Worker Type :

Worker Type :

Regular

Primary Location:

Additional Locations :

Job Posting Start Date :

Job Posting Start Date :

2025-06-02

Salary Range:

Minimum Salary:

$89775

Job Description :

Brand Overview

The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewed using four main ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world's most popular stout brand. The iconic beer is brewed in 49 countries worldwide and sold in over 150 with almost 9 million glasses of Guinness beers enjoyed every day around the world. The most GUINNESS is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria, and Cameroon!

In 2018, Guinness opened the brand’s home in America at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, MD (“OGB Baltimore”), revitalizing an 85-year-old whiskey barrel aging warehouse and crafting a guest destination and brand innovation center. Irish heritage, tradition, grit, and resilience all run deep in Chicago, and in the not-too-distant future, so too will Guinness roots. This phenomenal American city will be the home to the new Guinness Open Gate Brewery (“OGB Chicago”), slated to open to the public in 2023. The 15,000-square-foot “brand hub” will be situated within a revitalized historic railroad depot, embracing the spirit of the Windy City and rapidly growing the Open Gate Brewery footprint to the second largest Guinness market in the US. Are you ready to learn more about an amazing role with Guinness?

Profile

We are seeking a highly strategic, ambitious, and collaborative individual who can lead the expansion of the Open Gate brand into the Chicago market. The individual must be comfortable being a proactive self-starter, that can not only set the site’s operating vision and strategy as part of the Guinness and Open Gate brands, but also align multiple partners to deliver results. Comfort with developing sound guest hospitality programs, leading the third-party operator, and ensuring delivery of the Guinness experience is a must. This role also requires strong collaboration with the Open Gate Brewery team in Baltimore.

Role Responsibilities:

• This role reports directly to the General Manager of the Open Gate Brewery.
• Accountable for ensuring site achieves financial plan, critical metrics, guest review ratings, and secret shopper scores.
• Create and refresh OGB Chicago on-site events and experiences that highlight the repeatability for visitors
• Ensures facility is follows safety requirements and upholds Open Gate cleanliness standards
• Leads capital process for site, including budget approval and project management
• Partner with third-party operator to develop and update menus for bakery, taproom, and private events that combine local flavors and traditional Guinness favorites to achieve guest ratings/sales/margin targets
• Own the relationship with the third-party operator, including approval of site staffing strategy, audit compliance, safety program, and sustainability efforts
• Partners with Guinness licensing agency and OGB Baltimore to develop and source retail merchandise
• Liaison with local community, brewing industry, government, and others as operations face of OGB Chicago.
• Responsible for crafting and sourcing Chicago-specific onsite signage as needed for events and programming.
• Leads internal and external team members on OGB Chicago work streams, including legal, merchandise, compliance, and safety.
• Work with site marketing and third-party operator to develop and implement onsite activations that drive visitation and extend the reach of the brand into the market.
• Ensure compliance with Diageo Marketing Code standards and brand guidelines.
• Understand and evaluate the effectiveness of operational strategies and tools implemented at brand homes around the world to optimize and apply them as standard processes at OGB Chicago.
• Budget management and performance reporting.

Experience / skills required:

• 5+ years experience leading outstanding guest-facing operations
• Experience in Attractions/Destination/Premium Offering preferred.
• Experience leading third-party operators preferred.
• Cicerone certification or significant experience with beer varieties preferred.
• Experience building and implementing strategic operating plans and activations based on consumer insights.
• Ability to analyze data and specific market information while recommending business action steps.
• Shown success in fast-paced, fluid environments where independence, self-initiation and bias for action are required.
• Effective budget management and experience with performance reporting.
• Demonstrate ability to enroll and motivate a sophisticated collaborator organization.

Flexible Working Statement:

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

Diversity statement:

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this. We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mentalities, and more.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to the next level and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.

Worker Type :

Regular

Primary Location:

Off Site Illinois

Additional Locations :

Job Posting Start Date :

2025-06-02

Salary Range:

Minimum Salary:

$89775

Maximum Salary:

$149625

At Diageo certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including annual incentive payment and stock awards. US-based employees are eligible for healthcare benefits, retirement benefits , short-term and long-term disability coverage, basic life insurance, wellness benefits and industry leading parental leave, among others. (Benefits/perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Diageo and the country where you work.) The salary range displayed is the salary range for the role’s primary location.

About the company

Diageo plc is a British multinational beverage alcohol company, with its headquarters in London, England.

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