Operations Manager Northeast Region

Yay Lunch; Pennsylvania; Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Growth opportunities

Travel across markets

Field leadership autonomy

Job summary

The Yay Company is seeking an experienced Operations Manager to own the performance of our Northeast markets. Based in Pennsylvania, you will lead Kitchen Managers and Lunch Coordinators across MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY and CT, balancing in-person field presence with remote oversight.

You’ll manage direct margin, labor budgets, inventory, and launches for new kitchens, ensuring meals meet Yay’s standards and driving strong school partner relationships in a fast-growing company.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of experience in multi-unit operations management.
• Experience managing kitchen or food production operations with margin focus.
• Proven ability to manage remote teams effectively.
• Strong people management and talent development experience.
• Financial fluency with P&L and direct margin implications.
• Self-directed, highly organized across a large geography.
• Willing to obtain ServSafe Manager certification within 30 days of hire.
• Based in Philadelphia or within commuting distance.
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation; regular travel across markets.

Responsibilities

• Direct margin and financial performance oversight for each school in the region.
• Own labor budget and scheduling for Kitchen Managers across markets.
• Own sales numbers and school participation; address barriers to improve outcomes.
• Oversee weekly/monthly inventory and accurate counts across schools.
• Set standards and manage remote market supervision via daily Slack and weekly calls.
• Lead new kitchen launches end-to-end with Kitchen Managers.
• Develop and manage field staff; build a culture of ownership.
• Maintain field presence with Philadelphia as home base; ensure accountability.

Skills

Multi-unit operations

Food production operations

Remote team leadership

People management

P&L / direct margin

Organized / self-directed

Ambiguity & growth mindset

ServSafe Manager certification

Philadelphia base

Travel & transportation

Education

ServSafe Manager certification

Tools

Slack

Job description

Operations Manager - Northeast Region

About the Role:

The Yay Company is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations Manager to own the performance of our Northeast area markets. These will consist of locations in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

You are in your markets, at your schools, and with your teams on a rotating basis, ensuring every location runs to Yay's standards and every school feels great about the program.

This region operates primarily through Yay-produced hub kitchens, meaning you are managing real food production, kitchen teams, and distribution logistics - not just coordinating third-party vendors. You will be responsible for standing up new kitchen locations, managing Kitchen Managers and Lunch Coordinators across multiple markets, and owning the financial performance of your region.

This role is based in Pennsylvania. The ability to lead remote teams with high trust and clear expectations is as important as your ability to show up in person.

This is a high-accountability, high-visibility role at a company that is scaling fast. If you love being in the field, own outcomes rather than activities, and thrive in an environment where every day is different, this role is for you.

What You'll Own

Direct Margin & Financial Performance: You are accountable for the direct margin of every school in your region. That means actively managing the inputs - food cost, labor, waste, and sales - and knowing exactly where each market stands at all times.

Labor & Scheduling: You own the labor budget for your region. You build and manage schedules for your Kitchen Managers, ensuring every market is staffed correctly based on actual production volume - not habit. You approve overtime, monitor clock-in compliance daily, and hold your team accountable to being on time, on location, and on task - including markets you are not physically in that week.

Sales & School Experience: You own the sales number for your markets. You understand participation rates at every school, you know which locations are underperforming, and you proactively address the barriers - whether that's a school relationship issue, a service gap, or an execution problem. Your schools should feel like Yay's most important partners, whether you are there in person or managing remotely.

Inventory & Waste: You oversee weekly and monthly inventory counts across all schools in your region. You are physically present for inventory on a rotating basis in your core markets, and you hold Kitchen Managers in remote markets accountable to running accurate counts on schedule without your physical presence. You investigate any variance before it hits the margin report.

Remote Market Management: New York and Connecticut teams run their schools day-to-day with significant autonomy. Your job is to set the standard, stay close through daily Slack communication and weekly market calls, conduct site visits, and ensure nothing drifts without you knowing about it.

New Location Launches: As we bring on new kitchen schools in your region, you own the launch process end-to-end alongside your Kitchen Managers - from health department coordination and equipment procurement to staffing plans and operational setup.

Team Management & Development: You directly manage Kitchen Managers across the region and are accountable for all ground-level staff. You set clear expectations, develop your team, address performance issues directly, and build a culture of ownership in every market you cover - in person and remotely.

Field Presence: Your time in the field is concentrated where it matters most. Philadelphia is your home base. You are always reachable, always informed, and always accountable - regardless of which market you are physically in.

What We're Looking For

• 5-7 years of experience in multi-unit operations management, ideally in food service, hospitality, or a similarly fast-paced field environment


• Experience managing kitchen or food production operations - you understand food cost, labor scheduling, and what it takes to run a kitchen at margin


• Proven ability to manage remote teams effectively - you know how to lead people you are not standing next to every day


• Strong people manager - you have led teams in the field, held people accountable, and developed talent


• Financially fluent - you can read a P&L, understand direct margin, and connect daily operational decisions to financial outcomes


• Self-directed and highly organized - you manage multiple markets across a large geography and nothing falls through the cracks


• Comfortable with ambiguity and growth - Yay is scaling and this region is expanding. You build as you go and you enjoy that


• ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire


• Must be based in Philadelphia or within commuting distance


• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation - this role requires regular travel across your markets

What We Offer

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience


• A high-growth, mission-driven company where your work directly impacts what kids eat every day


• A leadership team that values accountability, transparency, and operators who own their outcomes


• Real career growth as we expand into new markets and continue building our leadership team

About The Yay Company

We are on a mission to fundamentally change school food for the better. We are a culinary-first school food company - we cook fresh, nutritious, and genuinely delicious meals in school kitchens every day. Since launching in 2018, we have expanded across multiple markets and are backed by experienced venture capital partners. This is school food the way it should be - and we are just getting started.