Strategy & Program Manager

Workstream; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Sarku Japan seeks a Strategy & Program Manager to design and run high-priority initiatives across the enterprise, from new store development to multi-functional programs, reporting to the Chief of Staff and senior leadership.

You will build playbooks, dashboards, governance, and transition ownership to functional leaders, moving on to new initiatives spanning operations, technology, supply chain, finance, people, and brand within a PE-backed growth setting.

Qualifications

• 4-7 years in management consulting, program management, strategy and operations, or fast-paced cross-functional environments.
• Demonstrated ability to build structure in ambiguity and create systems from scratch.
• Comfort letting go: build things to hand off with clean transitions.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; able to size opportunities and defend logic.
• Excellent communicator who can drive accountability across teams and brief executives concisely.
• Restaurant, retail, hospitality, or multi-unit ops experience is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Build and incubate high-priority programs, from concept to implementation, with cross-functional ownership.
• Drive execution: develop plans with milestones, dependencies, budgets, risks, and success metrics; resolve blockers.
• Own enterprise visibility: create dashboards and prepare executive reporting for status reviews.
• New store development (first program): design end-to-end processes for openings, coordinating real estate, construction, ops, marketing, supply chain, IT, and HR.

Skills

Program management

Cross-functional

Ambiguity

Executive briefing

Analytical thinking

Communication

Ownership

Tools

Smartsheet

Asana

Monday.com

Excel

Job description

Most program management roles maintain existing systems. This one builds them.

As Strategy & Program Manager, you'll operate as an internal builder for the enterprise: taking on high-priority initiatives that don't yet have a natural home, designing the processes and operating models to make them work, running them until they're stable, and then transitioning ownership to a functional leader so you can move to the next thing. Think of it as a rotating portfolio of the company's most important unsolved problems.

Your first major program is new store development. We have an active pipeline of openings and need someone to build the end-to-end playbook: critical path planning, milestone tracking, cross-functional accountability, and grand opening readiness. Once that machine is running and handed off, you'll move to the next initiative - which could span operations, technology, supply chain, finance, people, or brand.

You'll work directly with the Chief of Staff and executive leadership, with real visibility into how a PE-backed growth company sets priorities and executes against them.

How This Role Works

The operating model is deliberate:

1. Take ona high-priority initiative that doesn't naturally reside within an existing function
2. Designthe processes, governance, tools, and operating cadence needed to execute
3. Runthe program hands-on, driving milestones, surfacing risks, and holding cross-functional teams accountable
4. Transitionownership to a functional leader once a sustainable operating structure is in place
5. Move onto the next initiative, leaving behind a playbook that outlasts you

Success in this role is measured not just by delivery, but by how cleanly programs hand off and how well the processes you build hold up without you.

What You'll Do

Build and incubate programs

• Lead high-priority, cross-functional initiatives from concept through implementation
• Design scalable processes, governance models, and standardized playbooks from scratch
• Incubate new programs until ownership, processes, and operating models are established, then transition them to functional leaders

Drive execution and accountability

• Develop comprehensive program plans: timelines, milestones, dependencies, budgets, risks, and success metrics
• Actively manage cross-functional commitments, surfacing blockers early and driving resolution
• Coordinate resources and priorities across stakeholders with competing business needs

Own enterprise visibility

• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting that give leadership a centralized view of program status, risks, resource needs, and decisions required
• Prepare executive and board-level reporting; facilitate program review cadences
• Translate complex project detail into concise, actionable updates

New store development (first program)

• Build the end-to-end process for new restaurant openings: critical path planning, readiness tracking, and launch support
• Drive operating cadence across real estate, construction, operations, marketing, supply chain, IT, and HR
• Coordinate grand opening readiness and run post-opening reviews to improve each successive launch

What We're Looking For

• 4-7 years in management consulting, program management, strategy and operations, restaurant or retail development, or a similarly fast-paced, cross-functional environment
• Demonstrated ability to build structure in ambiguity - you've created systems from scratch, not just managed existing ones
• Comfort letting go: you build things to hand them off, and you take pride in a clean transition
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; you can size an opportunity, structure the work, and defend your logic
• Excellent communicator who can drive accountability across teams without creating friction, and who can brief an executive in two minutes or two pages
• Proficiency with project management tools (Smartsheet, Asana, Monday.com, or similar) and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Teams)
• High ownership mentality: you operate like it's your business, not your task list
• Restaurant, retail, hospitality, or multi-unit operations experience is a plus but not required

Why This Role

• Direct exposure to executive leadership and PE-backed company operations
• A rotating portfolio of the company's most important initiatives - you'll never be doing the same thing for long
• Ownership of mission-critical work from day one, starting with new store development
• Broad experience across operations, development, technology, finance, people, and brand
• A clear path to expanded responsibility as the company scales
• Competitive compensation and benefits

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Sarku Japan 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 characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Founded in 1987, Sarku Japan began with four entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity to introduce Japanese teppanyaki cooking to the United States. Starting with a single location in the Liberty Tree Mall in Boston, Massachusetts, they built the company through hard work, shared responsibility, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
From the beginning, the vision was simple: serve fresh, made-to-order meals cooked directly in front of customers while delivering an experience that stood apart from traditional food court dining. Through energy, showmanship, and quality, Sarku Japan quickly built a loyal customer following.
The early years required determination, long hours, and an unwavering belief in the brand. As the company grew throughout the Northeast, Florida, Texas, and eventually across the country, the founders stayed committed to the philosophy of Kaizen - continuous improvement. That mindset continues to shape how we operate today, from refining recipes and operations to investing in our people and guest experience.
Today, Sarku Japan has grown into a nationally recognized brand with locations across the United States, including shopping centers, street-front restaurants, and military bases. While we have grown significantly since 1987, our commitment to quality, teamwork, innovation, and growth remains at the center of everything we do.