Operations Manager Free State

Pedros Chicken; Vrystaat; On-site; ZAR 500 000 - 700 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food service brand in South Africa is seeking an Operations Manager to enhance operational performance and profitability across multiple stores. This role involves ensuring compliance with food safety standards, driving turnover growth, managing people development, and maintaining brand standards. The ideal candidate will have a background in Operations or Business Administration with at least 2 years of experience in multi-site management. Strong leadership and analytical skills are essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years’ experience as a multi-store operator or similar role.
• Proven experience managing multi-site operations in a high-volume environment.
• Franchise and/or Corporate Store experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support all operational issues across allocated stores.
• Drive turnover growth, customer count growth, and profitability performance.
• Coach, mentor, and develop Store Managers and teams.

Skills

Operational and financial acumen

Quality control management

Analytical capability

Interpersonal skills

Leadership

Problem-solving skills

Education

Qualification in Operations, Marketing, Business Development, or Business Administration

Tools

GAAP / Micros system

MS Office

Job description

ROLE PURPOSE

The Operations Manager is responsible for implementing and maintaining the Operations Management System across all allocated stores. The role focuses on driving sustainable profitability, operational excellence, brand compliance, and people development, while ensuring all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), food safety standards, and service benchmarks are consistently achieved.

Overview

Responsibilities

Operational Performance & Profitability

• Manage and support all operational issues across allocated stores.
• Drive turnover growth, customer count growth, gross profit, and profitability performance in line with benchmarks.
• Ensure effective cost control, including food cost, labour, and operational expenses.
• Monitor and improve service efficiency including all performance-based metrics.

SOP, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure Food Quality always remains the primary focus.
• Ensure strict adherence to all SOPs, policies, and operational standards.
• Maintain brand audit, food safety audit, and mystery shopper scores above required minimum benchmarks.
• Ensure food safety compliance, hygiene standards, equipment servicing, and corrective actions are consistently implemented.
• Monitor and action audit outcomes, compliance risks, and operational gaps.

People Management & Leadership

• Plan, organise, lead, and control store management and teams to meet or exceed performance targets.
• Coach, mentor, and develop Store Managers and teams to improve performance and capability.
• Drive engagement, reduce voluntary staff and management turnover, and build high-performing teams.
• Ensure training, onboarding, and performance management processes are executed effectively.

Customer Experience & Brand Standards

• Ensure high levels of customer satisfaction across all channels.
• Monitor customer complaints, ensure timely resolution, and implement corrective actions.
• Drive positive digital ratings, QR survey participation, and Net Promoter Score performance as well as all Customer experience metrics.
• Uphold and reinforce Pedros’ leadership principles, values, High performance and customer obsession culture.

Reporting, Administration & Communication

• Prepare, analyse and review weekly and monthly operational reports.
• Ensure accurate reporting on KPIs, audits, financial performance, and action plans.
• Maintain effective communication with stores, management, and support teams.
• Support execution of marketing plans, promotions, and operational initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Operations Manager will be measured against, but not limited to:

• Like-on-like turnover and customer growth
• EBITDA and gross profit % targets
• Brand audit, food safety audit, and mystery shopper scores
• Service speed (SOS, drive-thru, delivery metrics)
• Customer complaints ratio and digital ratings
• Staff and management turnover rates
• Delivery aggregator uptime and performance

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualification in Operations, Marketing, Business Development, or Business Administration
• Franchise and/or Corporate Store experience
• GAAP / Micros system experience
• Minimum 2 years’ experience as a multi store operator or similar role
• Proven experience managing multi-site operations in a high-volume environment

Technical & Behavioural Competencies

Technical Skills

• Strong operational and financial acumen
• Ability to manage quality control and SOP compliance
• Proven ability to achieve sales, GP%, and profitability targets
• Advanced MS Office skills
• Strong reporting and analytical capability

Behavioural Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong leadership and people management ability
• High Emotional understanding (EQ)
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities
• High attention to detail
• Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills

Additional Requirements

• Valid driver’s licence
• Own vehicle (preferred)
• Willingness to travel regularly within the region
• Availability to support operational requirements outside standard hours when required