Restaurant Field Operations Manager
Company: Confidential
Department: Operations
Reports To: Senior Director of Operations / Executive Leadership Team
Territory: Ottawa, Kingston, Durham Region/Oshawa, and communities throughout Eastern Ontario.
Workplace: On-site / Field-Based
Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent
About the Role
Join a growing restaurant brand with 75 locations across Canada and the United States as our Restaurant Field Operations Manager, supporting operational excellence across multiple franchise locations throughout Eastern Ontario.
This position will primarily support locations across Ottawa, Kingston, Durham Region, Oshawa, and communities along the Highway 401/400 corridor. The successful candidate will spend significant time in the field, working directly with franchisees and restaurant management teams to strengthen operations, improve profitability, maintain brand standards, and develop high-performing teams.
This is a hands-on role for an experienced multi-unit restaurant operator who is comfortable working independently, building strong franchisee relationships, identifying operational opportunities, and translating company standards into consistent execution at the restaurant level.
Primary Responsibilities
Field Operations & Performance
- Oversee operational performance across an assigned portfolio of franchise locations.
- Conduct regular restaurant visits, operational assessments, and follow-up inspections.
- Identify opportunities to improve sales, profitability, labour management, food costs, service, quality, and overall restaurant performance.
- Use operational and financial data to identify trends, develop action plans, and measure results.
- Ensure restaurants consistently execute company standards, policies, procedures, food safety requirements, and operational initiatives.
- Work with franchisees and restaurant managers to develop and implement practical improvement plans.
- Monitor progress against agreed-upon action plans and hold stakeholders accountable for results.
Franchisee Partnership
- Build and maintain strong, professional relationships with franchise partners.
- Serve as a primary operational resource for assigned franchisees.
- Provide coaching and guidance on restaurant operations, profitability, staffing, service, and brand standards.
- Identify challenges and work collaboratively with franchisees to develop solutions.
- Balance strong franchisee relationships with the ability to address performance gaps and maintain accountability.
- Escalate significant operational, compliance, or performance concerns when required.
Leadership & Team Development
- Coach, mentor, and develop restaurant managers and leadership teams.
- Support franchisees in developing strong restaurant-level leadership.
- Identify training and development opportunities and coordinate with appropriate corporate resources.
- Reinforce the company's operating principles and expectations through hands-on coaching.
- Promote a culture of accountability, hospitality, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.
- New Restaurant Openings & Transitions
- Provide hands-on operational support during new restaurant openings.
- Assist franchisees and restaurant teams with opening preparation, training, operational readiness, and launch execution.
- Support restaurant transitions, renovations, relocations, and other significant operational changes.
- Work closely with Construction, Training, Marketing, Supply Chain, and other corporate teams to ensure operational readiness.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with corporate departments to ensure field operations remain aligned with company objectives.
- Communicate recurring field trends, challenges, and opportunities to the broader Operations team.
- Provide feedback from franchisees and restaurant teams to help improve systems, processes, training, and operational programs.
- Participate in company initiatives and support implementation across the assigned territory.
Qualifications
- 3–5+ years of multi-unit restaurant management experience.
- Experience overseeing multiple restaurant locations, preferably within a QSR, fast-casual, or franchise environment.
- Experience working directly with franchisees is strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of restaurant operations, labour management, food cost, customer service, and restaurant-level profitability.
- Proven ability to coach and develop restaurant managers and leadership teams.
- Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Comfortable working independently and managing priorities across a geographically dispersed territory.
- Valid Ontario driver's licence and access to a reliable vehicle.
- Willingness and ability to travel extensively throughout the assigned territory, including regular same-day travel.
- Availability to occasionally support evenings, weekends, new restaurant openings, and other operational requirements as needed.
Territory
This position is field-based throughout Eastern Ontario, with a primary focus on:
- Ottawa and surrounding communities
- Kingston and surrounding communities
- Durham Region, including Oshawa
- Communities along the Highway 401/400 corridor
- Other locations within the assigned Eastern Ontario territory as required
- Regular travel between locations is an essential part of this position.
Compensation & Benefits
- Base Salary: $65,000–$70,000 CAD annually, based on experience and qualifications.
- Additional benefits and company programs will be discussed during the recruitment process.
