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Newton, Massachusetts, United States
Hybrid
Position Summary
The Senior Manager, Growth Operations leads Panera's operational planning and execution for New Bakery-Cafe Openings, remodels, market/café ownership transitions, closures, FSO openings, new franchisee café openings, relocations, and other cafe changes within Operations Services.
This leader oversees two Managers of Growth Operations and owns critical-path governance, opening-order coordination, operational readiness, opening support and training, and post-opening stabilization.
Location: Newton, MA moving to Weston, MA (hybrid)
Key Responsibilities
Growth Portfolio Leadership
· Oversee active and upcoming growth and portfolio-change projects, including status, dates, dependencies, risks, resources, and decisions.
· Assign projects based on timing, complexity, geography, franchise group, priority, and capacity.
· Balance workload and provide support for high-risk or off-track projects.
· Establish rolling forecasts and identify conflicts with other field activity.
Critical-Path Governance
· Own and improve critical paths for each project type.
· Establish milestones, owners, dependencies, lead times, readiness requirements, escalation triggers, and completion standards.
· Conduct portfolio and readiness reviews and lead post-project lessons learned.
Opening Readiness & Orders
· Ensure each new bakery-cafe has an integrated readiness plan.
· Oversee opening orders, early orders, smallwares, uniforms, chemicals, equipment-related supplies, operational and training materials, and delivery issue resolution.
· Confirm readiness across people, product, process, technology, equipment, facilities, vendors, training, and communications.
· Oversee opening-week support and post-opening stabilization.
Remodels, Transitions, Closures & FSOs
· Oversee critical paths, business continuity, communications, systems, vendors, supplies, training, and operational readiness.
· Ensure franchise ownership transitions move access, services, ordering relationships, resources, and accountability appropriately.
· Oversee closure readiness and support the operating model and tools required for FSOs.
Team, Stakeholder & Performance Leadership
· Lead and develop two Managers of Growth Operations.
· Serve as senior integration leader across Operations Services and cross-functional partners.
· Develop portfolio dashboards, success measures, and executive updates.
· Convert recurring breakdowns and lessons learned into process and tool improvements.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
· Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required.
· 4+ years of experience in restaurant operations, new-unit openings, development operations, project management, franchise operations, or a related field.
· Demonstrated cross-functional program and team-leadership experience.
· Experience coordinating openings, remodels, transitions, closures, franchise partners, and vendors preferred.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
· Exceptional project planning, organization, prioritization, and follow-through.
· Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, judgment, and creative problem-solving.
· Ability to influence without authority, navigate ambiguity, and build stakeholder alignment.
· Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and executive presentation skills.
· Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project-management tools.
· Ability to travel based on business needs.
Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans
Competitive Pay $136,383 - $163,660 annually
The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
Newton Support Center