Director, People Development and Leadership Effectiveness

Location: Spartanburg, SC (Hybrid)
Company: Denny's, Inc.

Denny's is entering one of the most important chapters in its history.

As we continue to strengthen our business, support our franchise community, and accelerate organizational growth, we're investing in something that matters most: our people.

We're looking for a Director, People Development & Leadership Effectiveness to build and lead the next generation of leadership development, manager effectiveness, talent readiness, and culture activation across Denny's.

This is not a traditional training role.

This is an opportunity to shape how leaders lead, how managers develop their teams, how our support center serves restaurants and franchisees, and how The Denny's Way comes to life every day across the organization.

• Build and execute Denny's people development strategy in partnership with senior People leadership.

• Design and deliver leadership development experiences for managers, emerging leaders, field leaders, and high-potential talent.

• Create practical tools that help leaders coach, communicate, develop talent, drive accountability, and lead through change.

• Strengthen manager effectiveness and leadership capability across the organization.

• Translate The Denny's Way into leadership behaviors, team routines, and development experiences that drive business results.

• Partner with Operations, HR, Communications, Field Leadership, and business leaders to build organizational capability.

• Support restaurant-facing leadership curriculum that improves execution, leadership readiness, and franchisee support.

• Develop onboarding, talent development, succession, and leadership readiness programs.

• Personally facilitate workshops, leadership sessions, retreats, onboarding experiences, and team development initiatives.

• Measure effectiveness and continuously improve programs based on feedback, adoption, and business impact.

You're a builder.

You know how to create structure where it doesn't exist, translate business needs into practical development solutions, and help leaders grow in ways that improve performance.

You are equally comfortable facilitating a leadership workshop, coaching a senior leader, designing curriculum, building a development roadmap, or rolling up your sleeves to create the materials yourself.

You understand that development is bigger than training—it's about creating leaders who communicate clearly, build trust, execute consistently, and help teams perform at a higher level.

• 8+ years of experience in leadership development, organizational development, learning and development, talent development, or related fields.

• Experience building leadership or capability programs from the ground up.

• Strong facilitation and executive presence.

• Exceptional communication, instructional design, and content development skills.

• Ability to influence leaders and drive change without formal authority.

• Experience partnering with senior leaders and cross-functional teams.

• Restaurant, hospitality, retail, franchise, field-based, or multi-unit experience is highly preferred.

At Denny's, you'll have the opportunity to build meaningful work that impacts leaders, employees, franchisees, restaurants, and guests across the system.

You'll work directly with senior leadership, influence how leadership is defined and developed, and help shape a culture that supports accountability, growth, service, and execution.

Most importantly, you'll help build stronger leaders who create stronger teams—and stronger teams who create better experiences for our franchisees, employees, and guests.

If you're passionate about developing people, building capability, and creating lasting organizational impact, we'd love to hear from you.

The typical pay range for this role is:

Please note that this range represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade within which the position falls. This job posting is not a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee as the actual pay will take into account a range of factors, including location and experience.

Denny's Corporation is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military or veteran's status, criminal background, or any other characteristic protected by Federal, State, or local law. 

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should contact 864-597-8000. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THIS NUMBER TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION.

Denny’s Corporation participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration, and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. For more information on E-Verify, please contact the DHS at 888-897-7781 or dhs.gov/e-verify.  Please note that we do not use this information to pre-screen job applicants.