Position Summary
The Manager, Growth Operations coordinates assigned New Bakery-Cafe Openings, remodels, market/café ownership transitions, closures, FSO openings, new franchisee café openings, relocations, and other cafe portfolio changes within Operations Services.
The Manager owns each assigned critical path, coordinates company and franchise partners, manages opening orders, monitors milestones and dependencies, and ensures successful opening, reopening, transition, closure, and stabilization.
Location: Newton, MA moving to Weston, MA (hybrid)
Key Responsibilities
Project & Critical-Path Management
· Manage assigned projects from operational engagement through stabilization.
· Build and maintain critical paths with scope, milestones, owners, dependencies, lead times, decisions, risks, and completion requirements.
· Facilitate readiness reviews, track commitments, develop recovery plans, and escalate issues.
· Maintain accurate plans, status reports, decision logs, risk logs, and documentation.
New Bakery-Cafe Openings & Orders
· Coordinate people planning, staffing, training, cafe setup, opening support, systems, vendors, and opening-week execution.
· Maintain an order tracker with items, owners, vendors, order dates, delivery dates, status, and issues.
· Maintain an inventory of all smallwares required to open a café successfully
· Monitor shortages, delays, substitutions, missing shipments, and installation dependencies.
· Coordinate recovery plans and remain engaged through post-opening stabilization.
Remodels, Transitions, Closures & FSOs
· Manage operational critical paths for remodels, temporary disruptions, franchise ownership transitions, closures, and FSOs.
· Coordinate communications, inventory, technology, equipment, vendor services, ordering, training, and business-continuity needs.
· Maintain visibility into development milestones and confirm readiness or completion requirements.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Improvement
· Coordinate Development, Operations, Franchise Operations, Supply Chain, Technology, HR, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Marketing, Facilities, Finance, and vendors.
· Maintain dashboards covering milestones, orders, readiness, risks, and open issues.
· Capture feedback and improve critical paths, checklists, ordering processes, communications, and readiness tools.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
· Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred.
· 3+ years of experience in restaurant operations, new-unit openings, development operations, project management, franchise operations, supply chain, or a related field.
· Experience coordinating multi-location projects, vendors, orders, logistics, or critical deliverables 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 $92,055 - $110,466 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 CenterSkills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
- 3+ years of experience in restaurant operations, new-unit openings, development operations, project management, franchise operations, supply chain, or a related field
- Experience coordinating multi-location projects, vendors, orders, logistics, or critical deliverables
- 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
What We Do
Panera began in 1987 as St. Louis Bread Company, a humble community bakery founded with a sourdough starter from San Francisco and a dream of putting a loaf of bread in every arm. While our business has expanded well beyond St. Louis since then, that same sourdough starter is still used in our iconic sourdough bread and the craft of baking bread fresh each day remains at the heart of Panera Bread. Each day, our trained bakers fill our bakery shelves with delicious freshly baked cookies, pastries, bagels, and a range of breads from focaccia to classic baguettes. We believe in serving delicious, freshly prepared, clean food made with carefully selected ingredients that we are proud to serve our own families. Our menu, crafted by chefs and bakers, features classic, comforting dishes, each with an intriguing twist. We respect our planet and take measures to lessen our impacts. We believe in treating people with warmth, kindness, and respect, whether it’s a guest in our cafe or one of our associates. And we believe in helping our local communities, especially in times of need. We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we offer omni-channel access to your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering, catering, and Rapid Pick-Up® for to-go orders, Curbside pick-up and delivery – all designed to make things easier for our guests. Today, Panera operates as both Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co St. Louis Bread Company in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Panera Bread is privately held by JAB Holding Company. Panera Bread is part of Panera Brands, one of the largest fast-casual restaurant platforms in the U.S., comprised of Panera Bread®, Caribou Coffee® and Einstein Bros.® Bagels.
