Director Of Franchise Operations

Toppers Pizza is looking for a Director of Franchise Operations to join our Team!

Making great food that people connect over. That's our thing. We know we're not flying rocket ships to the moon or signing treaties, but we take our job seriously. We live by a set of core values that pretty much sum up everything about us. We have FUN and we LOVE what we do! Our goal is to be the best pizza company in the WORLD by KILLING IT on every DETAIL of the Customer experience.

The Director of Franchise Operations is responsible for leading the Franchise Business Coaches and the Toppers Pizza franchise operations function. Through the coaches and the direct partnership with franchise owners, this role drives sales, profitability, guest experience, and brand-standard execution across franchise restaurants, and carries out the operational strategy. This role serves as a key connection between Toppers Pizza corporate leadership and franchise owners. The Director and coaches will work closely with franchisees to understand their businesses, identify opportunities, develop action plans, and provide the coaching and accountability necessary to achieve measurable results.

The Director of Franchise Operations is a full-time, hybrid role reporting to the VP of Operations. The ideal candidate is located in South-Central/Southeastern Wisconsin. This position is based in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and offers a flexible schedule with three days in the office and two days working remotely each week. The ideal candidate is a strong restaurant operator and business leader who can build genuine relationships with franchisees while also holding them accountable to performance expectations and Toppers Pizza standards.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Franchise Business Coach Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Franchise Business Coaches, setting clear expectations for franchisee support, field visits, follow-up, and results.
• Assign franchise restaurants and markets to coaches, and balance workloads as the system grows.
• Establish consistent field visit standards, evaluation tools, and reporting so franchisees receive the same quality of support across all markets.
• Review coach performance against franchisee results and goals, provide regular feedback, and conduct performance evaluations.
• Join coaches in the field regularly to observe, model effective franchisee coaching, and support difficult conversations.

Franchisee Partnership

• Build trusted, productive relationships with Toppers franchise owners, with direct involvement in multi-unit owners, key markets, and escalated situations.
• Partner with franchise owners and coaches to build business plans and action plans that improve sales, profitability, guest experience, and operational execution.
• Help franchise owners understand and use Toppers systems, tools, programs, and resources.
• Advocate for franchisees within the Toppers support center, connecting owners with the right internal resources to resolve issues.

Performance & Financial Coaching

• Monitor sales, labor, food cost, guest experience, and other key metrics across the franchise system to spot trends and identify restaurants and markets that need support.
• Ensure coaches review performance with franchise owners using financial and operational data to find root causes rather than treating symptoms.
• Coach franchise owners, directly and through the coach team, on sales growth, labor and food cost management, controllable expenses, and overall profitability.
• Oversee improvement plans for underperforming franchise restaurants and track progress against them.
• Identify successful practices across the franchise system and share them with franchise owners and coaches.

Brand Standards & Compliance

• Oversee monitoring of franchise restaurants' adherence to Toppers brand standards, including food quality, food safety, cleanliness, service, and guest experience, as set out in the franchise agreement and operations manual.
• Ensure brand-standard deficiencies are communicated to franchise owners clearly, professionally, and consistently, with agreed corrective action plans and timelines.
• Ensure compliance concerns are documented, and escalate significant or unresolved issues to the VP of Operations in line with franchise agreement processes.

Franchisee Development

• Coach franchise owners on building and developing strong leadership teams in their restaurants.
• Deliver and support brand-standard training, operational programs, and system initiatives for franchise owners and their management teams.
• Model and reinforce Toppers culture, values, and hospitality in every franchisee interaction.

System Initiatives & Cross-Functional Support

• Lead the field rollout of system-wide initiatives, such as new products, technology, promotions, and operational programs, across the franchise system.
• Give the VP of Operations and senior leadership field-level insight on franchisee needs, operational challenges, and opportunities.
• Support new franchise restaurant openings, remodels, ownership transfers, and other transitions.
• Participate in franchisee meetings, advisory councils, conferences, and company events

Other duties as assigned.

If this describes you, we would love to meet you!!!

Want to stand out? Be sure that we can see your experience and skills by writing a short cover letter telling us how your background and passion relate to what we're doing. At Toppers, we value people for their rich histories and perspectives, not only for their certifications and degrees and former employer brands or for their buzzwords on their resumes (those are cool too!). This is why we'd love to hear from you on a more personal note also.

We love passionate candidates and believe that our only opportunity to win in the marketplace will come by hiring and keeping the best people in the industry. If that's also your view, please give us a look, and make your day great!

We offer an excellent team environment as well as provide excellent benefits such as:

• Competitive Salary
• 4 weeks of PTO the first year
• Holiday Pay
• Group Medical Insurance
• 401(K) Plan with up to a 4% Match
• Meal Discounts (70% While Working!)
• Flexible Schedule
• FUN Atmosphere & Casual Work Setting
• 100% Company Paid Life Insurance
• 100% Company Paid Short-term Disability and Long-term Disability Insurance
• Fitness Club Reimbursement
• Paid Training & Professional Development
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Dependent Care & Health)
• Health Savings Account
• Voluntary Life Insurance
• Voluntary Group Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance
• Voluntary Group Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, and Accident Insurance
• Voluntary Group Pet Insurance

Our Company Profile

Toppers Pizza is a growing pizza delivery franchise company based in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Toppers has won numerous accolades and recognition in the restaurant and franchising industry. We have an incredible leadership team of restaurant veterans.

We are not your mom and dad's pizza company. We pride ourselves on being just a little bit different and a lot more Fun! Our company is a family of fanatical, passionate people working toward the common goal of becoming the greatest pizza delivery company on the planet. Some words commonly used to describe us: Edgy, Sarcastic, Irreverent, Fun. . . Check us out at www.toppers.com.

If you like working in a stuffy, no-fun environment, we would not be your dream employer. We try to spoil our Team Members with things like; various company events, performance-based incentives, taste-testing potential new menu items, and other silliness. We make it a point to laugh and smile every day!

Equal Employment Opportunity - Toppers Pizza is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Toppers recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

Minimum qualifications include:

• Must be legally eligible to work in the United States.
• 7+ years of progressive restaurant operations leadership experience, including multi-unit responsibility, in QSR, fast-casual, or delivery-focused concepts.
• 3+ years of experience leading, coaching, and developing multi-unit or field leaders.
• Experience working with franchise owners or within a franchise system.
• Strong understanding of restaurant P&Ls and the key drivers of sales, labor, food cost, and profitability.
• Proven record of improving operational and financial performance across multiple restaurants.
• Proven ability to coach and influence leaders, including those who do not report to you.
• Ability to hold others accountable while maintaining strong professional relationships.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel regularly, including overnight, across a multi-state region (up to 40% of the time).
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel independently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and restaurant reporting systems.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience working for a restaurant franchisor in a franchise-facing role, such as Franchise Business Coach, Franchise Business Consultant, or Director of Franchise Operations.
• Experience leading a team of franchise business coaches or consultants.
• Experience as a District Manager, Area Manager, or Regional Director in a multi-unit restaurant organization.
• Pizza or delivery-focused QSR experience.
• Experience supporting new restaurant openings.
• Experience rolling out new programs, technology, or processes across multiple restaurants.
• ServSafe Manager certification.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Hospitality, Restaurant Management, or a related field.