Sr. Manager, Growth Operations

Sr. Manager, Growth Operations

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

About Us

With more than 2,000 Panera LLC and independent franchise bakery-cafes in the Panera Bread® family, and more locations opening all the time, it’s no wonder our company has been an excellent source of career and personal growth opportunities for more than 25 years.

In neighborhoods across the U.S. and Canada, customers enjoy flavorful, handcrafted meals centered around freshly baked artisan bread. To us, that means serving food like we serve our own families – free of any of the items on our ‘No No’ List.

Along the way, we also like to give back to our community. We enjoy working together, shoulder to shoulder with our customers, to confront a serious problem plaguing communities across this country – Hunger. Through our Panera Cares community cafes, we offer a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment. In addition, we support our communities through day-end donations at our bakery-cafe locations and partner with local non-profit organizations.

It’s this warmth that you’ll find when you join Panera Bread. From our competitive compensation and benefits packages to our unique cultural values, we’re confident you’ll find us a rewarding and fun place to work.

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