[Hiring] Operational Lead @Teamshares

Role Description

We are searching for an Operational Lead (Culinary) with strong strategic planning and deep financial acumen to work within the Teamshares network and assist our employee-owned food & beverage businesses with turnarounds, transformations, and growth. During an engagement, you'll work directly with a network company—bringing diverse, practical culinary experience alongside a senior-level, analytical, and data-driven approach to financial strategy—to help them improve menus, kitchen operations, food cost, and overall profitability. You must also be capable of transitioning new companies into our network and leading a company as an interim President.

• 70-75+% travel is expected

Key Skills:

• Bias to action: You act now to help fix a company's menu, kitchen, and margins.
• Culinary craft with a business lens: You can support menu innovation and engineering, thinking about them in terms of food cost, labor, and contribution margin.
• Strong interpersonal skills: You work collaboratively in co-management situations and instill confidence in employee-owners in interim management situations.
• Love of implementation and operations: You quickly develop menu and operational changes and implement them in a working kitchen.
• Running towards the fire: You handle tough conversations about underperforming products, waste, or margin.
• Meaningful culinary experience in a scratch kitchen (e.g., chef, kitchen manager, culinary director, or similar) combined with operational or small business leadership experience.
• Track record of menu development, engineering, and costing.
• Business acumen and analytical skills to oversee company financials and translate that into culinary and operational decisions.
• Demonstrated people leadership skills, ideally managing kitchen or restaurant teams.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; low-ego.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and a desire to build.
• Project-management and problem-solving skills with a roll-up-the-sleeves, get-it-done attitude.
• Growth-mindset and a willingness to explore new ideas and innovations.
• An ability to think creatively, be adaptable and curious.

Qualifications

• Meaningful culinary experience in a scratch kitchen (e.g., chef, kitchen manager, culinary director, or similar).
• Track record of menu development, engineering, and costing.
• Business acumen and analytical skills to oversee company financials.
• Demonstrated people leadership skills, ideally managing kitchen or restaurant teams.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; low-ego.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and a desire to build.
• Project-management and problem-solving skills.
• Growth-mindset and a willingness to explore new ideas and innovations.
• An ability to think creatively, be adaptable and curious.

Benefits

• Competitive salary.
• Generous benefits package, including equity for all employees.
• Exceptional medical/dental/vision benefits plans for employees and their families.
• Paid parental leave.
• Support for maintaining a healthy work-life balance culture.
• Encouragement to take vacation and time off.
• Support for career growth.