The Restaurant Operations Manager oversees end‑to‑end operations of six franchise restaurants, ensuring profitability, compliance, and seamless coordination. The role requires strong cost control, accurate bookkeeping, and full payroll management to maintain financial integrity and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Financial oversight: create budgets, track sales performance, implement cost control disciplines across all stores, prioritise R&M expenditure, manage operational cashflow and optimise labour costs.
Bookkeeping and cost management: daily cash‑ups, invoice processing, reconciliations, petty cash control, and prepare audit‑ready financial records.
Payroll management: oversee payroll inputs for ±100 staff, overtime validation, leave tracking, statutory deductions, compliance with labour laws, and coordination with payroll service providers.
Operational coordination: standardise SOPs, service quality, and operational processes across all restaurants.
Staff leadership: support restaurant managers to optimise staffing levels, participate in monthly performance reviews, and ensure labour cost efficiency.
Supply chain and inventory management: oversee procurement, negotiate pricing, monitor stock levels, reduce wastage, and ensure accurate stock counts.
Customer experience: monitor service quality, manage escalations, and implement customer satisfaction improvements.
Compliance and risk: ensure adherence to food safety, labour regulations, payroll compliance, and health standards.
Analytics and dashboards: produce weekly dashboards covering financial performance, payroll, labour efficiency, and operational KPIs.
Financial reports: prepare monthly management accounts, VAT calculations for SARS and consolidated creditors file.

Core Competencies

Cost control: deep understanding of cost of sales, labour costs, overheads, and margin drivers.
Bookkeeping accuracy: strong command of POS reporting, reconciliations, and financial documentation.
Operations management: ability to manage diverse teams and operational environments simultaneously.
Operational excellence: SOP discipline and adherence, process optimisation, and continuous improvement.
Analytical thinking: ability to interpret financial, payroll, and operational data.

Qualifications

Formal Education

Business Administration / BCom: strongly preferred for bookkeeping, payroll, and financial reporting.
Financial management certificate: advantageous.

Professional Experience

Strong bookkeeping background: cash‑ups, reconciliations, supplier accounts, management accounts.
Payroll management experience: timesheets, overtime validation, leave tracking, statutory deductions.
Team leadership: managing restaurant managers and ±100 staff.
Restaurant operations: advantageous.

Technical Skills

POS systems: familiarity with Micros
Accounting systems: proficiency in accounting platforms (e.g. Pastel, Xero, QuickBooks)
Advanced Excel: Pivot tables, cost modelling, labour forecasting
Inventory management tools: advantageous

Other requirements for the role