Director of Operations

Chelsea Hospitality Group•Morristown, NJ

About The Position

The Director of Operations will lead, mentor, and build a high-performance team of Regional Directors, Executive Chefs, General Managers, and operations staff. This role is responsible for defining and embedding a unifying culture of hospitality, accountability, collaboration, and excellence, where taking care of employees is treated as inseparable from taking care of guests. The Director of Operations will drive talent development, succession planning, and leadership pipelines throughout the organization, holding leaders accountable through coaching, feedback, and performance measurement. This role also involves partnering with client teams to maintain trust, transparency, and service excellence, ensuring every site reliably delivers the Dartcor promise—quality food, thoughtful design, responsiveness, and tailored hospitality. The Director of Operations will guide creative, culinary, and wellness teams to support client-specific brand integration, guest experience, and differentiation, while maintaining a deep focus on guest satisfaction and value creation. A working understanding of both restaurant and catering operating models is essential, covering staffing, event execution, food cost management, and the distinct guest/client experience standards each requires. The Director of Operations will own operational performance across all portfolio locations, ensuring cohesion and consistency across functions. This includes designing, implementing, and refining systems, processes, and standards that bring scalability, accountability, and operational rigor. Leading transformation initiatives, process optimization, standardization, and innovations that raise performance are key. Setting clear KPIs and dashboards, and monitoring, auditing, and course-correcting to ensure alignment with strategic goals are also critical responsibilities. Finally, the Director of Operations will oversee operational budgets, forecasts, and financial performance, ensuring profitability, cost control, and strategic alignment, translating corporate strategy into operational plans, and identifying opportunities for revenue growth, efficiency gains, and scalable expansion. This role serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, contributing to overall company strategy and direction.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
5+ years of progressively senior, multi-unit operations experience in restaurant, catering, hospitality, foodservice, or related industries.
Hands-on experience across both restaurant and catering environments—understanding the operational, staffing, and service differences between a fixed-location dining operation and event-based or off-premise catering execution.
Proven track record of building and developing strong teams, and scaling operations through people rather than around them.
Prior leadership of large teams across multiple sites, with accountability for operational metrics and P&L.
Exceptional communication, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills.
A deep, authentic passion for hospitality and service, grounded in the belief that taking care of your people is what makes it possible to take care of the guest.
Ability to lead through ambiguity, build structure, and adapt in evolving environments.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and build a high-performance team of Regional Directors, Executive Chefs, General Managers, and operations staff.
Define and embed a unifying culture of hospitality, accountability, collaboration, and excellence.
Drive talent development, succession planning, and leadership pipelines.
Hold leaders accountable through coaching, feedback, and performance measurement.
Partner with client teams to maintain trust, transparency, and service excellence.
Ensure every site reliably delivers the Dartcor promise—quality food, thoughtful design, responsiveness, and tailored hospitality.
Guide creative, culinary, and wellness teams to support client-specific brand integration, guest experience, and differentiation.
Maintain a deep, personal focus on guest satisfaction and value creation.
Bring a working understanding of both restaurant and catering operating models.
Own operational performance across all portfolio locations, ensuring cohesion and consistency across functions.
Design, implement, and refine systems, processes, and standards that bring scalability, accountability, and operational rigor.
Lead transformation initiatives—process optimization, standardization, and innovations that raise performance.
Set clear KPIs and dashboards; monitor, audit, and course-correct to ensure alignment with strategic goals.
Oversee operational budgets, forecasts, and financial performance.
Translate corporate strategy into operational plans and drive execution.
Identify opportunities for revenue growth, efficiency gains, and scalable expansion.
Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, contributing to overall company strategy and direction.