Franchise Operations Director

PepsiCo • Chicago, IL

3h • Onsite

About The Position

DRIPS by Pepsi is a new crafted beverage destination concept focused on personalized, functional, and social beverage experiences. Built around customization, flavor discovery, and hospitality, DRIPS combines the energy of modern beverage culture with the scale and brand power of PepsiCo. The concept will come to life across multiple formats including Airstream trailer destinations, walk-up and drive-thru stores, franchises, and licensed locations in high-traffic environments like colleges, stadiums, airports, malls, and entertainment venues. The Director, Business Model Enablement (AKA: Director of Operations) will help build and run multiple types of Crafted beverage destinations, including: Semi-permanent Airstream trailer concepts in strategic markets, Self-operated walk-up and drive-thru locations, Licensed and partner-operated locations across colleges and universities, stadiums, airports, malls, theaters, resorts, and other high-traffic destinations. This is a hands-on operating role focused on building systems, teams, and experiences that work in the real world. The role will oversee location operations, guest experience, labor models, hiring, training, location P&Ls, capital investments, and operational support across the business. We are looking for someone who understands how to build both operational discipline and hospitality culture. Someone who knows how to run a profitable business while creating an experience people want to come back to.

Requirements

• 8–10+ years operating restaurants, beverage concepts, QSR, retail hospitality, or multi-unit foodservice businesses
• Experience opening and running restaurant or retail locations
• Strong understanding of labor management, throughput, shift operations, and unit-level P&Ls
• Experience building hospitality-driven teams and service cultures
• Strong operator mindset with the ability to solve problems in fast-moving environments
• Comfortable working in ambiguous, startup-style situations
• Willingness to spend significant time inside stores and operating locations

Nice To Haves

• Experience working across company-operated and licensed/franchise environments is a plus

Responsibilities

• Build operational playbooks across multiple destination formats
• Develop standards for labor, training, food safety, guest experience, and daily operations
• Design workflows, equipment layouts, and staffing models that support both speed and hospitality
• Build scalable systems that can operate across company-operated and partner-operated locations
• Create training programs that balance operational execution with personality and guest connection
• Help open and support Crafted locations across trailers, walk-up counters, drive-thrus, and licensed partner environments
• Oversee location-level P&Ls including labor, beverage costs, operating expenses, and profitability
• Partner with Finance and Development teams on capital planning and new site investments
• Work closely with field teams to improve throughput, staffing efficiency, and guest experience
• Build staffing plans, hiring models, and operational support structures as the business grows
• Help define the service culture and in-store experience for Crafted destinations
• Build environments that encourage energy, hospitality, personalization, and guest interaction
• Develop hiring and training approaches focused on personality, hospitality, and culture
• Ensure the business maintains a strong human experience as it scales
• Use pilots and field learning to improve menus, workflows, labor models, and equipment needs
• Identify operational bottlenecks and simplify where possible
• Build KPIs around throughput, labor productivity, guest satisfaction, repeat visits, and unit economics
• Spend time in the field understanding what is and is not working operationally

Benefits

• Bonus based on performance and eligibility target payout is 25% of annual salary paid out annually and an additional target payout of 10% of annual salary is paid out over 3 years following the end of the performance period.
• Long term incentive equity may be awarded based on eligibility and performance.
• Paid time off subject to eligibility, including paid parental leave, vacation, sick, and bereavement.
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Health, and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Insurance (Accident, Group Legal, Life), Defined Contribution Retirement Plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed