MANAGER, SALES ANALYTICS

El Pollo Loco•Costa Mesa, CA

1d•$113,000 - $127,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At El Pollo Loco, we are on a mission to be the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant. When it comes to our people, we are all about growth. Whether that means specialized training, a clearly laid out career trajectory or collaborating cross-functionally, we are committed to the success of our people the same way we’ve been committed to the success of the El Pollo Loco brand for the last 50 years. In fact, we see you as our secret ingredient. While our chicken is fire, it’s our people who set us ablaze. Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for an innovative, winning, and welcoming workplace, then a flamin’ good career in our Restaurant Support Center is right for you. At our Support Center, we believe our best work is done Together, when departments collaborate and everyone is confident in contributing their ideas. This is why we are in the office 3 days per week. Let’s Get Loco! We are seeking a data-driven Manager, Sales Analytics to lead day-to-day sales, traffic, and average check analysis and to build and maintain the forecasting models that inform planning, marketing, and pricing decisions across the business. This role partners closely with the Senior Manager, Marketing Analysis to evaluate marketing, promotional, menu, and channel performance, and translates performance data into clear, actionable recommendations for Marketing, Finance, and Operations. This role uses EPL's governed data environment and established business rules to produce analysis — it is not responsible for data architecture, ingestion, or governance, which are owned by IT.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, Economics, Statistics, or related field.
4–6 years in sales, marketing, or business analytics, with demonstrated forecasting experience; QSR, restaurant, or other multi-unit consumer-facing industry preferred.
Proven ability to build and maintain sales/traffic forecasting models and translate them into planning inputs.
Strong working knowledge of SQL for querying (not architecting) a cloud data warehouse environment.
Advanced proficiency in Excel/Sheets and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker, etc.).
Comfort using AI-assisted tools to improve analytical speed and productivity, paired with sound judgment to verify accuracy before outputs are used in decision-making.
Demonstrated strength in executive storytelling: able to translate data into clear, compelling recommendations.
Strong problem-solving skills, intellectual curiosity and comfort working within a data environment that is actively being cleaned up and governed by IT.
Strong relationship builder with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
Ability to work at the Support Center consistent with the hybrid work policy.
Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (MBA or Master's in Analytics) a plus.
Experience analyzing digital ordering, loyalty, delivery marketplace, or other off-premise/e-commerce channel performance strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own recurring and ad hoc analysis of comp sales, comp traffic, and average check across Company, Franchise, DMA, etc. levels, applying EPL's established data definitions and comp methodology consistently.
Build, maintain, and continuously refine sales and traffic forecasting models — incorporating historical performance, seasonality, promotional calendar, media, pricing, digital channels, loyalty and market conditions — to support weekly, period, and quarterly reporting & planning cycles.
Support annual and quarterly planning through scenario modeling and variance analysis, in partnership with the Senior Manager, Marketing Analysis.
Evaluate marketing, pricing/discount, menu, and promotional performance (including LTOs, etc.), and maintain breakeven models to assess the volume/margin trade-offs of pricing and promotional decisions, to identify growth opportunities and inform go-to-market recommendations.
Analyze product mix and guest segmentation using internal and third-party data sources to uncover channel and campaign optimization opportunities.
Own analysis and forecasting of sales, traffic, and check trends by channel (Drive Thru, Off-Premise Pickup, Dine-In, Delivery/3PD, Digital/Mobile, etc.) to identify share-shift patterns and growth or erosion by channel across Company and Franchise.
Analyze the impact of channel mix shift on average check and margin, including how migration toward delivery, marketplace, and digital ordering affects discounting, commission drag, and basket size relative to Drive Thru and Dine-In.
Evaluate digital ordering (app/web) and loyalty engagement trends as leading indicators of guest frequency, connecting digital behavioral data to sales and traffic outcomes.
Assess third-party delivery marketplace performance (order volume, average order value, growth rate by partner, etc.) to inform promotional and commission-strategy trade-off discussions with Marketing and Finance.
Incorporate channel-specific seasonality and digital/off-premise growth trajectories into forecasting models rather than treating digital and delivery channels as a flat add-on to in-store trends.
Partner with Consumer Insights to incorporate industry trends, competitive dynamics, and consumer behavior into performance narratives.
Build and maintain executive-ready dashboards and reporting with intent-based channel groupings, YoY comparisons, and Company/Franchise/DMA views, using data and business rules maintained by IT.
Support test-and-learn initiatives — including A/B tests, controlled pilots, etc. — by designing analysis plans and reading out results for marketing, pricing, and menu strategies.
Flag data anomalies or inconsistencies encountered during analysis through EPL's established data governance process, routing issues to IT rather than resolving them directly.
Synthesize complex data into clear, compelling narratives and present findings and recommendations to Marketing and cross-functional leadership.
Perform ad hoc analysis and other duties as assigned to support evolving business needs and priorities.