Operations Manager - Northeast Region

The Yay Company • Philadelphia, PA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Yay Company is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations Manager to own the performance of our Northeast markets across Philadelphia, Delaware, the Lehigh Valley, Long Island, and Connecticut. This is a field-first role — you are not desk-bound. You are in your markets, at your schools, and with your teams on a rotating basis, ensuring every location runs to Yay's standards and every school feels great about the program.
This region operates primarily through Yay-produced hub kitchens, meaning you are managing real food production, kitchen teams, and distribution logistics — not just coordinating third-party vendors. You will be responsible for standing up new kitchen locations, managing Kitchen Managers and Lunch Coordinators across multiple markets, and owning the financial performance of your region.
This role is based in Philadelphia. Your strongest and most frequent physical presence will be in the Philadelphia and Delaware corridor, with regular rotation through Lehigh Valley. Long Island and Connecticut are managed by strong, self-sufficient Kitchen Managers — your role there is strategic oversight, accountability, and periodic site visits rather than weekly presence. The ability to lead remote teams with high trust and clear expectations is as important as your ability to show up in person.
This is a high-accountability, high-visibility role at a company that is scaling fast. If you love being in the field, own outcomes rather than activities, and thrive in an environment where every day is different, this role is for you.

Requirements

• 5-7 years of experience in multi-unit operations management, ideally in food service, hospitality, or a similarly fast-paced field environment
• Experience managing kitchen or food production operations, understanding food cost, labor scheduling, and kitchen operations at margin
• Proven ability to manage remote teams effectively
• Strong people management skills, including leading field teams, holding individuals accountable, and developing talent
• Financially fluent, able to read a P&L, understand direct margin, and connect operational decisions to financial outcomes
• Self-directed and highly organized, capable of managing multiple markets across a large geography
• Comfortable with ambiguity and growth in a scaling environment
• ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire
• Must be based in Philadelphia or within commuting distance
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation, requiring regular travel across markets

Responsibilities

• Accountable for the direct margin of every school in your region, actively managing food cost, labor, waste, and sales.
• Own the labor budget for your region, building and managing schedules for Kitchen Managers and ensuring correct staffing based on production volume.
• Approve overtime, monitor clock-in compliance daily, and hold the team accountable for punctuality and task completion.
• Own the sales number for your markets, understanding participation rates and proactively addressing barriers to sales.
• Oversee weekly and monthly inventory counts across all schools, investigating any variance before it impacts the margin report.
• Manage remote markets (Long Island and Connecticut) by setting standards, maintaining communication, conducting periodic site visits, and ensuring accountability.
• Own the end-to-end launch process for new kitchen schools in your region, including health department coordination, equipment procurement, staffing, and operational setup.
• Directly manage Kitchen Managers and be accountable for all ground-level staff, setting clear expectations, developing the team, addressing performance issues, and building a culture of ownership.
• Maintain field presence concentrated in core markets (Philadelphia, Delaware, Lehigh Valley) with strategic visits to remote markets.

Benefits

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• A high-growth, mission-driven company
• Real career growth as we expand into new markets and continue building our leadership team

What This Job Offers

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