(Grocery) Regional Director of Cut Produce

GBC Food Services, LLC•Charlotte, NC

1d•Remote

About The Position

GBC Food Services is seeking a highly capable, execution-focused Regional Director of Cut Produce Merchandising and Operations to lead operational performance, franchisee success, client partnership, and brand execution across a multi-region portfolio of prepared foods franchise kiosks. This role is responsible for driving consistent execution across assigned markets by partnering with franchisees, field leaders, host-location clients, internal operations teams, Quality Assurance, Training, Finance, Human Resources, and senior leadership. The Regional Director will serve as a key business leader responsible for improving sales performance, protecting food safety and brand standards, strengthening franchisee and client relationships, and ensuring field teams execute with urgency, discipline, and accountability. The ideal candidate is a strong multi-unit operator with deep experience in food service, franchise operations, retail food programs, or prepared foods environments. This leader must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, field-based business where success depends on operational discipline, strong relationship management, data-driven decision-making, and the ability to influence results through both direct and indirect leadership.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Food Service Management, Hospitality, Operations, Retail Management, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
8+ years of progressive experience in food service operations, prepared foods, retail food, franchise operations, hospitality, convenience retail, grocery food programs, or multi-unit operations.
5+ years of leadership experience overseeing multi-unit, regional, district, or field operations.
Strong knowledge of food safety, sanitation, quality assurance, operational controls, and brand standards.
Demonstrated ability to lead through influence in a franchise, operator, contractor, or matrixed business model.
Proven success improving sales, operational consistency, customer experience, and team performance.
Experience analyzing business metrics and translating data into practical field execution plans.
Strong communication, coaching, conflict resolution, and relationship management skills.
Ability to travel frequently throughout assigned markets.
Proficiency with business systems, reporting tools, Microsoft Office, and operational performance dashboards.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting franchisees, licensees, independent operators, or third-party operating partners.
Experience working with grocery retailers, host-location clients, or national retail partners.
Experience with sushi, deli, produce, grab-and-go, commissary, convenience food, or prepared foods programs.
Food safety certification, such as ServSafe Manager or equivalent.
Experience opening new locations, stabilizing distressed markets, or leading turnaround plans.
Prior experience working in a fast-growth, multi-state, field-based organization.
Experience partnering with senior leadership on regional strategy, labor planning, client escalations, and operational improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

Lead regional operational performance across assigned prepared foods franchise kiosks and regional markets.
Ensure consistent execution of company standards related to food safety, product quality, merchandising, sanitation, customer experience, staffing readiness, and brand presentation.
Conduct regular field visits to evaluate kiosk performance, observe execution, identify gaps, and support corrective action.
Partner with franchisees, operators, regional managers, program directors, and internal teams to ensure locations operate to GBC standards.
Establish clear expectations for execution, follow-up, and accountability across assigned markets.
Identify underperforming locations and lead structured improvement plans to stabilize operations.
Ensure field leaders are actively reviewing store conditions, franchisee execution, client feedback, sales trends, and compliance risks.
Serve as a strategic and operational partner to franchisees and approved operators within the assigned region.
Provide guidance, coaching, and business support to help franchisees improve execution, sales, customer experience, and compliance.
Monitor franchisee performance and identify trends related to staffing, ordering, production, product availability, shrink, service quality, and store-level execution.
Support onboarding, development, and performance improvement of franchisees and operators.
Partner with internal teams to escalate franchisee concerns, operational barriers, training needs, or compliance risks.
Help franchisees understand and execute company standards while maintaining appropriate franchisor-franchisee boundaries.
Support conversion, stabilization, and growth initiatives related to new and existing franchise locations.
Champion food safety, sanitation, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance across all assigned locations.
Partner with Quality Assurance and Compliance teams to ensure locations follow applicable food safety requirements, company procedures, and client expectations.
Monitor inspection results, audit findings, incident reports, complaints, and corrective action plans.
Ensure field teams respond quickly and appropriately to food safety concerns, quality issues, customer complaints, and host-client escalations.
Reinforce proper product handling, labeling, temperature control, cleanliness, rotation, display standards, and sanitation practices.
Identify recurring food safety or quality trends and partner with cross-functional teams to implement sustainable solutions.
Protect the GBC brand by ensuring consistent execution across product quality, appearance, service, and customer experience.
Analyze regional sales, margin, shrink, labor, productivity, customer feedback, audit results, and other key performance indicators.
Identify growth opportunities and develop action plans to improve sales, profitability, and operational efficiency.
Partner with Finance, Operations, and field leadership to evaluate location performance and recommend corrective actions.
Review underperforming locations and lead root-cause analysis to determine whether issues are related to staffing, training, product mix, ordering, execution, client environment, or franchisee performance.
Support sales-driving initiatives, promotional execution, merchandising standards, and local market opportunities.
Ensure regional leaders understand performance expectations and are using data to make timely business decisions.
Provide regular performance updates to senior leadership, including wins, risks, trends, and action plans.
Build and maintain strong working relationships with host-location clients, retailer partners, and key field contacts.
Serve as an escalation point for regional client concerns, operational issues, service gaps, and execution challenges.
Partner with internal leadership to ensure client commitments are understood, communicated, and executed.
Support business reviews, market visits, and client meetings as needed.
Ensure field leaders communicate professionally, timely, and effectively with client partners.
Proactively identify client relationship risks and work cross-functionally to resolve issues before they impact business continuity.
Represent GBC with professionalism, credibility, and strong business judgment.
Lead, coach, and develop assigned regional field leaders and operational support teams.
Set clear expectations for performance, accountability, communication, field presence, and issue resolution.
Build a culture of ownership, urgency, follow-through, and continuous improvement.
Evaluate regional talent capabilities and identify development needs, succession opportunities, and performance concerns.
Partner with HR and senior leadership on workforce planning, performance management, talent development, and organizational structure needs.
Ensure field leaders are trained, aligned, and equipped to support franchisee success and client execution.
Model leadership behaviors consistent with GBC's values, business priorities, and standards of professionalism.
Work closely with Operations, Quality Assurance, Training, Franchise Development, Finance, HR, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Client Relations.
Translate company objectives into clear regional execution plans.
Support new location openings, transitions, market launches, franchisee changes, and operational stabilization plans.
Partner with internal stakeholders to remove barriers impacting field execution.
Provide practical field feedback to improve programs, processes, training materials, product offerings, and operational standards.
Support enterprise initiatives related to growth, standardization, compliance, and profitability.
Identify and escalate operational, food safety, franchisee, client, staffing, financial, and brand risks.
Ensure corrective action plans are documented, tracked, and completed timely.
Maintain appropriate records related to field visits, performance reviews, escalations, audits, and action plans.
Support compliance with company policies, client requirements, food safety regulations, and operational procedures.
Exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive business, franchisee, employee, or client matters.
Maintain confidentiality of company information, business strategies, client information, franchisee data, and operational records.