SR MANAGER, FIELD TRAINING

El Pollo Loco•Costa Mesa, CA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Sr. Manager, Field Training leads El Pollo Loco’s field-based training function and is accountable for the consistent execution, effectiveness, and continuous improvement of restaurant training across company and franchise operations. This role leads, coaches, and develops the field training team, including the Restaurant Opening function, while partnering closely with Operations and Training leadership to build restaurant and leadership capability. As the senior field training leader, this role sets expectations for training quality, field execution, leadership development, and operational readiness across markets. The Sr. Manager, Field Training ensures Certified Training Restaurants (CTRs), Certified Training General Managers (GTMs), management training, new restaurant openings, franchise training, and company program rollouts are delivered to a consistent standard and produce measurable business results.

Requirements

High School diploma required; BA/BS in Business Administration, Hospitality, Learning & Development, or a related field preferred.
Progressive restaurant operations and field training experience required, including experience leading and developing leaders across multiple restaurants or markets.
Prior experience managing direct reports and leading a field-based team required.
Demonstrated experience with restaurant management training, Certified Training Restaurant programs, new restaurant openings, franchise training, or comparable multi-unit training programs strongly preferred.
Strong restaurant operations background with the credibility to coach General Managers, Area Leaders, franchise operators, and other field leaders.
Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
ServSafe certification required.
Proven ability to lead, coach, develop, and hold other leaders accountable for results.
Strong knowledge of adult learning, field training, on-the-job coaching, classroom facilitation, and eLearning application.
Ability to translate business priorities and operational performance gaps into practical training strategies and field execution plans.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with the ability to use data and field observations to identify trends and recommend action.
Excellent communication and influencing skills with the ability to build credibility with Operations, franchise partners, restaurant leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders.
Strong planning, organization, and resource-management skills; ability to prioritize competing, time-sensitive needs across multiple markets.
Ability to exercise independent judgment on matters of significance to the company and confidently make fact-based decisions.
High level of proficiency with technology, including Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, learning and database applications, and digital collaboration tools.
Ability to work weekends and extended schedules as business needs require.
Ability to travel frequently to company and franchise restaurant locations, including out-of-state travel by car or airplane.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, develop, and manage the performance of Field Training Managers, Restaurant Opening Leaders, and other assigned training roles.
Set clear expectations, priorities, performance standards, and development plans for the field training team; recognize strong performance and address gaps promptly.
Establish a consistent field training strategy and operating rhythm across markets, balancing restaurant openings, management training, franchise support, program rollouts, and operational training needs.
Conduct regular field observations and provide real-time coaching and feedback to field training leaders on training execution, leadership presence, business judgment, and partnership with Operations.
Build bench strength and succession readiness within the field training team through onboarding, coaching, development, and stretch assignments.
Allocate field training resources based on business priorities, market needs, opening complexity, and team capability.
Provide strategic oversight of the Certified Training Restaurant (CTR) and Certified Training General Manager (GTM) programs, including certification standards, audits, performance expectations, and continuous improvement.
Ensure management training programs for SLITs, MITs, and other restaurant leaders are executed consistently and that transition meetings and handoffs establish clear expectations for continued development.
Evaluate the effectiveness of field training programs, training restaurants, facilitators, tools, and learning experiences; identify trends and implement improvements.
Partner with Training and Operations to identify capability and skill gaps and develop field-based solutions, leadership classes, workshops, coaching plans, and other interventions.
Ensure training records, certifications, trainee progress, program assessments, and field follow-up are accurate, timely, and actionable.
Maintain strong knowledge of El Pollo Loco operating procedures, training programs, and industry best practices, translating field insights into recommendations for improvement.
Provide leadership and oversight for the Restaurant Opening team and new restaurant opening training strategy, ensuring openings are staffed, supported, and executed to established training and operational standards.
Directly supervise and develop the Sr. Restaurant Opening Leader, ensuring the Restaurant Opening Leader team is effectively deployed, coached, and prepared for the opening pipeline.
Partner with Operations, Training, HR, Facilities, and other cross-functional teams to forecast opening needs and ensure training readiness across staffing, systems, food safety, compliance, leadership capability, and operational execution.
Ensure lessons learned and best practices from new restaurant openings and restaurant stabilizations are captured and incorporated into field training tools, standards, and playbooks.
Oversee training support for new and existing franchise operators and new-market franchise restaurant openings, ensuring alignment with EPL standards and effective partnership with franchise leadership.
Partner with Training, Operations, and cross-functional leaders to plan and execute company training rollouts, ensuring field leaders understand the program, can coach it effectively, and drive restaurant-level adoption.
Provide field perspective and subject matter expertise during the design and development of training programs, materials, manuals, visual aids, eLearning scripts, videos, knowledge assessments, and implementation tools.
Establish field feedback loops to assess adoption, identify execution barriers, and recommend adjustments that improve training effectiveness and operational results.
Consult with Operations leaders to prioritize field training needs and deploy the team against the highest-impact opportunities.
Serve as the primary field training partner to Operations leadership, regularly communicating training performance, restaurant capability needs, opening readiness, risks, and recommended actions.
Use observations, audits, trainee results, restaurant performance indicators, and stakeholder feedback to assess training effectiveness and guide decisions.
Ensure all field training programs and activities support company standards for food safety, workplace safety, hygiene, timekeeping, legal compliance, and EPL STRONG Values.
Model a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous learning, Loco Love, and high standards in every interaction with restaurant teams, franchise partners, and support-center partners.
Perform other activities, duties, or responsibilities as assigned by the Sr. Director, Training.