Cafe Operations Manager
Frontside Coffee Roasters
Position Overview
The Cafe Operations Manager is responsible for the overall operation and performance of Frontside Coffee Roasters.
This is the senior day-to-day leadership position within the business. The Operations Manager works closely with ownership, the Assistant Manager, shift leaders, and the entire Frontside team to ensure the café and roastery operate efficiently, profitably, and consistently while maintaining the quality, culture, and customer experience Frontside has built over the past 28 years.
The Operations Manager is ultimately accountable for the operation. This does not mean personally handling every task or solving every problem. It means making sure responsibilities are clearly assigned, problems are addressed, standards are maintained, and the right people have the training and support they need to succeed.
Success in this position is measured by the performance of the business as a whole—not simply by how much work the Operations Manager personally completes.
Position Structure
The Operations Manager will generally work three floor shifts and two office/administrative days each week.
Floor shifts keep the Operations Manager directly connected to employees, customers, product quality, workflow, and the daily realities of the café.
Office days provide dedicated time to manage the parts of the business that require greater focus, including financial performance, labor, cost of goods, inventory, purchasing, employee development, scheduling, vendor relationships, online sales, projects, and long-term planning.
Office days do not remove the Operations Manager from responsibility for the café. The Operations Manager remains the person ultimately responsible for the operation throughout the workweek and should remain available when situations require their involvement.
Leadership & Team Management
The Operations Manager is responsible for creating a well-trained, accountable, and positive team.
This includes hiring and onboarding employees, developing staff, coaching performance, addressing problems promptly, setting clear expectations, and ensuring Frontside's standards are understood and consistently followed.
The Operations Manager should be approachable and empathetic while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. Employees should feel comfortable bringing forward questions, concerns, and ideas, while also understanding that expectations and accountability are an important part of working on a strong team.
Delegation is essential. The Operations Manager should develop employees who can take ownership, exercise good judgment, and solve problems without constant supervision.
The Assistant Manager works closely with the Operations Manager and will share responsibility for many aspects of daily operations. The Assistant Manager is an important leadership partner; however, final accountability for the overall operation rests with the Operations Manager.
Daily Operations
The Operations Manager is responsible for maintaining a consistently high standard throughout the café and roastery.
This includes monitoring product quality, customer service, cleanliness, workflow, equipment, inventory, staffing, communication, and the overall condition of the business.
When problems arise, the Operations Manager is responsible for making sure they are addressed. Some problems will be delegated to the Assistant Manager, shift leaders, or other employees. Others will require direct involvement. Good judgment means knowing the difference while never assuming an important issue is being handled without confirming that it is.
The Operations Manager should spend enough time on the floor to understand how the business is actually operating, identify problems early, coach employees, and remain connected to the customer experience.
Financial Performance
The Operations Manager is responsible for helping maintain and improve the financial health of Frontside.
Sales, labor, cost of goods, waste, and profitability should be actively monitored rather than simply reviewed after the fact.
Sales and labor performance should be compared with prior-year results and current goals. Cost of goods requires particularly close attention as supplier pricing can change quickly. Inventory levels, purchasing decisions, portion control, waste, and product mix should be reviewed regularly to identify opportunities for improvement.
When financial performance changes, the Operations Manager should investigate why before reacting. External factors such as weather, tourism, local events, economic conditions, and overall business activity in the Mount Washington Valley should be considered alongside internal factors such as staffing, quality, waste, pricing, and operational consistency.
The expectation is not simply to report numbers to ownership. The Operations Manager should understand what is driving those numbers and take appropriate action.
Inventory, Purchasing & Vendor Management
The Operations Manager oversees inventory levels and purchasing to ensure the business has what it needs without unnecessary overstocking or waste.
This includes maintaining strong vendor relationships, monitoring pricing, evaluating products and suppliers, resolving delivery or quality issues, and identifying opportunities to improve purchasing decisions.
The Operations Manager should understand what is selling, what is not, and how purchasing decisions affect both cash flow and profitability.
Quality & Waste
Protecting product quality is a fundamental responsibility of this position.
Coffee, espresso preparation, milk steaming and pouring, food, retail products, and overall service standards should be monitored consistently.
Waste should be identified and addressed through better systems and training. Recurring issues such as over-pouring milk, overdosing espresso, poor inventory rotation, or inconsistent preparation should first be evaluated as potential training or process problems rather than immediately treated as individual employee failures.
When standards begin to drift, the Operations Manager is responsible for correcting them.
Training & Employee Development
Training does not end when an employee completes onboarding.
The Operations Manager is responsible for maintaining standards through ongoing coaching, retraining, tastings, product education, and development opportunities.
Frontside's training lab should be actively used as both an employee-development resource and a potential revenue-generating asset through public classes and other programs approved by ownership.
The goal is to develop employees who understand not only how Frontside does things, but why those standards matter.
Growth & Business Development
The Operations Manager should actively look for opportunities to strengthen the business.
Particular attention should be given to opportunities that can grow profitable revenue, including online coffee sales, merchandise, subscriptions, gift programs, seasonal offerings, classes, and other initiatives approved by ownership.
New ideas are encouraged, but they should be thoughtfully evaluated before being presented. Recommendations should consider expected demand, required investment, staffing, existing resources, operational impact, risk, and expected financial return.
Whenever possible, the Operations Manager should first consider whether Frontside can create additional value from assets it already has—including equipment, space, staff expertise, customer relationships, and brand reputation—before recommending additional investment.
Systems & Continuous Improvement
The Operations Manager should continually look for ways to make Frontside easier and more efficient to operate.
Recurring problems should not simply be solved repeatedly. The Operations Manager should determine why they continue happening and, whenever possible, improve the system behind them.
Better systems should improve consistency, reduce waste, make expectations clearer, support employees, and allow the business to operate effectively without requiring constant intervention from one person.
Communication With Ownership
The Operations Manager works closely with ownership and is expected to communicate openly about the performance and needs of the business.
Problems should be raised early rather than after they have become larger issues. Recommendations should be supported by facts and thoughtful reasoning, particularly when they involve significant spending, staffing changes, new programs, or changes that could materially affect the business.
The Operations Manager is expected to exercise independent judgment within the responsibilities of the position while recognizing when a decision requires ownership's involvement or approval.
What Success Looks Like
A successful Operations Manager creates a business that performs well without requiring them to personally manage every detail.
The team is well trained and understands what is expected. The Assistant Manager and shift leaders are trusted and capable. Product quality and customer service remain consistently high. Labor and cost of goods are actively managed. Waste is controlled. Problems are addressed rather than allowed to linger. New opportunities are identified and thoughtfully developed.
Most importantly, the Operations Manager understands that every part of Frontside is connected. Employees, customers, quality, systems, sales, costs, and profitability cannot be managed independently of one another.
The responsibility of the Operations Manager is to understand the whole business, lead the people responsible for running it, and make decisions that support the long-term health of Frontside Coffee Roasters.
There will be a 7 day trial period prior to hiring.
Compensation:
- Competitive salary based on experience
- 401(k) plan
- Paid time off (PTO) and sick leave-15 days PTO/ 5 days sick leave
- Opportunities for travel to origin, professional growth and development
- Opportunity for creative control of menu items and drink creations
- Staff perks (free coffee on shift) discounts on food, coffee and retail coffee. Ability to extend staff perks to one person of your choice.
Relocation: Assistance with finding housing with a possible housing stipend for the right candidate.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $60,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
- After reading the entire job description, what resonates with you?
Education:
Experience:
- Management: 2 years (Required)
- extensive spreadsheet: 2 years (Required)
- Profit & loss: 2 years (Required)
- Square Register back end: 1 year (Preferred)
- Shopify back end: 1 year (Preferred)
- Quickbooks DESKTOP: 1 year (Preferred)
Ability to Relocate:
- North Conway, NH 03860: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person
