Franchise Operations Consultant

If you're looking for a purpose and not just a job, join the Smoothie King team and turn your purpose into a fulfilling passion!

Since pioneering the first nutritional Smoothie franchise in 1973, our mission has always been to inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Now, with over 1300 stores and counting, we have been ranked as the #1 Fastest-Growing concept in its category and #15 on Entrepreneur Magazine's "Franchise 500" list in 2024! We've grown to become the largest nutritional Smoothie bar in the nation, with a simple recipe for success: Hire the best people, use the best ingredients and blend with a purpose!

Overview

The Franchise Operations Consultant (FOC) is a brand champion charged with executing business strategic initiatives that drive growth and excellence in operational initiatives. Specifically, the FOC will have an assigned territory and will be responsible/accountable for the consistent execution of brand standards across all franchised locations, including standards for food safety, product quality, guest service, and store ambiance. The FOC is the subject matter expert and collaborates with our Franchisee partners to help them identify the methods and tools required to grow sales, profitability, and excellence of operations. The FOC territory will consist of approximately 30-50 Franchisees.

• Develop, coach, and mentor Franchisees; provide business and operational guidance while leading through influence. Recommend strategies to assist franchisees in establishing resourceful solutions to create a superior operation. Gain commitment for correction and be an active partner or contact, as needed, for the Franchisee to be successful.

• Collaborate with Franchisees to teach and enforce the importance of and compliance with all operating procedures (including brand standards, P&L and COGS/Labor management), presenting a logical and compelling case for following company recommendations.

• Conduct gap analysis between desired and current state of expressed goals, based on business planning, knowledge of basic business operations, guest satisfaction, and marketing effectiveness; make recommendations on areas for improvement.

• Lead analysis discussions on financial and operational KPI's (P&L, COGS, inventory management, labor productivity, etc.) to track and improve business performance; highlight potential opportunities and develop strategies to ensure resolution.

• Diagnose and remove barriers affecting guest experience, store performance, and profit; lead the strategy on goal setting and provide support with development, implementation, and measurement of success.

• Conduct onsite reviews and audits (Prime visits) of Franchise stores measuring performance against corporate operational initiatives and ensure franchisees understand and uphold brand standards (Food Safety, Quality, Service, Cleanliness), operational metrics, expectations, and brand standards (fast, accurate, friendly, etc.).

• Monitor and analyze guest surveys, feedback, review sites, and social media for strengths and opportunities within territory. Create, implement, and follow through on action plans to improve overall guest experience.

• Follow-up on all new store openings within your designed territory, ensuring the hand-off from development, to store trainer, and to operations occurred with excellence and the store has been set up for success. Conduct New Store training in special circumstances when Trainer is not available.

• Coordinate with leadership and the internal legal team and support the default process for stores that are not upholding Smoothie King standards.

• Partner with Field Marketing team to provide DMA level leadership and implement tactics to drive sales, transactions, and new guest acquisition.

• Champion the Smoothie King mission and vision for product, service, and guest satisfaction; ensure delivery and alignment among the Franchise system.

• Effectively plan and schedule travel calendar to gain efficiencies and utilize all systems and tools needed to execute highly effective visits.

Responsibilities

• Demonstrated ability and experience to consult with and influence business owners.

• Advanced knowledge of business operations and consultative approaches; experience guiding leaders to make better business decisions.

• Proven ability to deliver results, effectively influencing decisions through strong negotiation skills.

• Ability to plan and set priorities to achieve business objectives. Outstanding accountability and focus skills.

• Strong business acumen skills (financial review and assessment skills, use of competitive data, etc.).

• Outstanding interpersonal skills with an emphasis on building partnerships with internal and external partners; naturally personable and friendly attitude in the face of adversity.

• Self-starter with ability to work independently and deliver results with minimal supervision or guidance.

• Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Promote the culture, values, and mission of Smoothie King.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate and/or graduate degree, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.

• Five (5) years of direct experience in a field operations-oriented leadership role within the food service industry or comparable multi-unit retail industry. Direct experience within branded franchising or franchise owner entity highly preferred.

• Intermediate to advanced experience with P&L analysis, and inventory and operations management.

• Intermediate to advanced computer experience including MS Office (Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint). Familiarity with Restaurant Magic/Data Central or comparable store back-office tool is recommended.

• Personal passion for fitness is a plus.

What We Offer

Join our team and enjoy an unusually fun work environment with an upbeat atmosphere and great team members. It is our purpose to maintain an environment our team members can brag about, where our focus and belief are built on our core values: We Are Better Together, We Keep Evolving, We Live Our Mission, We Do the Right Thing, and We Focus and Finish. With our core values at the forefront of every decision we make, it allows for collaboration, passion, and a no-limits mindset when it comes to your future! We keep our team happy with our great benefits package, free smoothies, flexible work schedules, office lunches and parties, monthly fitness challenges, free gym access, and more fun activities to make Smoothie King a happy and healthy place to work.

Our Mission

Inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle.

Our Vision

To be an integral part of every health and fitness journey.

Our Values

We: Do the Right Thing

We: Are Better Together

We: Live the Mission

We: Keep Evolving

We: Focus and Finish

At Smoothie King, when we say inspire people, we mean everyone. We champion a diverse and inclusive workforce that is representative of the guests we serve. We blend the unique members of our organization, celebrating what is both common and different to grow better together and Rule the Day. The foundation of our diversity efforts is closely tied to our core values, which includes "We Are Better Together" and "We Do the Right Thing". We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, or medical condition or disability. If you are a person with a disability and you need assistance in applying for a position with Smoothie King, please call our Human Resources Department at 214-935-8900 and direct assistance will be provided.