Operations Manager - Restaurant Operations & Development

About the role

Shape Restaurant Group, a growing healthy casual dining restaurant group, is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations Manager in Al Ain. The role leads and improves both Front of House (FOH) and Back of House (BOH) operations and goes beyond supervision: the successful candidate builds operational systems from the ground up, develops SOPs, sets performance standards and creates a scalable restaurant operation.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, document and improve SOPs for FOH and BOH, including operational manuals, workflows, checklists, quality standards and control procedures; run regular operational audits and corrective action plans
• Set guest service standards, train and coach restaurant teams, and improve service efficiency, table turnover and order accuracy
• Work with the Executive Chef on kitchen procedures, food safety, hygiene, inventory and waste reduction
• Build structured training programs, competency assessments and performance evaluations
• Monitor operational KPIs (guest satisfaction, service speed, food quality, labor productivity, food waste, cost efficiency), optimize staffing and scheduling, and report to General Management
• Support new restaurant openings, menu launches and operational readiness, and build standards replicable across locations

Required profile

• 6+ years in restaurant or F&B operations, including at least 3 years in restaurant management or multi-unit leadership
• Fluent Arabic (mandatory) with strong written and spoken English
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing FOH and BOH SOPs, with examples of measurable improvements
• Previous UAE/GCC restaurant experience strongly preferred
• Preferred: premium casual dining, healthy dining or multi-unit group experience, and involvement in restaurant openings or concept development

Required skills

• Knowledge of HACCP principles, food safety and kitchen workflows
• Cost control, inventory management, labor productivity and operational budgeting
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, reporting tools, restaurant POS systems and operational documentation