Regional Operations Director

Regional Operations Director

Location: Field Based, Hybrid

Salary: £85,000 - £95,000 per annum

Contract: Full-Time, Permanent

Are you a strategic and driven leader passionate about delivering exceptional client experiences, operational excellence, and high-performing teams? We're looking for a Regional Operations Director to lead a patch of diverse and excellent venues across the UK, with a strong focus on service delivery, commercial success, and people development.

About the Role:

As our Regional Operations Director, you will be responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational management of multiple venues, covering a diverse portfolio of historical and cultural destinations. You'll play a pivotal role in developing and maintaining strong client relationships, ensuring contract performance, and fostering a high-performance culture.

You will lead remotely, but will remain closely connected to the on-site teams, with regular visits to each site required. You will strive for operational excellence with teams and clients, drive continuous improvement, commercial results, and sustainable service delivery.

What We Offer:

• 27 days holiday + bank holidays
• Superb car allowance package
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Competitive pension contribution offer
• Comprehensive private medical + health care benefits
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay
• Hybrid working flexibility
• Free staff meals whilst working on site
• A supportive, values-driven culture within cohesive teams
• Opportunities for growth and development within a national business
  A chance to make a meaningful impact in a continuously growing sector

Key Responsibilities:

Client-Focused Leadership

• Champion outstanding customer and client experiences
• Build and maintain sustainable partnerships aligned with client values
• Drive service excellence and continuous improvement to ensure contract retention

People Leadership

• Create and nurture high performing, engaged, and empowered teams
• Champion diversity, wellbeing, and inclusion initiatives across all contracts
• Manage team performance effectively through structured processes and development planning

Commercial & Financial Accountability

• Own and deliver the P&L across multiple venues
• Interpret and challenge financial data to improve performance and profitability
• Ensure full compliance with contractual and commercial obligations

Operational Excellence

• Embed a culture of safety, sustainability, and innovation
• Lead with visibility and uphold a zero-tolerance culture for accidents and unsafe practices
  Use data and technology to monitor KPIs and improve service delivery

What We're Looking For:

Essential Experience & Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience, from a similar role, ideally from a contract catering background
• Proven experience managing a complex multi-site, multi-stakeholder portfolio
• Demonstrated success in delivering financial, operational, and people-based outcomes
• Strong understanding of contract management, and customer service excellence

Leadership Style & Personal Attributes

• Confident, courageous, and curious—able to lead through complexity and change
• Strategic thinker with a growth mindset and a passion for innovation
• Collaborative, empathetic leader who inspires teams and engages stakeholders at all levels
  Excellent communicator, negotiator, and decision-maker

Ready to Lead with Drive & Ambition?

Apply today and help shape the future of key venue contracts, with a company committed to excellence, inclusion, and innovation.

About Us:

Restaurant Associates is a leading premium hospitality provider with an ethos drawn from our history of fine and high-quality dining in London and New York.

Within our venues team, we provide catering and hospitality services to some of the most iconic visitor attractions and destinations in the UK including the Imperial War Museum London, Glyndebourne Opera House, Knebworth House, Design Museum, Whipsnade Zoo and many more. Within these amazing venues we operate a host of bespoke cafés and restaurants, as well as delivering private events ranging from small meetings to large-scale ground events of up to 1000 people. You can find a full list of our venues on our website.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive, diverse, fun, and dynamic place to work with opportunities to collaborate with a wide range of teams plus a commitment to putting our people first. Restaurant Associates is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds. As a business, we are committed to sustainability led practices and are proud to have achieved 3 stars with the Sustainable Restaurant Association's Food Made Good Programme.

Job Reference: com/0611/290400/ /SU #RA Venues