Operations Manager

About Sixth Sense

Sixth Sense is a dynamic hospitality group that creates and develops unique concepts and international franchises across the Kurdistan Region. Our portfolio covers fine dining, fast-casual restaurants, cafés and entertainment venues. Everything we open aims to raise the standard of the local food and beverage scene, with the highest standards of product quality, service and atmosphere. We design each project to delight and inspire our guests and to contribute positively to the community.

Role Purpose

As Operations Manager, you will lead the day-to-day performance of every venue and franchise brand in the Sixth Sense portfolio. You will align front-of-house and back-of-house operations across several concepts, so that every guest receives a consistent, high-quality experience. You will also make sure every venue meets franchise standards and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) requirements and delivers on its financial targets. Working closely with leadership, Finance and Supply Chain, you will drive service quality, operational efficiency and financial discipline across the full portfolio. This senior leadership role is for someone who can run a complex multi-brand operation and build the next generation of venue leaders.

Key Responsibilities

Multi-Venue Operational Leadership

• Lead front-of-house and back-of-house operations across all group venues and franchise brands.

• Set and approve staffing plans, standard operating procedures, budgets and performance targets for each venue and brand.

• Run regular venue visits and operational audits, with clear follow-up actions for venue teams.

• Manage operational escalations and resolve issues quickly across all sites.

Financial Performance and Cost Control

• Monitor key financial performance indicators for every venue, including sales, food and beverage cost, labour cost and profitability.

• Work with venue leaders to build and deliver annual budgets and monthly forecasts.

• Find and act on opportunities to grow revenue, improve margins and reduce waste.

• Work with the Finance Lead to review monthly results and agree corrective actions where venues fall behind target.

Quality, Food Safety and Compliance

• Make sure food safety, hygiene and service quality standards are applied consistently across all concepts, in line with ISO 22000 and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points principles.

• Work with the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Specialist on inspection schedules, internal audits and corrective action plans.

• Ensure full compliance with franchise agreements, brand-specific operating standards and franchisor audits for each concept.

• Keep all venue licences, permits and health and safety requirements up to date.

Guest Experience and Brand Standards

• Protect each brand's identity, service style and guest experience standards across every venue.

• Track guest satisfaction through feedback, reviews and mystery guest results, and turn the findings into improvement plans.

• Lead cross-brand operational reviews to find performance gaps and share best practices between venues.

Supply Chain and Resource Planning

• Work with the Supply Chain Lead to secure reliable supply, consistent product quality and good purchasing terms across venues.

• Oversee inventory control, stock counts and waste management.

• Plan resources for peak seasons, events and special occasions.

People Leadership and Development

• Direct and coordinate Head Chefs, Kitchen Assistants, the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Specialist, and external front-of-house and back-of-house management contractors across each brand.

• Build a strong leadership pipeline by identifying, coaching and developing future Head Chefs and venue managers.

• Work with Human Resources on recruitment, training, performance management and retention across all venues.

• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork and service excellence.

Reporting and Continuous Improvement

• Provide regular performance reports and dashboards to leadership, covering financial, quality, guest and people results.

• Support new venue openings by working with the Pre-Opening team on a smooth handover into stable operations.

• Keep improving processes, systems and standard operating procedures across the portfolio.

How Success Is Measured

• Each venue meets its sales and profitability targets.

• Food, beverage and labour costs stay within budget.

• Venues achieve strong scores in franchisor audits, food safety inspections and internal quality audits.

• Guest satisfaction and online review ratings improve across all brands.

• Key venue roles have ready successors, and staff turnover falls.

• Operational issues are resolved quickly, with no repeat findings.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• A bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration or a related field.

• Preferred: food safety certification (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, Level 3 or above) and a recognised hospitality management or leadership qualification.

Experience

• At least 10 years of experience in hospitality or food and beverage operations, including at least [5] years in a multi-unit, area or group operations leadership role.

• A proven record of leading several venues and brands at the same time, ideally including international franchise brands.

• Strong experience managing profit and loss for multiple venues.

• Experience working with franchisors and passing franchise audits.

• Experience in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq or the wider Middle East is an advantage.

Technical Skills

• Advanced use of Excel and reporting dashboards for financial and operational analysis.

• Working knowledge of point-of-sale, inventory, recipe costing and scheduling systems.

• Strong understanding of kitchen operations, menu engineering and service flow.

Key Competencies

• Strong ability to monitor, analyse and improve financial performance across several venues and brands.

• A relentless focus on service quality and a consistent guest experience.

• In-depth knowledge of food safety practices and ISO compliance requirements.

• Strong cross-functional leadership across front-of-house, back-of-house, Finance and Supply Chain teams.

• Able to protect franchise standards and brand consistency across different concepts.

• Strong people leadership, with experience managing Head Chefs, supervisors and external contractors across sites.

• Sound judgement and calm, effective escalation management in a fast-paced, multi-site environment.

Languages

• Fluent English is required. Kurdish and/or Arabic is strongly preferred.

Working Conditions

• Willing to work extended hours, including evenings, weekends and holidays when needed.

• Regular travel between venues.