Front of House Operations Manager

About L’épi Artisan Bakery

L’épi Artisan Bakery is a growing French-inspired bakery café brand born from a passion for artisanal baking. We pride ourselves on handcrafting breads and pastries using traditional, sustainable methods and the finest ingredients. With multiple locations across Canberra’s suburbs, we bring a slice of France to our community every day. Our team is committed to quality, creativity, and warm hospitality, making each of our bakery cafés a welcoming haven filled with the aroma of fresh bread and coffee. If you value excellence, authenticity, and community, you’ll feel right at home with us.

The Role: Front of House Operations Manager

We are seeking a talented Front of House (FOH) Operations Manager to lead our customer-facing teams across all L’épi Artisan Bakery café locations. In this pivotal role, you will oversee FOH operations at multiple sites, ensuring our high standards of service, presentation, and efficiency are consistently met. You will work closely with each café’s front-of-house managers and staff to drive outstanding customer experiences and robust sales performance. This is a hands-off strategic leadership position - rather than serving customers daily, you’ll focus on guiding and supporting teams, optimizing processes, and upholding accountability to reach our business goals. If you’re an analytical leader with a keen eye for detail and a passion for hospitality, we’d love to have you on our team.

Key Responsibilities
- Lead Multi-Site Teams: Provide strong leadership and mentorship to front-of-house teams across several bakery café locations. Ensure each site maintains L’épi’s high customer service standards and friendly atmosphere.
- Operational Excellence: Work with on-site FOH supervisors/managers to coordinate smooth daily operations. Conduct regular site visits to observe service, coach staff, and verify that brand standards for cleanliness, visual presentation, and product display are upheld.
- Data-Driven Improvements: Analyze sales reports, customer feedback, and service metrics to identify areas for improvement in efficiency and performance. Use data insights to implement solutions that enhance service speed, product upselling, and overall guest satisfaction.
- Drive Sales & Customer Experience: Collaborate on setting service and sales goals for each location, and devise strategies with FOH managers to achieve them. Develop initiatives to boost revenue - from improving checkout flow to training staff on product knowledge and upselling techniques - all while ensuring guests feel cared for and welcome.
- Roster Optimization: Create and optimize staff rosters across all sites to match staffing levels with busy periods and operational needs. Improve scheduling efficiency to reduce wait times and labor costs, while keeping teams well-rested and motivated.
- Team Development & Accountability: Foster a positive, professional work environment where front-line teams can thrive. Provide ongoing coaching, training, and support to FOH staff and site managers. Set clear performance expectations and hold teams accountable, recognizing achievements and addressing issues constructively.
- Visual Presentation & Aesthetics: Maintain a keen eye for detail in each café’s appearance. Ensure that merchandise displays, signage, and overall café layout meet our aesthetic standards and create an inviting ambiance that reflects our brand’s artisan quality.
- Cross-Location Coordination: Serve as the key liaison between the front-of-house and senior management/owners. Share best practices across sites, and coordinate any brand-wide promotions or new product launches so that each café delivers a consistent experience.
- Problem Solving: Step in to troubleshoot operational challenges as needed - whether it’s resolving a customer service issue or adjusting a process - with a calm, solutions-focused approach. While you won’t be on the floor serving every day, you remain ready to roll up your sleeves during peak times or special events to lead by example.
- Proven Leadership in Multi-Site Operations: You have substantial experience (preferably 3+ years) managing and leading teams in a café, restaurant, or hospitality retail environment across multiple locations. You excel at coordinating people and priorities in more than one site simultaneously.
- Strategic & Data-Savvy Mindset: You’re comfortable working with numbers and technology - whether it’s POS reports, sales data, or scheduling tools. Your analytical skills help you spot trends and inefficiencies, and you use data to drive smart decisions that improve service and profitability.
- Sales-Driven & Customer-Focused: You have a sales mindset and a strong understanding of what creates great customer experiences. You’ve successfully implemented initiatives to increase revenue (like upselling programs or loyalty incentives) and can train and motivate teams to meet sales targets without compromising service quality.
- Keen Eye for Deta