Operations Manager Northeast Region at Yay in United States

Job description

• The Yay Company is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations
• Manager to own the performance of our Northeast area markets. These will consist of
• locations in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
• You are in your markets, at your schools, and with your teams on a rotating basis,
• ensuring every location runs to Yay's standards and every school feels great about the
• program.
• This region operates primarily through Yay-produced hub kitchens, meaning you are
• managing real food production, kitchen teams, and distribution logistics — not just
• coordinating third-party vendors. You will be responsible for standing up new kitchen
• locations, managing Kitchen Managers and Lunch Coordinators across multiple
• markets, and owning the financial performance of your region.
• This role is based in Pennsylvania. The ability to lead remote teams with high trust and
• clear expectations is as important as your ability to show up in person.
• This is a high-accountability, high-visibility role at a company that is scaling fast. If you
• love being in the field, own outcomes rather than activities, and thrive in an
• environment where every day is different, this role is for you.

Responsibilities

• Direct Margin & Financial Performance: You are accountable for the direct margin
• of every school in your region. That means actively managing the inputs — food cost,
• labor, waste, and sales — and knowing exactly where each market stands at all times.
• Labor & Scheduling: You own the labor budget for your region. You build and manage
• schedules for your Kitchen Managers, ensuring every market is staffed correctly based
• on actual production volume — not habit. You approve overtime, monitor clock-in
• compliance daily, and hold your team accountable to being on time, on location, and on
• task — including markets you are not physically in that week.
• Sales & School Experience: You own the sales number for your markets. You
• understand participation rates at every school, you know which locations are
• underperforming, and you proactively address the barriers — whether that's a school
• relationship issue, a service gap, or an execution problem. Your schools should feel like
• Yay's most important partners, whether you are there in person or managing remotely.
• Inventory & Waste: You oversee weekly and monthly inventory counts across all
• schools in your region. You are physically present for inventory on a rotating basis in
• your core markets, and you hold Kitchen Managers in remote markets accountable to
• running accurate counts on schedule without your physical presence. You investigate
• any variance before it hits the margin report.
• Remote Market Management: New York and Connecticut teams run their schools
• day-to-day with significant autonomy. Your job is to set the standard, stay close through
• daily Slack communication and weekly market calls, conduct site visits, and ensure
• nothing drifts without you knowing about it.
• New Location Launches: As we bring on new kitchen schools in your region, you own
• the launch process end-to-end alongside your Kitchen Managers — from health
• department coordination and equipment procurement to staffing plans and operational
• setup.
• Team Management & Development: You directly manage Kitchen Managers across
• the region and are accountable for all ground-level staff. You set clear expectations,
• develop your team, address performance issues directly, and build a culture of
• ownership in every market you cover — in person and remotely.
• Field Presence: Your time in the field is concentrated where it matters most.
• Philadelphia is your home base. You are always reachable, always informed, and always
• accountable — regardless of which market you are physically in.

Requirements

• ● 5-7 years of experience in multi-unit operations management, ideally in food
• service, hospitality, or a similarly fast-paced field environment
• ● Experience managing kitchen or food production operations — you understand
• food cost, labor scheduling, and what it takes to run a kitchen at margin
• ● Proven ability to manage remote teams effectively — you know how to lead
• people you are not standing next to every day
• ● Strong people manager — you have led teams in the field, held people
• accountable, and developed talent
• ● Financially fluent — you can read a P&L, understand direct margin, and connect
• daily operational decisions to financial outcomes
• ● Self-directed and highly organized — you manage multiple markets across a large
• geography and nothing falls through the cracks
• ● Comfortable with ambiguity and growth — Yay is scaling and this region is
• expanding. You build as you go and you enjoy that
• ● ServSafe Manager certification or willingness to obtain within 30 days of hire
• ● Must be based in Philadelphia or within commuting distance
• ● Valid driver's license and reliable transportation — this role requires regular
• travel across your markets

Skills

Required

• Multi-unit operations management
• Kitchen or food production operations
• Food cost and labor scheduling
• Remote team management
• People management
• Financial fluency (P&L, direct margin)
• Self-directed and highly organized
• Comfortable with ambiguity and growth

Benefits

• ● Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• ● A high-growth, mission-driven company where your work directly impacts what
• kids eat every day
• ● A leadership team that values accountability, transparency, and operators who
• own their outcomes
• ● Real career growth as we expand into new markets and continue building our
• leadership team