Regional Restaurant Coach

We have an exciting opportunity for a Regional Restaurant Coach to join our Restaurant team working field-based supporting our restaurants across Scotland and the north of England, with regular travel to our Central Support Office in Lasswade.

This is a hands-on, in-store role coaching our restaurant teams to deliver brilliant customer experience, sharp operational standards, and the commercial perfomance behind both. The role sits within the hospitality team and is led by the Head of Restaurant Operations. Day to day you'll support the Regional Manager on the ground, while working closely with the wider coach team to land the hospitality strategy consistently across the estate. It's a role for someone who's spent real time on the floor in branded hospitality, who knows what good coffee, good food and good service look like at lunchtime in a busy restaurant.

Responsibilities

Standards and compliance

Drive consistent standards across the region - food safety, brand standards, and customer experience

Use stores visits, audit checks and coaching to keep teams ahead of legal, food safety and brand requirements.

Support seasonal menu launches, new openings and operational change programmes on the ground.

Commercial performance

Work site by site on profit, margin, waste, labour and sales-driving initiatives.

Review monthly performance against targets with the Head of Restaurant Operations and Regional Manager; build and follow through on action plans.

Help teams to see the links between service, standards and the bottom line.

People and coaching

Coaches with empathy and clarity - develop store managers and their teams while holding the line on standards.

Build trust, motivate teams, and champion a high performance culture rooted in Dobbies values.

Share best practice across stores and across the wider coach team.

Collaboration

Work hand in hand with the Regional Manager and other regional support functions.

Partners with Operations and People teams to land change well on the ground

Hospitality strategy and projects

Support delivery of the wider hospitality strategy - translating it into clear, practical actions in the region's restaurants.

Identify and drive cost savings - on waste, labour, supply chain and operational proces without compromising standards or guest experience.

Lead key projects on behalf of the hospitality team, from trial to roll-out, bringing the coach team and Regional Managers with you.

Measures of success

NPS: YOY growth across the region, driven by strong operational standards.

EBITDA : YOY profit growth through efficient operations.

Waste and food cost : effective controls in place across the region.

Gross Margin: healthy margin delivery within supplier and operational frameworks.

Audit : strong store and region audit outcomes

People: strong manager and stakeholder feedback; visible development of the teams in your region.

Who we are looking for

Coffee shop experience: hands-on time in a coffee shop environment, with a clear understanding of speciality coffee standards, throughput and front-of-house experience.

Branded restaurant experience: multi-site or single-site experience in a branded restaurant or hospitality group, with a feel for how brand standards translate into daily operations.

Kitchen experience : real time worked in a kitchen, with credibility on food safety, cost control, prep, and the pressures of a service.

Strong coach : clear, direct and able to land feedback that sticks.

Commercially literate : comfortable reading P&L, working through margin, waste and labour, and prioritising the action that moves the number.

Methodical and organised : able to plan a region's worth of visits and follow through.

Full UK driving licence and comfortable with regular regional travel, including occasional overnights.

Based within the North region or prepared to relocate.

What we offer

Holiday - enjoy a well deserved break with 33 annual leave days per year (pro-rata for part time)

Discount - treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls

Pension - save for the future with our company contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan

Season ticket loans - spread the cost of travel with an interest free loan

Access to Stream - support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice

Access to Retail Trust - seek confidential support, access to a Virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform

Access to Dobbies Academy - continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes

Study assistance - invest in your professional development with funded courses and qualifications

The little things to keep you going through the day - free tea, coffee, and milk

Collaborative office space - with access to our wellbeing room, learning resources and even a book swap

Invites to our annual company conference, summer and Christmas social events