General Manager - Full-time / Part-time

The Potbelly General Manager leads his or her shop in making it the best place for lunch. The GM brings Positive Energy each and every day to Build and Inspire our teams, while making Potbelly a fun place for our customers, too.

The GM should have the ability to see the “Big Picture” of running the business. He or she will coach and develop people to execute outstanding product quality and exceptional customer service, and to build sales and control costs for each shift. Potbelly GMs lead and behave according to Potbelly Values and follow Potbelly standard operating policies and procedures with essential areas of focus including:

People

• Select and hire great employees who represent Potbelly Values.
• Train and develop all employees to the next level.
• Assess staff abilities. Create and implement effective development plans.
• Create and enforce a plan to reduce turnover.
• Delegate tasks to team and provide follow-up. Hold team accountable.
• Build relationships among team members. Provide effective and open communication on goals during team meetings. Recognize positive contributions.
• Provide timely and thorough performance appraisals based on defined goals and objectives for the shop.
• Educate team on and enforce all appropriate personnel policies, labor laws, and security and safety procedures.
• Administer all in-shop employee benefits and payroll procedures.

Customers

• Make customers really happy.
• Effectively handle customer complaints/issues.
• Measure customer satisfaction and execute plan to improve both satisfaction and loyalty.
• Maintain a clean and inviting shop. Ensure cleanliness, maintenance and security standards are met.
• Ensure product quality, safety and sanitation standards are met.
• Provide fast, friendly and accurate service.
• Continuously improve Mystery Shopper scores.

Sales

• Increase comp sales and deliver budgeted sales each period.
• Create marketing plan. Utilize Neighborhood Marketing Manager and lead neighborhood shop marketing to increase sales. GM ideally lives in the neighborhood and is involved in the community, the school and local business, social and not-for-profit activities.
• Create shop plan to continuously improve the business.

Profits

• Control cost of goods, variances and inventories within the shop.
• Staff and schedule appropriately to control labor costs.
• Ensure proper cash handling and deposit procedures are followed.
• Ensure appropriate inventory and ordering systems are in place.
• Must have financial literacy; Ability to understand and learn from financial reports.
• Ability to increase flow-through.

Physical Functions

• Must have the ability/stamina to work a minimum of 50 hours a week.
• Ability to stand/walk for 9-10 hours per day.
• Must be able to exert well-paced and frequent mobility for periods of up to five hours.
• Ability to lift up to 10 pounds frequently and up to 50 pounds occasionally.
• Will frequently reach, feel, bend, stoop, carry, finely manipulate and key in data.
• Must be able to work in both warm and cool environments, indoors (95%) and outdoors (5%).
• Must be able to tolerate higher levels of noise from music, customer and employee traffic.
• Must be able to tolerate potential allergens: peanut products, egg, dairy, gluten, soy, seafood and shellfish.

Qualifications / Requirements:

Experience, Education and Behaviors

• Must represent Potbelly Advantage and Our Values.
• Minimum of at least 2 years as a General Manager in a restaurant or retail environment with P&L responsibility. Experience in the Restaurant Industry, preferred.
• High School degree; Bachelor’s degree, preferred.
• Strong business acumen. Ability to see “Big Picture.”
• Ability to manage a fast-paced, high-volume, clean, customer-focused restaurant.
• As a requirement of the position, all Shift Leaders and Managers must be trained and pass a Food Safety Certification course. In Illinois, certification is required through the Illinois Department of Public Health, while in all other states certification is required through the National Restaurant Association (ServSafe), National Registry of Food Safety Professionals or the National Environmental Health Association (Prometric). Should the Shift Leader or Manager fail to pass the certification requirements after two attempts, he or she will be not be qualified to continue to perform in a Shift Leader or Management capacity.
• Ability to comprehend and communicate in English via verbal and written communication, such that employee can perform his or her job responsibilities.
• Must spend 80-90% of time on the shop floor in the Front of the House.
• Must have financial literacy. Ability to understand financial reports.
• Exceptional customer service skills.
• Strong time-management skills. Ability to multi-task, to prioritize and to organize.
• Strong interpersonal skills. Ability to select, develop, inspire and manage strong teams.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to delegate, follow-up and hold team accountable.
• Ability to create and execute effective plans to build the business.
• Must have the ability to set budgets and maintain food and beverage cost.
• Ability to follow expectations and guidelines set by Potbelly.
• Microsoft Office skills.