Assistant General Manager - Virginia

About the Role

Being an Assistant Patrão at Nando’s means stepping into the restaurant each day with Pride, Passion, Courage, Integrity, and Family at your core. You bring energy, fun, and focus to every shift—firing up Nandocas, supporting your Patrão, and helping deliver brilliant shifts that make our restaurants feel alive. You lead shoulder-to-shoulder, shaping the atmosphere, coaching in real time, and inspiring belief and confidence across your team. You are a culture carrier, a coach, and a catalyst for growth—helping Nandocas become their best selves, both inside and outside of Nando’s.

As Assistant Patrão, you are the second-in-command—the operational engine that keeps the rhythm of the restaurant strong week after week. You bring the vision of the restaurant to life, running brilliant shifts, developing Nandocas, improving KPIs, and protecting Nando’s experience. You support your Patrão in all aspects of people, brand, commercial performance, and Changing Lives—ensuring the restaurant delivers 14 Brilliant Shifts consistently.

Responsibilities

• People — Grow, Inspire, and Lead the Restaurant Family
  • Bring Nando’s values to life across every shift.
  • Coach, motivate, and ignite Nandocas—connecting them to the restaurant vision and KPIs.
  • Support your Patrão in hiring, onboarding, and developing capable Nandocas; spotting potential early; and growing individuals into future Shift Leaders and managers.
  • Foster belonging, fairness, psychological safety, and team wellbeing—ensuring everyone feels welcome, supported, and empowered to shine.
• Brand — Deliver a Fired-Up Nando’s Experience
  • Role-model hospitality excellence and coach Nandocas to create memorable customer experiences.
  • Ensure the full customer journey is delivered brilliantly—whether in-restaurant, takeaway, or delivery—protecting the primacy of the eat-in experience.
  • Maintain consistency of standards, complete quality checks, support customer recovery, and bring local and national marketing plans to life.
• Commercial — Fuel Weekly Performance
  • Bring commercial KPIs to life on shift—managing labor to forecast, reducing waste, adjusting levers to protect speed and quality, and supporting your Patrão to drive sustainable sales.
  • Make smart, informed decisions that balance cost control and customer experience, helping grow the restaurant in a way that delights guests, uplifts Nandocas, and improves the bottom line.
• Changing Lives — Make a Difference Every Day
  • Help create daily moments that change lives—building confidence, nurturing belonging, and giving opportunities to individuals others might overlook.
  • Support scheduling fairness, wellbeing conversations, champion community partnerships, and help the restaurant deliver on sustainability goals such as reducing waste, recycling, and energy usage.
• Risk & Compliance
  • Uphold daily food safety, health & safety, and audit routines—ensuring logs, checks, and compliance activities are consistently completed.
  • Support people compliance: Right to Work, contracts, training completions, and safe operations—helping protect the Nando’s brand and legal posture.

Requirements

• 3-5 years of restaurant experience with shift leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to run peak shifts with pace and accuracy.
• Experience supporting hiring, onboarding, and training of team members.
• Proven ability to maintain food safety, prep, and line checks.
• Experience managing deployment, breaks, and shift routines.
• Documented examples of supporting inventory, ordering, or scheduling.
• Experience handling guest recovery and basic conflict resolution.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• ServSafe Manager certification required.
• Allergen Awareness and Alcohol Safety certifications where applicable.

Physical Requirements

• Able to independently lift up to 50 lbs for an extended period of time.
• Must be able to walk and/or stand for 8-10 hours per day.
• Hand-eye coordination.
• Reaching, bending, twisting, stooping.
• Pushing and pulling.
• Lifting overhead.
• Must be able to climb stairs in restaurants that have multiple levels.

Key Outcomes & Measures

• Happy Nandocas: Engaged, confident teams; development progress; stability and retention.
• Happy Customers: Consistent touchpoints; speed, quality, hospitality; reduced detractors; strong shopper metrics.
• Happy Leadership: Labor to forecast accuracy; reduced waste control; channel execution; improved weekly KPIs.
• Changing Lives: Inclusive hiring support; community participation; sustainability actions.

About Nando’s Vision

At Nando’s, we want to be the most loved restaurant brand in North America, sharing the spirit of Nando’s PERi-PERi with everyone who chooses to access it. We will redesign and build a business that thrives as it answers fully its consumers’ needs—and endures over time through genuinely putting people at the heart of what we do. We will lead with our values and act with care, compassion, and kindness. By doing this, we will Change Lives Together, every day and everywhere.