Restaurant Manager - Gainesville

NANDOS’ VISION – To be the most loved restaurant brand in North America, sharing the spirit of Nando’s PERi‑PERi with everyone. We redesign and build a business that thrives by putting people at the heart of what we do, leading with care, compassion, and kindness, and changing lives together every day.

About the Role

The Restaurant Manager makes the restaurant feel consistently brilliant, human, and alive. You are on the floor with the team, setting the tone for service, providing calm, confident direction, protecting the Nando’s experience, and keeping the operation humming. You lead a safe, smooth, and standard‑driven operation that delights guests and develops people, translating plans into daily execution and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work.

Key Focus Areas & Responsibilities

• People – Lead, Coach, and Build Belonging
  • Model Pride, Passion, Courage, Integrity, and Family.
  • Communicate clearly, run motivating briefs/meetings, give timely feedback, and adapt style to the moment.
  • Support interviewing, onboarding, station sign‑offs, cross‑training, and buddy‑system development.
  • Ensure fairness in people processes, handle employee‑relations basics, and keep documentation complete.
  • Monitor wellbeing, de‑escalate conflict, and maintain a psychologically and physically safe environment.
• Brand – Protect the Nando’s Experience
  • Conduct travel paths and uphold critical touchpoints (atmosphere, quality, speed) across all channels.
  • Role‑model warm welcomes, table touches, and farewells; resolve issues with empathy and judgment.
  • Maintain eating‑primacy while meeting takeaway and delivery standards; coach accuracy to reduce missing items.
• Commercial – Sales, Labor, and Profit
  • Connect the team to daily/weekly sales targets and apply approved local tactics.
  • Read forecasts, align deployment and breaks to flow, and coach leaders to use dashboards.
  • Manage portion control and waste, protect speed/quality, and handle daily financial processes to standard.
• Operations – Food Safety, Stock, Cleanliness
  • Enforce hygiene, complete daily/weekly logs (temperatures, labels, hot holds), manage allergy orders, and escalate food‑safety complaints.
  • Set production to forecast, accept deliveries accurately, rotate stock, maintain portions, and reduce waste.
  • Lead daily/weekly cleaning schedules, ensure appropriate PPE, log and escalate maintenance issues, and adjust service flow as needed.
• Changing Lives – Community, Planet, Opportunity
  • Create a judgment‑free team environment, celebrate strengths, and live the “Family” value.
  • Reinforce recycling and energy routines, ensure oil recycling and waste processes are followed.
  • Follow local partnership processes (e.g., food donation programs) and share wins to inspire participation.
• Governance, Risk & Compliance
  • Own daily/weekly audit readiness, food‑safety, health‑and‑safety basics, licensing visibility, and incident documentation.
  • Support employee‑relations processes and promptly escalate high‑risk issues.
• Operational Rhythms
  • Opening: Review Manager Communication Log, staffing lineup, catering orders, forecast; validate inventory; complete prep/production sheets; safe count; assign cash drawers; order change; prepare chicken cook sheet.
  • Shift Changeover: Reconcile AM monies, validate production and station readiness, walkthrough, document handover notes.
  • Closing: Final walkthrough, set next‑day catering, closing inventory, reconcile cash, validate timekeeping, run end‑of‑day reports, update the MCL.
  • Cash & Security: Practice responsible cash management, safeguard keys, secure doors, set alarms, follow escalation protocols.

Requirements

• 2‑3 years of restaurant management experience (fast‑casual, QSR, or full‑service).
• Proven ability to lead full shifts, including deployment, breaks, and peak‑time operations.
• Demonstrated success delivering KPIs such as sales, labor, food quality, audits, and speed of service.
• Experience hiring, onboarding, and training team members.
• Documented experience managing inventory, ordering, prep, and food‑safety routines.
• Strong guest‑issue resolution and team conflict‑resolution skills.
• Maintaining compliance with food safety, health‑department, and brand standards.
• Track record of developing team members into new roles or certifications.
• Education/Certifications: High school diploma or equivalent; ServSafe Manager (or market equivalent); Allergen Certification; alcohol service certifications where required.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to independently lift up to 50 lb for extended periods.
• Must be able to walk and/or stand for 8‑10 hours per day.
• Hand‑eye coordination; reaching, bending, twisting, stooping, pushing, pulling, lifting overhead.
• Ability to climb stairs in multi‑level restaurants.