Project Manager, Operations (IHOP)

Based in Pasadena, California, Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN), through its subsidiaries, franchises restaurants under Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar®, IHOP® and Fuzzy's Taco Shop® brands. With over 3,500 restaurants combined in 18 countries and 354 franchisees as of December 31, 2023, Dine Brands is one of the largest full-service restaurant companies in the world. For more information on Dine Brands, visit the Company's website located at www.dinebrands.com.

The IHOP Program Management Office (PMO) provides systems and processes enabling team members to be more efficient, so the company can do more. One side focuses on managing cross-functional projects, improving processes and ensuring organizational alignment. The other side enhances team performance by providing tools and resources that drive effectiveness and growth.

The Role:

Are you ready to make a significant impact on a beloved brand? As the Operations Project Manager for the IHOP PMO, you'll report to the Director, PMO, and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of how our operations initiatives come to life. You'll be the driving force behind establishing processes and solutions that ensure the successful development and execution of our programs and projects.

In this dynamic role, you'll support the brand operations organization by developing and refining processes and timelines, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. You'll collaborate closely with the Tools & Resources team, working on the strategic and tactical aspects of culinary, marketing, and operations testing, projects, and other initiatives. Your efforts will directly contribute to the operational success of our restaurants and the satisfaction of our customers.

You'll oversee multiple programs and projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and exceed company expectations. If you're passionate about project management and eager to make a difference, this is the perfect opportunity for you to shine and drive the brand forward.

Ideal Candidate: The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of the restaurant industry, strong project management skills, and a background in restaurant/hospitality FOH/BOH operations. They will excel in applying structure to processes, managing details, and improving team effectiveness and efficiency. Excellent communication skills, ability to quickly pivot and adapt, and experience navigating complex stakeholder relationships are essential.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain project plans and trackers, define project scope, develop work backs, conduct cross-functional intake, and ensure deadlines are met.
• Develop and update project timelines, deliverables and status reports to ensure accurate and timely completion of milestones.
• Manage multiple portfolio projects and programs simultaneously.
• Develop and manage processes for projects, delivering against goals and objectives.
• Implement and refine project management methodologies tailored to each project.
• Manage the development of new programs and processes supporting brand strategic initiatives and ongoing programs.
• Improve project team effectiveness and efficiency by applying rigor and structure to processes, while managing the details and seeing the big picture.
• Support the full lifecycle of cross-functional initiatives with varying degrees of complexity, definition, and risk, through the development, implementation, and maintenance of templated and custom tools.
• Communicate effectively and navigate complex stakeholder relationships.
• Facilitate collaboration, visibility, and efficiency across all levels of leadership and cross-functional teams, ensuring programs and initiatives are complete and prepared for implementation, driving overall brand performance.
• Lead regular stakeholder meetings to align priorities and maintain project momentum.
• Identify and proactively address potential roadblocks through risk assessment and mitigation planning, analyze and overcome project risks, and produce reports for managers and stakeholders as needed.
• Create and maintain documentation for content workflows, approval processes, and campaign performance metrics.
• Manage resource allocation and budget requirements for each project.
• Target Base Salary 110k-130k depending on experience

Skills & Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent, preferably in Business Administration, Culinary, Operations Management, Marketing, or a related field.
• 5-8 years of related professional experience, including 4+ years in project management, preferably on marketing initiatives.
• PMP or other project management certification.
• Experience running a full project lifecycle, including development, design, testing, implementation, issue resolution, and post-implementation support.
• Strong communication, presentation, and storytelling skills (oral and written), able to convey ideas clearly and concisely to senior leadership; Experience developing executive-level recaps.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills; ability to influence and collaborate at all organizational levels.
• Experience facilitating productive meetings, driving consensus across diverse teams, and translating ambiguity into clear, concise notes with action items.
• Outstanding organizational skills and detail orientated with the ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously without losing sight of the details
• Strong project management skills including organizational, problem-solving, and analytical abilities; change management experience preferred.
• Highly flexible and adaptable leader who thrives under high pressure and tight deadlines, remains effective amidst changing priorities, and is comfortable with ambiguity and creating structure in uncertain situations.
• Experience in client or agency settings, ideally in retail, CPG, or restaurant/hospitality environments.
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior.
• Proactive ownership mentality; thrives when empowered to lead and deliver results.
• Commitment to teamwork and knowledge sharing.
• Familiarity of content development processes and marketing campaign structures.
• Ability to translate business objectives into actionable content plans.
• Experience working in a franchise environment is a plus.
• Proficiency with project management software; expected to be proficient with Smartsheet within 30 days. Expert Excel knowledge required. Proficient in MS Word and PowerPoint.

Success Factors

• Ability to maintain strategic vision while managing tactical details
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Adaptability in responding to shifting priorities and market conditions
• Skilled at building relationships across organizational boundaries
• Results-oriented approach with focus on measurable outcomes

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Dine Brands Global strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act and/or other applicable laws and regulations in other jurisdictions.

Dine Brands reviews criminal history in connection with a conditional offer of employment. The following is a list of all material job duties which Dine Brands reasonably believes that criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: implement brand standards such as food safety at all restaurants for a uniform guest experience; physically inspect restaurant premises belonging to franchisees; and facilitate frequent and close interactions with franchisees, franchisee employees, guests, and other third parties.  

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