Sr Fresh Kitchen Program Manager

Welcome to Love's, where our values extend beyond our name. We are seeking a Senior Program Manager for Love’s Fresh Kitchen at Love’s Travel Stops, a role crucial to advancing the long-term success of our proprietary food and beverage brand. This strategic leadership position oversees go-to-market testing and the assessment of innovation-driven projects aligned with the Love’s Fresh Kitchen strategy. As a key leader within the Foodservice Department, this role drives the ongoing growth and development of the LFK brand, ensuring it remains a preferred destination for travelers seeking fresh, high-quality food options.

Job Functions:

Fresh Kitchen Project Leadership & Execution

• Lead end-to-end planning and execution of cross-functional Fresh Kitchen initiatives, with a strong focus on food innovation projects and LTO testing, ensuring operational readiness and on-time delivery.
• Own project scope, plans, timelines, risks, dependencies, and success metrics, partnering with Category Management, Operations, Supply Chain, Innovation, and other stakeholders to drive execution.
• Manage complex store-level transitions, including item exits, new item introductions, reset sequencing, and innovation pilots, proactively identifying risks and mitigation strategies to minimize disruption.
• Develop and maintain standardized project documentation and execution frameworks, including project plans, communication strategies, workflows, process maps, and training materials to support consistent Fresh Kitchen execution.
• Design and implement controls to monitor project performance and value realization, ensuring initiatives remain aligned with Fresh Kitchen strategy and deliver measurable business impact.
• Build strong cross-functional relationships and drive continuous improvement, applying Fresh Kitchen best practices to enhance execution quality, scalability, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Innovation & Menu Strategy Support

• Partner with Fresh Kitchen Innovation leadership to define scalable operational handling standards that support product development, testing, and national rollout.
• Ensure pricing strategies and menu offerings align with long-term menu architecture, financial targets, and customer value propositions.

Supply Chain Support

• Ensure all new products designated for testing are properly set up, forecasted, and available within the supply chain.
• Collaborate with Restaurant Pricing to confirm items are accurately configured for receiving, counting, and inventory depletion based on approved recipes and yields.

Operational Excellence & Training Alignment

• Collaborate cross-functionally to develop all required training materials, including written guides and video content, to support consistent execution in stores.
• Partner with Workforce Management to assess and understand labor impacts and requirements associated with new programs and initiatives.

Construction & Facilities Coordination

• Lead enterprise communication and implementation plan for new Fresh Kitchen equipment introductions.
• Oversee store-by-store placement reviews to ensure alignment with overall Love’s Fresh Kitchen strategy while enabling new innovation platforms.
• Partner with Facilities and Maintenance leadership to align preventive and reactive maintenance strategies with new equipment and program needs.

Test Execution & Analytics

• Serve as on-site support for up to 10 days during launch of new programs in new markets to ensure smooth implementation for Operations
• Partner with Retail and Merchandising Analytics leadership to define testing frameworks, success criteria, and measurement plans that assess financial, operational, and customer performance.
• Collaborate with Innovation, Menu Strategy, Operations, and Analytics teams to identify insights, close gaps, and drive continuous improvement.
• Deliver concise, executive-level test market readouts and recommendations to senior leadership, informing go-forward decisions.
• Provide leadership for test market execution and communication, including implementation calls, milestone governance, and cross-functional alignment.
• Synthesize customer, store, and field feedback to inform strategic decisions and strengthen future Fresh Kitchen launches.

Experience and Qualifications:

• 5 years of operational leadership experience in the Travel Center, C-Store, or QSR industry AND
• 3 years of multi-unit or above-store leadership experience OR
• 3 years of experience leading commercialization projects or managing cross-functional project teams
• 4-year collegiate degree preferred

Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally, effectively leading and motivating teams across multiple departments and organizational levels.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with a track record of negotiating and aligning partners toward mutually beneficial outcomes.
• Growth mindset with a passion for continuous learning and the ability to apply new insights to improve project outcomes.
• Strong business acumen, with an understanding of the economic drivers influencing brand, category, and menu strategy.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of leading discussions with both internal teams and external partners.
• Proven success in influencing at multiple levels across an organization
• Comfortable and confident presenting content/ strategy to multiple levels of leadership
• Ability to synthesize internal and external business insights to interpret data
• Highly self-motivated and able to work both collaboratively as well as independently
• Strong desire to learn industry trends
• Sense of urgency

Physical Demands:

• Requires standing and walking, with some bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, climbing and ladder use
• Occasional lifting of up to 25 lbs
• Occasional travel regionally/nationally will be required (up to 25%)

Our Culture: 

Fueling customers' journeys since 1964, innovation leads the way for this family-owned and operated business headquartered in Oklahoma City. With nearly 40,000 team members, travel stops are the core business along with products and services that provide value for professional drivers, fleets, traveling public, RVers, alternative energy and wholesale fuel customers. Giving back to communities and an inclusive workplace are hallmarks of the award-winning culture.

Love's is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Veterans encouraged to apply.