Director, Franchise Operations – Midwest

Who We Are

We’re not in the wing business. We’re in the flavor business. It’s been our mission to Serve the World Flavor since we first opened in 1994, and we’re just getting started. 1997 saw the opening of our first brand partner operated Wingstop location, and by 2002 we had served the world one billion wings. It’s flavor that defines us and has made Wingstop one of the fastest growing brands in the restaurant industry.

Above all else – our success is largely due to our people and our core values, or what we call The Wingstop Way of being entrepreneurial, service-minded, fun, and authentic. We believe having a strong people foundation centered on these collective values creates a crave-worthy culture and talented team, as well as ensures our brand is poised for accelerated growth. We all win together.

What We'll Need

We are seeking a Director of Franchise Operations for the Midwest region who will influence and directly impact 500 franchised domestic Wingstop restaurants to drive results and achieve regional business objectives in support of overall WRI goals.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to own a regional P&L. You will be responsible for driving KPIs including region-wide sales, same store sales, guest experience metrics, and operational metrics including speed of service.

You will lead a team including operations, training, and marketing resources to achieve regional objectives. You will also be responsible for investing in the development of your team.

Drive Regional KPIs Including

• Same store sales
• Same store average weekly transactions
• Region system-wide sales
• New restaurant openings (working in conjunction with the development team)
• G&A incl. travel
• Ad fund allotment
• Ops excellence (inclusive of the guest experience)
• Speed of service

Key Responsibilities Include

• Owning the P&L for your region, including achieving regional business objectives.
• Develop and own your strategy to achieve regional KPIs leveraging your team and resources at hand.
• Ensure clarity of regional KPIs across your team; lead your team in support of achieving KPIs.
• Provide timely coaching and feedback to your team and peers. Work to find ways to continue to develop your team and provide opportunities for them to learn, grow, and advance within Wingstop to positions of increasing responsibility in support of Wingstop’s focus area of investing in people
• Ensure the restaurants in your portfolio operate with excellence; apply training resources as needed to drive ops excellence.
• Ensure compliance to brand standards across your region, inclusive of adherence to franchise agreements.
• Activate regional marketing campaigns as needed working closely with field marketing.
• Provide insight into market trends leveraging analytics and boots on the ground insight.
• Work across regions to build, define, and implement best practices to provide brand consistency.
• Ability to influence brand partners at a strategic level as well as deploy tactics to move the needle on KPIs.

Relational Responsibilities

• Own the brand partner relationships in your region, including influencing brand partners to drive results.
• Support brand partner escalations and brand partner compliance in accordance with franchise agreements.
• Partner with other Regional Business Directors to drive best practices and maintain consistency between markets.
• Developing your team to foster their continued growth as individuals and within Wingstop. Champion Wingstop’s brand culture and values

What You'll Need

• Minimum of 10 years operational restaurant experience.
• Leadership experience within corporate, field and/or franchised operations.
• Demonstrated experience in managing multi-unit brand partners in a growth-oriented organization.
• Proven track record of improving underperforming regions or units.
• Strong analytical skills with ability to act on insights quickly.
• Experience managing P&L across a multi-unit, franchise environment.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and coaching skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business or equivalent preferred.
• Must be located in Chicago.

Who You Are

No job is too small. You recognize that the real work happens in the restaurants, and everything we do should support their success. You stay humble, roll up your sleeves, and always look for ways to help. You learn from others and contribute wherever you can.

You care deeply about doing great work and driving results. You’re curious, ask questions, and seek out opportunities to improve. You don’t just point out problems—you bring solutions, ideas, and perspectives that move the team forward.

You take full responsibility for your work and see things through to completion. You aren’t afraid to fail because you know that failure is a part of learning and growth. You take action, move fast, and keep pushing forward.

You lead with empathy, respect, and emotional intelligence. You collaborate effectively, fostering a culture of trust and constructive feedback. You understand the importance of teamwork and ensure that your actions build others up rather than break them down.

You push yourself and others to be better. You embrace healthy conflict, knowing that great ideas and strong teams emerge from honest, constructive conversations. You believe that leaders create leaders and are committed to fostering a culture of growth, challenge, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

Flavor Perks:

• Unlimited paid time off for exempt employees
• One paid volunteer day of your choice
• Competitive bonus structure for eligible roles
• Team member stock purchase plan
• Health savings or flexible spending account options
• 401k – (dollar for dollar on the first 3% and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% for team member contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Basic life and AD&D insurance provided
• Pet insurance
• Education Assistance
• Wellness reimbursement program
• Paid maternity and paternity leave

Fun Is The Best Flavor

• Discount on Wingstop gift cards

Wingstop provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.