Director, Operational Programs

As Director, Operational Programs, you own the facilitation of systems, tools, and collaborative teamwork needed to scale and launch all innovation and other new programs into the bakeries. Your job is to give field leaders their time back: find the administrative work weighing them down, take it off their plate, and rebuild it as something standardized, repeatable, and digestible to senior field leaders and their teams.

This is a hands-on, deeply cross-functional role. You’ll combine commercial vision and strategy, field leader feedback, operational data, and a real understanding of bakery workflows to design, test, pilot, and scale the programs that make Levain Bakery the neighborhood bakery we aspire to be across the country. You own the planning and execution of the retail calendar and ensure all key stakeholders are bought in, feel supported, and set up for success.

The right person loves the nuts and bolts of day-to-day operations and is relentless about making them better. You lead through influence and build deep relationships with all teams, and you measure success by one thing: how much of a bakery team member’s day goes back to customers. The Director, Operational Programs reports to the COO and is based in our NYC office, with regular time in our retail bakeries and commissary.

Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives with strong execution, stakeholder alignment, and measurable outcomes

Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to deliver polished, executive-ready updates and influence stakeholders

Proficiency in process mapping and workflow analysis

Proven experience designing business processes that drive a positive end user experience, reduce business risk, and increase overall workflow efficiency

A strong collaborator who knows how to drive decision-making; knows when and how to balance data with intuition, and thoughtfulness with agility

Exceptional ability to synthesize information, identify the most important thread, and move forward without needing every detail resolved

Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop others

Embody and promote the values and standards of Levain Bakery

Own program performance: responsible for delivering complex, cross-functional programs and initiatives, ensuring alignment with all key stakeholders and long-term business priorities

Define clear program roadmaps and execution plans, tracking progress against KPIs, timelines, budgets, dependencies, and risks

Collaborate closely with senior leaders and cross-functional partners across marketing, supply chain, commissary, learning and development, and operations to align priorities and deliver measurable business outcomes

Establish strong stakeholder engagement, delivering clear, polished, and executive-ready communications on program status, outcomes, risks, and impact

Communicate initiative status, progress, and roadblocks to key collaborators proactively and at the right time intervals

Facilitate critical tradeoff decisions to leadership across operations and marketing initiatives

Proactively identify risks, issues, and dependencies; propose data-backed solutions; and drive resolution in partnership with stakeholders

Operational Excellence & Change Management

Identify root causes, implement scalable improvements, and continuously raise the bar for quality, efficiency, and compliance

Own the full lifecycle of process and product changes from implementation through change management, adoption, and measurement—ensuring meaningful impact for customers and the business

Facilitate preparation and delivery of monthly/quarterly business reviews, senior leadership communications, program look-backs, and blameless post-mortems

Create systems and org-wide operating rhythms that maintain tight feedback loops between internal teams, enabling Levain to consistently learn and grow

Own the planning and execution of the retail calendar, ensuring all key stakeholders are bought in, feel supported, and set up for success