Vice President, Restaurant Operations

Who We Are

At Fogo de Chão, we strive to give our guests an unforgettable dining experience of discovery while showcasing the Culinary Art of Churrasco. Our mission is to ignite fire and joy to care for our team, our guests and our communities.

Fogo is in a high-growth, execution-focused chapter, scaling our proven operating model across new markets on a trajectory to double in size while delivering consistent performance and excellence in every restaurant. We seek an operations leader who will execute the playbook with discipline, build a strong leadership bench, and deliver consistent guest experiences. This leader will drive same-store sales, gain market share, and translate performance into disciplined brand expansion. Operations are the heartbeat of Fogo.

What We Promise

• We believe better futures start when we bring our best to the table every day to Feed a Purposeful Future: starting with our team members. We feed our teams with fulfilling job opportunities, making space around the table so everyone feels welcome. At Fogo, we’ll provide you with a fulfilling career with professional and personal growth opportunities at every level. Our values of teamwork, integrity, excellence, humility and Deixa Comigo (we’ve got you!) are more than just words, it’s how we do things every day.
• Our culture is the foundation on which everything at Fogo is built, and personal accountability is central to how we lead, execute, and deliver results.

Teamwork

We are inclusive team players who continually work shoulder to shoulder to achieve our goals together.

Integrity

We do what we say we're going to do and strive to do right by all at and beyond our table.

Excellence

We are passionate about hospitality and take pride in everything we do.

Humility

We are masters in our craft, yet have a genuine desire to serve and put others first.

Deixa Comigo

We've got you. We take chances, not orders, and use our tenacity, grit, and resolve to make experiences unforgettable. This is the Fogo way.

We promise our leaders a company where your voice matters, your impact is visible, and your growth is real. You will work alongside people who care deeply about what they build, take ownership without being asked, and understand that servant leadership starts closest to the guest: with the team members who welcome, serve, cook, carve, clean, and create the experience every day. In return, we ask that you bring the same fire to the operations function that our Gauchos bring to the grill: relentless craft, genuine care, and the courage to say what needs to be said.

What You'll Own

The Vice President of Restaurant Operations owns operational excellence across existing and new US restaurants and will be instrumental in Fogo’s trajectory to double in size. This seasoned, hands-on servant leader will execute the proven operating model with discipline, develop Regional and Area Directors as leaders of leaders, align field and support center teams, and drive KDRs across People, Operational Excellence, Revenue, and EBITDA. The role is accountable for brand consistency, same-store sales growth, a strong leadership bench, and disciplined expansion, grounded in the belief that Fogo’s strength begins with the frontline Team Members who deliver the Guest experience every day.

Operational Excellence & Standardization

• •Establish and sustain a scalable operating model that drives consistent execution across all restaurants.
• •Strengthen adherence to Fogo's Standards of Excellence, culinary standards, recipes, service expectations, food safety requirements, and operating procedures.
• •Build standardized operating rhythms, scorecards, reporting, and accountability structures that improve restaurant-level execution.
• •Reduce performance variability across markets by implementing clear operational expectations and follow-through mechanisms.
• •Partner with field leaders to identify execution gaps and implement sustainable corrective actions.

Business Performance & Financial Discipline

• •Drive a culture of ownership and accountability for restaurant-level financial performance.
• •Ensure leaders understand and actively manage labor, food cost, controllable expenses, discounts, promotions, productivity, and profitability.
• •Build financial acumen throughout the operations organization by improving leaders' ability to interpret P&Ls, performance metrics, and business trends.
• •Simplify operational and financial reporting so leaders focus on actionable insights rather than excessive data.
• •Establish consistent business review processes that translate performance data into action plans and measurable results.

Leadership Capability & Talent Development

Develop leaders of leaders, particularly Regional and Area Directors, who can build high-performing teams and a strong pipeline of ready-now and ready-next operational leaders.

Improve hiring quality, onboarding effectiveness, leadership development, and retention across all levels of the organization.

• •Ensure leaders are equipped to coach performance, develop talent, and create high-performing teams.
• •Strengthen succession planning processes to support growth and long-term organizational stability.
• •Create clear leadership standards and expectations that promote accountability, consistency, and operational excellence.

Scalability & Growth

• •Build the systems, processes, and leadership capability necessary to support existing and future restaurant growth.
• •Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure new restaurants are launched and transitioned with consistent operational standards.
• •Develop repeatable operational practices that allow the organization to scale efficiently while preserving the Fogo culture and guest experience.
• •Ensure growth is supported by strong execution, talent readiness, operational discipline, and financial performance.

Leadership & Culture

Cultivate a high-performing operations culture centered on accountability, integrity, continuous improvement, and leadership readiness. Champion a servant-leader philosophy that recognizes Fogo's history, honors the frontline Team Members as the tip of the spear, and balances genuine compassion for Team Members with the operational discipline required to deliver results at scale. Ensure field leaders are ready to optimize Guest experience, grow SSS, and execute consistently in every restaurant.

Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing field operations team spanning regional, area, and restaurant-level leaders, with a clear mandate to build ready-now and ready-next leadership capability.

Model Fogo de Chão leadership principles: Above the Line accountability (See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It), and clearly communicate strategy, KDRs, and expectations to the organization.

Foster an environment of candor, humility, and ownership, where leaders are empowered to make decisions, held accountable for outcomes, and expected to serve the frontline teams who deliver the brand promise.

Reinforce a culture of recognition, belonging, and shared purpose across all markets.

Operational Excellence

Oversee daily operations across all restaurant locations, ensuring brand standards, service quality, food safety, and Guest experience are consistently upheld. Drive the operational rhythms, SOPs, and performance disciplines that translate strategy into flawless restaurant-level execution, strengthen Guest loyalty, improve SSS, and create the consistency required to gain share across markets.

Monitor performance metrics and implement strategies to improve sales, speed of service, profitability, Guest satisfaction, and same-store sales growth.

Develop and enforce Fogo’s Standards of Excellence for front-of-house and heart-of-house operations, ensuring flawless execution at every touchpoint.

Drive consistency across markets while remaining agile and adaptable to local Guest and market needs.

Maintain food safety, sanitation, and compliance standards to the high