SSP UK & Ireland
Lead General Manager
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Lead General Manager - Millie's Cookies North (Scotland, Newcastle, Gateshead & County Durham)
If you're passionate about food and travel, you've come to the right place. We are the Global food travel experts, and we have something delicious for everyone. Whether you're flying, taking a train, or just passing by, we have the best food and drink options for you.
We work with more than 500 brands, from our own creations like Upper Crust, Millie’s Cookies, Café Local and Beer House, to well-known franchises like M&S, Starbucks, Burger King, The Breakfast Club & BrewDog.
As Lead General Manager, you'll be rewarded with a competitive salary of up to £45,000 and enjoy:
- Discounted meal on shift
- Colleague discount - up to 50%
- Friends & Family discount up to 20% (T&C apply)
- Flexible working
- Management bonus scheme
- Access to digital GPs, 24/7 helpline for you & family
- Wellbeing support through Retail Trust and family friendly leave
- Variety of networks to support you, Neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ and many more
- Life assurance
- Apprenticeships and ongoing development opportunities
- Share incentive plan (SIP)
Role Summary
The Lead General Manager is a senior operational leader, accountable for the performance, standards and day-to-day running of a defined set of units. This is a hands on, high ownership General Manager role, responsible for leading multiple sites and ensuring every unit trades safely, compliantly, and commercially every single day. The expectation is for a Lead General Manager to be in units 80% of the working week, supporting managers, hourly paid colleagues.
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The role is supported by an Operations Manager, who provides coaching, strategic direction and escalation support. While this is not an Operations Manager role, it is intentionally designed as the primary development platform for internal talent preparing for future progression into an Operations Manager position.
In this role, the Lead GM develops the capability, behaviours and operational discipline required for the next step, with progression earned through consistent delivery, leadership impact and the ability to manage units with confidence and accountability.
Balance Scorecard and weekly deliverables as a measure as well as the how. Measurement is 50/50 the what and how.
Main Responsibilities
Unit Leadership & Ownership
- Full ownership for day-to-day operation across all units, role modelling teamwork by stepping in when needed, supporting GM’s and creating unity across the units.
- Ensure every unit opens and trades safely
- Hold unit GMs accountable to brand standards
- Supporting other units during a crisis or staff shortage
- Encouraging shared best practice and consistent standards
People Leadership & Development
- Bring visible energy to the floor, motivating teams through presence, standards and celebrating great performance.
- Coach and develop GMs across the units.
- Build a culture of accountability and performance
- Ensure training, onboarding and succession planning
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Commercial & Financial Performance
- Constantly challenge how things are done
- Seek better ways to run operations
- Reduce SITs
- Improve labour deployment and enhance customer experience
- Own the units P&L fully
- Lead forecasting, labour planning and optimisation
- Drive sales and profitability through strong execution
Standards, Safety & Compliance
- Ensure all units are audit-ready
- Lead food safety, H&S and legislative compliance
- Personally intervene when standards slip
- Ensure every unit opens and trade safely every day
- Following through relentlessly on issues, audits and actions
Stakeholder & Client Management
- Act as a senior SSP contact for the landlord and the Millies Brand
- Represent SSP professionally and consistently
Operational Delivery & Problem Solving
- Be the escalation point for issues impacting trade
- Resolve operational gaps quickly and effectively
- Provide visible leadership during key trading periods
Person Specification
- Experienced senior GM or multi-site leader
- Strong operational command and people leadership
- Commercially sharp with proven P&L ownership
- Deep understanding of compliance and standards
- Resilient, decisive and solutions-focused
SSP are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer that seek to recruit and retain the most talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds, skills and perspectives.
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