Chief Operating Officer

About the Role

An established and fast-growing international group specializing in hospitality, lifestyle, food & beverage, and entertainment is recruiting a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to drive its future expansion and operational success. The Group manages an extensive portfolio of over 17 brands and 70 outlets spanning luxury fine dining, casual dining, cafés, nightlife, beach clubs, and lifestyle venues across various international locations, with a strong presence in the GCC.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee overall operations and strategic leadership for a diverse, multi-brand group operating internationally.
• Convert the Group’s strategic aims into prioritized operational and commercial goals.
• Implement effective governance and accountability structures with measurable KPIs for all markets and units.
• Maintain consistent operational quality while preserving unique brand identities.
• Develop scalable operating frameworks to support ongoing international growth.
• Collaborate closely with the CEO and executive team on growth strategies.
• Manage full commercial accountability including revenue, profitability, and EBITDA.
• Enhance sales growth, outlet efficiency, and margin improvement initiatives.
• Optimize food, beverage, labor costs, and operational expenses.
• Engage with finance teams on forecasting, budgeting, and financial performance tracking.
• Create performance management systems across brands and locations.
• Detect underperforming outlets and spearhead turnaround actions.
• Supervise diverse hospitality and lifestyle offerings ensuring brand standards and customer experience excellence.
• Drive operational best practices and knowledge sharing across business formats.
• Lead international operations, aligning multi-country teams and adapting procedures for local requirements.
• Support new business development, including concept evaluation, market entry, partnership deals, and franchise operations.
• Ensure new launches meet operational readiness, timing, and budget targets.
• Champion guest experience excellence through defined service standards and KPIs, including monitoring NPS and customer feedback.
• Build, nurture, and develop high-performing leadership and operational teams worldwide.
• Utilize technology and analytics to continuously improve operational functionality and decision-making.
• Ensure all operations comply with legal, health, safety, and food regulations while maintaining robust risk management and governance.
• Engage with shareholders, board members, and stakeholders, providing insights and representation at industry events.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will demonstrate extensive leadership experience in hospitality-related industries with a solid track record managing large-scale, multi-brand and international operations.

• Minimum of 15 years progressive leadership in hospitality, F&B, restaurants, leisure, or consumer services.
• Previous senior executive roles such as COO, Group COO, CEO, Managing Director, or Group Operations Director.
• Expertise managing 50+ outlets and multi-market operations.
• Strong commercial acumen with P&L accountability and a history of driving revenue and profit growth.
• Experience in international markets, notably within the GCC region.
• Leadership in new concept development, business expansion, and international scaling.

Preferred Backgrounds

• International or regional restaurant groups
• Luxury hospitality and multi-brand operators
• Entertainment, nightlife, and beach club enterprises
• Franchise and diversified hospitality organizations

Leadership Competencies

• Strong strategic leadership with ability to translate vision into measurable results.
• Acute commercial insight into revenue and cost management.
• Operational excellence across large-scale and complex operations.
• Ability to protect and elevate multiple brand identities.
• International business mindset with cross-cultural operational expertise.
• Capacity to drive organizational transformation and scalable growth systems.
• Skilled in developing senior leadership and nurturing talent.
• Deep customer focus emphasizing premium hospitality experience.
• Executive presence and adeptness in stakeholder engagement.

Performance Indicators

• Growth in group revenue and EBITDA
• Same-store sales and outlet profitability
• Optimized labor productivity and cost control
• High guest satisfaction and brand compliance
• Successful new openings and market expansion
• Employee engagement and leadership retention
• Operational efficiency and transformation successes