General Manager (Patrão) – Restaurant Operations Leadership

Job Description

General Manager (DC – Bench) | Nando’s PERi-PERi North America

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Nando’s PERi-PERi North America, located in Washington, DC. Nando’s aims to be the most loved restaurant brand in North America, building a business that thrives by genuinely putting people at the heart of what they do, leading with values, and acting with care. This role is pivotal in owning the full life of a restaurant, growing people, elevating the brand, strengthening commercial performance, and building community partnerships to truly change lives.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Washington, DC

• Team: Leads Assistant Patrãos and managers; reports to Area/Managing Director
• Mission: Owns the full life of the restaurant, growing people, elevating the brand, strengthening commercial performance, and building community partnerships to change lives.

What You’ll Actually Do
• People: Create an inclusive, values-led environment to grow, inspire, and lead the restaurant family, fostering a strong succession bench and ensuring Nandocas feel safe, fair, and supported on and off shift.
• Brand: Bring the Nando’s experience to life through coaching, role-modeling, and keen attention to detail, ensuring hospitality, food quality, consistency, speed, and atmosphere across all channels, prioritizing the eat-in experience.
• Commercial: Manage the full P&L with an owner’s mindset, shaping long-term strategy, forecasting, improving GP, controlling costs, and optimizing labor productivity while building commercial acumen in the team.
• Changing Lives: Honor the responsibility to change lives by growing confidence, capability, and opportunity for Nandocas, building local community partnerships, championing inclusive hiring, and leading sustainability initiatives.
• Risk & Compliance: Own end-to-end food safety, health & safety, licensing, and audit performance, protecting people and financial integrity through daily controls and compliance training.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Management-level professional with expertise in restaurant operations and team leadership.
• Experience: Possess 4-6 years of restaurant management experience, specifically including shift and team leadership. Proven capability to independently manage all operational aspects of a restaurant, from people and food to safety and sales, with a track record of delivering key performance indicators such as sales growth, labor control, food quality, and audit success. Includes specific experience in hiring, training, and developing staff, managing inventory, ordering, food preparation, and safety routines, alongside effectively leading during peak service periods and resolving guest issues while maintaining brand standards.
• Skills: Required certifications include SERV Safe Manager, with Allergen Awareness & Alcohol Safety certifications where applicable. Demonstrated proficiency in executing brand standards and maintaining a safe, compliant restaurant environment.