Chief Operating Officer - Thompson Hospitality Corporation

As our company continues to grow, we are seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead and oversee sector operational functions. The COO will be responsible for ensuring the efficient management of the organization’s operations, aligning resources with our strategic objectives, and driving operational excellence. This role is critical in achieving both operational and financial success, making a significant impact on our continued growth and overall performance.

Thompson Hospitality is a prominent restaurant, food service and facilities management company in the United States. Founded in 1992 by Warren M. Thompson, the company has its headquarters in Reston, Virginia. It initially started as a food service provider and has since expanded its services to include facilities management and support services for various industries, including education, corporate, healthcare, and more.The corporate office in Reston, Virginia, it serves as the central hub for Thompson Hospitality's administrative and support functions. This centralized location facilitates streamlined communication, coordination, and management across the various segments of the business, including restaurants, food services, facilities management, and other support services.

Competitive Benefits: 

• Health/Dental/Vision 
• Paid Time Off 
• 401(k), matched up to 4% 
• Short and Long Term Disability 
• Tuition Reimbursement 
• Employee Referral Program 
• Pet Insurance 
• Discounts: Hotels, Travel, Tickets, Restaurants 
• Employees and their relatives are eligible for a discounted meal plan at any of our HBCU client locations while they are attending school 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Leadership: Provides strategic leadership to operational teams, aligning them with company goals while fostering a collaborative and positive work culture. Acts as a key liaison between operations and clients to ensure seamless communication.
2. Cross-functional Collaboration: Partners with senior executives, including the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and SVP of Human Resources, to align departmental operations with broader organizational objectives, ensuring cohesive execution of strategic initiatives.
3. Financial Oversight: Leads the management of operational budgets and financial reporting, ensuring accurate analysis and monitoring of fiscal performance. Facilitates timely client payments and ensures financial data informs key decision-making.
4. Strategic Execution: Converts the company’s strategic goals into actionable operational plans, driving their implementation across all operational areas to achieve targeted outcomes.
5. Client & Business Development: Cultivates and maintains strong client relationships, ensuring high levels of satisfaction and identifying opportunities for future growth, including franchisee partnerships.
6. Contract & Pricing Management: Oversees the development of pricing strategies for new contracts, renewals, and potential business opportunities, ensuring competitiveness and profitability.
7. Operational Excellence: Establishes and implements operational goals, policies, procedures, and systems, ensuring efficient workflows and compliance with industry regulations and internal standards.
8. Resource Management: Optimizes resource allocation, including human capital, technology, marketing, procurement, and physical assets, to drive productivity and operational efficiency.
9. Process Improvement: Continuously identifies opportunities for process enhancement, cost optimization, and technology adoption, ensuring the organization maintains a competitive edge in the market.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years in a senior operational role (Vice President level or above) within the hospitality sector.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to produce and analyze data-driven reports to guide decision-making.
• In-depth knowledge of industry-specific regulations and compliance requirements.

Essential Skills & Abilities:

• Proven experience in leading and developing high-performing teams, with a focus on staff retention, operational efficiency, and financial management.
• Exceptional leadership skills, including planning, organizing, delegating, and motivating teams to achieve organizational objectives.
• Ability to analyze complex situations, gather relevant data, and make informed decisions that drive operational success.
• Expertise in change management, guiding both teams and organizations through transitions effectively.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain professional relationships with internal teams and clients.
• Willingness to travel for client development and operational oversight.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong financial reporting capabilities.
• Independent decision-making, problem-solving expertise, and initiative.
• Ability to prepare detailed reports, correspondence, and presentations as required.

Who We Are:

Thompson Hospitality is the nation’s largest minority-owned food and facilities management company. Our services include hospitality, full dining and quick service restaurants, campus dining, diversity consultation, facility operations and maintenance management. We are a family-run organization with more than twenty-five years providing services built on our core mission to provide a positive experience to every relationship we are involved in: one guest, one client, one team member at a time. As a fast-growing company, we have a growth plan to more than double in size over the next three years. We are looking for team members who are interested in developing their careers to the next level while joining our team of over 4,000 employees, serving clients in over 40 states to include more than 1.9 million guests each year. Thompson Hospitality focuses on three core areas in everything we do:

• Purpose
• Give back to our communities
• Celebrate diversity
• People
• Do the right thing
• Treat people the way you want to be treated
• Always do your best
• Be accountable for our actions
• Performance
• Serve the highest quality food
• Provide world-class service
• Maintain flexibility to better serve our clients