Specialty · Multi-unit operations
The multi-unit ops network.
A specialty from 10 to 10,000 units.
One of the specialty practices within Platt Partners' recruiting network — a lens through restaurant, retail, and hospitality. District Managers, Directors of Operations, VP HR, and CHROs at chains from 10 to 10,000 units. 25 years of ops-leadership network. One call gets you a slate of people Peter already knows.
Operators we've run searches for
Multi-unit ops isn't one job.
Multi-unit isn't a title — it's an operating system. A District Manager running 8 units and a Regional Director covering 80 both wear the "multi-unit operator" badge, but almost nothing about the day-to-day is the same. At 8 units the leader is on the store floor, coaching every General Manager personally, running the P&L in a spreadsheet. At 80 they're managing four DMs of their own, allocating capex across a region, and building the succession bench two layers below them. Same badge. Three different people.
The operating lever shifts by concept, too. Corporate-standards brands like Cracker Barrel run on cross-unit consistency — a leader who thrived there rarely translates to a franchise-heavy operator, where unit-level autonomy is the whole point. Multi-unit retail (Dollar General, Petco) leans on different KPIs than multi-unit restaurant (Jack in the Box, El Pollo Loco), and hospitality multi-property uses yet a third playbook. A handful of operators cross-fertilize between verticals. Most don't. We know which is which.
Growth-stage realism decides most of the fit. 25-to-100 units is a scale-up leader — the person who builds the second layer of management from scratch. 250-to-1,000 is an ops-machine builder — process documentation, POS architecture, HRIS platform selection. 5,000-to-20,000 is an infrastructure executive who runs it like a Fortune 500. Same title on every stage. Three different people. Over 25 years we've placed Directors of Operations and VP HR leaders at every point on that curve — Dollar General, Cracker Barrel, Jack in the Box, Petco, QDOBA — and we tell you which stage of leader your business actually needs.
Role coverage
Roles we routinely fill
If your job title sounds like one of these — or one we haven't listed but you'd be hiring at the same level — we've done it before.
The four-check screen
The multi-unit ops screen — what we test for
Four checks every candidate clears before you see the slate.
Multi-unit P&L verification
We confirm actual unit-count P&L ownership on every candidate — not the resume claim. A "Director of Operations" at 8 units is a different job than one at 80, and we tell you which one you're actually getting.
Concept-fit screening
A DM who ran 12 casual-dining units doesn't automatically thrive at a taqueria growth-stage brand or a discount-retail chain. We screen on speed of service, off-premise mix, brand standards, and daypart or store-format dynamics — because same title, different job.
Kitchen and store-floor back-channel
The best operators earn respect from the kitchen and the sales floor, not just the C-suite. We back-channel with people who worked under each candidate — GMs, hourly leads, training managers — to confirm the leadership style your team will follow.
Growth-stage realism
Scaling a chain from 20 to 100 units solves different problems than steadying one from 500 to 2,000. We match operators to where you are on the curve — not where the resume says they've been.
Verticals
Verticals we cover
A horizontal lens — same operational architecture, three different industries. The ops leaders we know cross between restaurant, hospitality, and retail. All within our broader recruiting practice.
25-year cumulative view
Multi-unit ops benches built across restaurant, hospitality, and retail
Over the last 25 years Peter has placed District Managers, Directors of Operations, Regional Directors, and VP HR leaders at brands operating from 100 to 2,000+ units. Repeat clients — Jack in the Box, El Pollo Loco, Del Taco, QDOBA, Petco — return because the same Peter runs every search from Brentwood.
Multi-unit ops search practice
First-slate turnaround for repeat roles
Role families — DM · DO · VP HR · HRIS
How we work
How a multi-unit ops search runs
One phone call in, a slate of pre-vetted operators out.
Scope call
Unit count, geography, concept, growth stage, must-haves. We sanity-check the title against the actual scope — the biggest cause of a stalled search is a mismatched title.
Slate from network
Repeat titles land in under 5 business days from our existing bench. New titles go 30 to 45 days. Every candidate is back-channeled before you see the name.
Placement and follow-through
We stay in the loop through offer, acceptance, and the first 90 days. If a placement doesn’t stick, we re-open the search on our dime.
Common questions
What operators and hiring committees ask us
The multi-unit ops questions Peter answers on almost every first call.
What is a District Manager?
A District Manager (DM) oversees a portfolio of same-brand units — typically 8 to 15 restaurants, stores, or properties within a defined geography. The DM owns P&L across every unit, coaches the unit-level General Managers, executes company-wide operational initiatives at the store level, and is the first line of accountability for local speed, service, and margin. In multi-unit chains DMs report to a Regional Director of Operations or Director of Operations.
How do you recruit multi-unit operators?
We are not a resume-forward search firm. Every candidate slate starts inside a 25-year network of District Managers, Directors of Operations, and VP-level ops leaders Peter has placed or worked alongside — most of them at brands including Dollar General, Starbucks, Jack in the Box, Del Taco, El Pollo Loco, QDOBA, Cracker Barrel, and Wendy’s. When a client opens a role, we are calling operators we already know are open, not building a list from scratch.
What is the difference between a Director of Operations at 10 versus 100 units?
They are different jobs at the same title. At 10 units a Director of Operations is close to the store floor, personally coaches every District Manager, and often still visits units weekly. At 100 units the same title runs multi-district structure, presides over regional DOs, and owns the operational playbook that scales — not the day-to-day execution of it. We verify actual unit-count P&L scope on every candidate before submitting a slate.
What does a VP HR at a multi-unit chain do?
At a multi-unit operator the VP HR (or CHRO at larger chains) owns the entire people system that keeps stores staffed and productive — recruiting, retention, training pipelines, wage strategy across geographies, benefits, multi-state compliance, and the HRIS platform that runs all of it. In restaurant and multi-unit retail, the VP HR is arguably the most operational executive in the building because unit-level turnover is the biggest lever on margin.
What is the difference between a District Manager and a Regional Director of Operations?
A District Manager owns a portfolio of units (typically 8 to 15). A Regional Director of Operations owns a portfolio of District Managers (typically 4 to 8) — so anywhere from 40 to 100+ units of indirect responsibility. DMs execute at the unit level; Regional Directors set district-level operational standards, allocate capital across their region, and are the succession bench for VP of Operations roles.
What industries does Platt Partners cover for multi-unit operations?
Restaurant (QSR, fast-casual, casual dining, family dining) is our primary vertical. Hospitality (hotel groups, resort brands, multi-property operators) is our second focus. Multi-unit retail is our third — Dollar General, Petco, and similar brands where the operational architecture is functionally identical to a chain restaurant. If your business runs the same playbook across 20+ units, the ops leaders we know can run yours.
Do you place franchisees or franchise operators?
We recruit on the franchisor (brand corporate) side — VPs of Franchise Operations, Directors of Franchise Field, Directors of New Store Openings supporting franchisee growth. We do not recruit operators to run individual franchisee groups. That is a different network and a different search.
How much does it cost to place a District Manager or Director of Operations?
Executive search runs a flat 20% of first-year cash comp — no engagement fee, staged on delivery. For a $180K base-salary Director of Operations, that is ~$36K. If you have ongoing hiring across the operations org, RaaS (Recruiting as a Service) on a monthly retainer is often more economical than per-placement fees; consulting by the hour covers comp benchmarking or JD calibration when you don't need a full search. See the Executive Search vs RaaS ROI calculator under Tools for a side-by-side model on your specific hiring plan.
How long does a multi-unit operations search take?
For roles Platt Partners has placed before — District Manager, Director of Operations, Regional Director, VP HR — the first candidate slate typically lands in under 5 business days. For newer titles or unusual geographies expect 30 to 45 days to first qualified slate. The 25-year network is why the timeline is fast.
What makes a great Director of Multi-Unit Operations?
Verified P&L accountability at the unit count you are hiring for, concept fit (a Director who ran 30 QSR units does not automatically thrive at 30 resort properties), team-recruiting credibility (they built the district bench, not just inherited it), and growth-stage realism — a leader who scaled a chain from 25 to 100 units solves different problems than one who steadied 500 to 2,000 units. We screen against all four before submitting.
What is HRIS and why do multi-unit chains need a dedicated HRIS Director?
HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System — the platform (Workday, UKG, ADP, iCIMS, or bespoke) that runs recruiting, onboarding, payroll, scheduling, benefits, and compliance at scale. At a chain with 5,000+ hourly employees across 30 states, a single HRIS misconfiguration can cost seven figures in payroll errors or missed compliance. The HRIS Director owns platform architecture, integrations, and analytics — a specialist role, not a generalist HR title.
Where is Platt Partners based, and do you place nationally?
Platt Partners is based in Brentwood, Tennessee — 15 miles south of downtown Nashville. Peter Platt personally leads every engagement. We place multi-unit operations leaders nationally, with density in the Southeast, Texas, and the West Coast where our client concentration is highest.
Multi-unit operators
Tell us what you're trying to fill
Peter reads every inquiry. First response inside 24 business hours. For roles we've placed before, first candidate slate inside 5 business days.