Director, Strategic Operations; Applebee’s

Based in Pasadena, California, Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN), through its subsidiaries and franchisees, supports and operates restaurants under the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar®, IHOP®, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop® brands. As of December 28, 2025, these three brands consisted of over 3,500 restaurants across 20 international markets. Dine Brands is one of the largest full-service restaurant companies in the world and in 2022 expanded into the Fast Casual segment.

For more information on Dine Brands, visit the Company’s website located at

Job Location Type

Hybrid

The Director of Strategic Operations is a high-impact, highly visible leader responsible for driving clarity, focus, and forward momentum across Applebee’s most important operational priorities. A newly created function reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this role will serve as the right hand to the COO and sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and organizational alignment. The role is ideal for someone who can distill complex problems into actionable strategies while also being willing to get hands-on to drive work forward.

This individual must be a visionary thinker with strong analytical horsepower, capable of using data to shape recommendations, inform trade-offs, and influence decisions across the organization. At the same time, they should thrive in ambiguity, move quickly from ideas to action, and be comfortable rolling up their sleeves when initiatives need extra momentum or structure.

Success in this role requires an exceptional ability to influence without authority, build trust across diverse stakeholder groups, and navigate a matrixed, cross-functional environment. The Director of Strategic Operations serves as a connective force in aligning teams, identifying gaps, bringing structure to complex discussions, and ensuring that the organization remains relentlessly dedicated to Applebee’s Operational values of simplicity, focus, and innovation.

This is a unique opportunity for a strategic, analytically-minded operator who wants to shape the future of Applebee’s Operations while partnering closely with senior leadership to drive meaningful, system-wide impact.

Responsibilities

• Thought Partnership:
  Serve as a strategic thought partner and right hand to the COO, ensuring alignment, focus, and execution across Applebee’s key operational priorities.
• Strategic Project Leadership:
  Act as the operational hub for Applebee’s strategic initiatives, leading quarterly reviews of priority initiatives and ensuring progress against annual goals.
• Executive Decision Support:
  Prepare executive updates, leadership communications, board-level content, and franchisee-facing narratives that accelerate clarity and decision-making.
• Project Implementation:
  Drive execution of the COO’s enterprise-wide priorities by coordinating cross-functional teams and ensuring operational discipline.
• Dashboard Development:
  Own the design, development, and maintenance of key performance dashboards to maximize utilization by internal team and Franchisees.
• Change Management Leadership:
  Guide teams through organizational, process, and strategic changes by defining clear transitions, enabling adoption, and ensuring stakeholders understand and embrace new ways of working.
• Hands-On Execution:
  Build forecasting and financial models to pressure-test concepts, draft communications, or lead working sessions when initiatives need added momentum.
• Data Integrity:
  Ensure that all financial and operational metrics that are distributed are completely accurate and verified internally across key stakeholders.
• Operations Project Ownership:
  Personally lead select strategic initiatives, including scoping work, conducting analysis, developing solutions, and driving measurable outcomes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Influence:
  Align stakeholders across departments by facilitating discussions, surfacing tradeoffs, and resolving competing priorities.
• Strategic Analysis & Insight Development:
  Build data-backed insights, frameworks, and recommendations that inform long-range planning and organizational direction.
• Operational Storytelling:
  Craft compelling…