Hourly manager

The Hourly Bakery Manager owns the bakery’s daily execution. This role leads the team, protects the guest experience, manages labor and operational controls, and ensures product quality, food safety, training, and brand standards are carried out consistently. The manager translates sales forecasts and leadership priorities into clear daily plans, resolves routine issues within established authority, and escalates higher-risk matters quickly.

Team Leadership and Staffing

•      Identify staffing needs, screen candidates, conduct first interviews, and recommend hourly hires.

•      Lead daily coaching, feedback, corrective action, and documentation; recommend terminations, raises, promotions, trainers, and shift leads.

•      Execute the onboarding and training plan, verify required sign-offs, coach retraining, and develop shift leads, trainers, and assistant managers.

•      Create weekly schedules, manage availability, PTO, call-outs, breaks, and shift coverage while protecting labor goals and required leadership coverage.

•      Lead daily huddles and clear shift-to-shift communication; read, act on, and close out store-level communications.

Sales, Financial, and Administrative Execution

•      Drive daily sales behaviors, upselling, guest engagement, and team focus against store goals.

•      Manage daily controllables, including labor, waste, retail execution, cash discipline, and accurate timekeeping.

•      Verify punches, correct missed punches, meet payroll deadlines, and escalate unusual overtime or compliance concerns.

•      Complete and validate daily cash procedures and deposits, investigate routine variances, and maintain drawer accountability.

•      Apply forecasts to staffing, ordering, prep, and production; complete store action items from weekly scorecard and P&L reviews.

Inventory, Production, and Bakery Standards

•      Create and update pars; complete inventory counts; investigate basic variances; and place routine orders on time using forecast and approved guidelines.

•      Build and execute the daily production plan using sales forecasts, orders, events, and pars; track waste and prevent overproduction or stockouts.

•      Handle routine vendor and delivery issues, approved substitutions, and product rotation; escalate recurring shortages, pricing concerns, or service failures.

•      Maintain retail pricing, displays, rotation, and inventory within approved standards.

•      Own daily product quality, decorating standards, cleanliness, sanitation, temperature logs, food safety practices, and scored-visit readiness.

Guest Experience, Marketing Support, and Facilities

•      Resolve routine guest concerns promptly and professionally within approved recovery limits; document complaints and recurring issues.

•      Execute in-bakery marketing, signage, promotions, approved donations, and simple events in partnership with the Local Bakery Marketing Lead.

•      Prepare staffing, product, setup, and guest flow for events, large orders, holidays, and peak seasons.

•      Maintain the store maintenance log, report equipment or facility issues, follow up on repairs, and handle minor items within authority.

•      Interview and recommend hourly hires; document performance issues and recommend termination or advancement decisions.

•      Own the weekly schedule and shift coverage; use overtime only for emergencies and report it promptly unless planned overtime has been approved.

•      Approve routine guest recovery only within the manager limit and use approved promotions, pricing, donations, and vendor substitutions.

•      Execute simple, approved events and routine store-level purchases or maintenance items within policy.

•      Escalate leadership hiring, compensation exceptions, sensitive terminations, major repairs, vendor changes, structural staffing changes, and high-risk guest or brand matters.

Approval limits: Refunds, discounts/comps, donations, marketing spend, maintenance spend, and event commitments must remain within written company limits and approved budgets. Escalate exceptions before committing funds or representing the bakery.

Accountability | Primary measuresSales and labor | Sales vs. target; daily labor execution; weekly labor percent; overtime and coverage exceptions
People | Open positions; onboarding completion; first-30-day retention; training certification; bench strength
Product and cost | Forecast accuracy; stockouts; inventory variance; COGS/food cost; waste; emergency orders
Guest and brand | Complaint resolution time; repeat issues; product quality; scored-visit results; guest feedback
Controls and compliance | Punch accuracy; payroll timeliness; cash over/short; deposit completion; food safety logs; policy compliance

•      Daily: Review cash close, punches, production plan, labor, food safety logs, guest recovery, product quality, and shift communication.

•      Weekly: Review sales trends, labor percent, training, schedule quality, pars, inventory, waste, and scorecard action items with the Multi-Unit Leader.

•      Monthly/seasonal: Contribute to P&L action plans, talent reviews, compliance checks, maintenance trends, and holiday/peak readiness.

•      Demonstrated ability to lead hourly teams, coach performance, and follow through on standards in a fast-paced guest-service environment.

•      Working knowledge of scheduling, labor management, cash handling, inventory, production planning, food safety, and basic business KPIs.

•      Sound judgment in guest recovery, employee documentation, prioritization, and timely escalation.

•      Clear written and verbal communication; reliable organization and attention to detail.

•      Ability to learn and consistently apply Nothing Bundt Cakes brand standards, franchise policies, and bakery procedures.

•      Required certifications, age, education, and experience will be set by franchise policy and applicable local requirements.

•      Ability to work a flexible schedule based on bakery needs, including opening, closing, weekend, holiday, and peak-season coverage as assigned.

•      Ability to perform the essential functions of bakery operations with or without reasonable accommodation; location-specific physical requirements should be added before posting.

•      Regular on-site presence and availability to respond to staffing, guest, product-quality, food-safety, and equipment issues.

Immediately elevate food-safety or illness claims, legal threats, media or social escalation, harassment or discrimination allegations, safety incidents, missing deposits, suspected theft, major equipment failures, failed scored visits, payroll compliance concerns, severe staffing gaps, or any matter outside written approval authority.

This job description summarizes the primary responsibilities of the role and is not intended to list every duty. Responsibilities may be adjusted based on bakery needs, company policy, franchise requirements, and applicable law.