District Manager - Southern California/Arizona

About the role

Job Family Group: Retail Group

Job Summary

The District Manager serves as an inspirational, strategic leader responsible for supervising multiple travel centers within a defined geographic region. This role provides the vision, direction, and operational leadership required to ensure each location operates safely, efficiently, and profitably while delivering an exceptional guest experience.

The District Manager builds and sustains a high-performing leadership team by setting clear expectations and driving excellence across all areas of the business, including operations, financial performance, personnel development, marketing execution, compliance, and site appearance. This leader plays a critical role in ensuring we return every traveler to the road better than they came.

This position requires residency in Southern California/Arizona.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & People Developmen t

• Lead, coach, and develop General Managers and their leadership teams across all assigned locations.
• Model professionalism, integrity, and high ethical standards, inspiring teams to uphold the same values.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to identify, attract, and retain top management-level talent, both internal and external.
• Assess staffing levels, build leadership capability, and develop strong successor pipelines.
• Cultivate a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure consistent execution of company standards related to safety, service quality, site appearance, and operational procedures.
• Conduct regular and unannounced audits, including inventory counts, cash drawer inspections, safe controls, and reconciliation of discrepancies.
• Coach General Managers to maintain proper non-fuel inventory levels, cash controls, product pricing, and product mix.
• Maintain operational knowledge of POS systems and ensure teams adhere to established processes.

Financial & Business Performance

• Establish and own district-level goals aligned with company objectives related to people, profit, safety, service, and quality.
• Analyze P&L statements, budgets, coverage ratios, and expense reports to drive sustainable financial performance.
• Supervise key performance indicators, find opportunities for improvement, and communicate insights to the Area Director and truck service leadership.
• Ensure each location operates as a profitable, well-run business with strong cost controls and revenue optimization.

Customer Experience

• Champion exceptional customer service standards across all locations.
• Coach teams on effective service principles and engage directly with customers when needed to resolve issues.
• Ensure every traveler receives a consistent, high-quality experience.

Compliance & Certification

• Stay current on industry guidelines, regulatory requirements, and operational standards.
• Complete required lead certification for the majority of restaurant brands managed (minimum of two)

Travel

• Travel regularly within the district, including occasional overnight stays.
• Maintain a valid driver's license.

Qualifications Required

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or major.
• 8+ years of successful multi-unit leadership experience with demonstrated positive results.
• Strong negotiation, leadership, and analytical skills.
• Deep understanding of category performance indicators such as gross margin, ROI, inventory turns, and basket size.
• Ability to work effectively across departments and manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, with operational understanding of POS systems.
• Strong planning and financial competence, including understanding of P&L drivers, budgets, and expense management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, drive performance, and achieve operational excellence.

Preferred

• Associate's or bachelor's degree.
• Experience in travel centers, retail, hospitality, or related industries.
• Proven ability to benchmark competitors and stay current with industry trends, technology, and regulatory changes.

Travel Requirement

• Up to 75% travel should be expected with this role
• Relocation Assistance: This role is not eligible for relocation
• Remote Type: This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills

Agility core practices, Agility core practices, Agreements and negotiations, Analytical Thinking, Business Acumen, Business process improvement, Commercial Acumen, Communication, Conflict Management, Continuous Improvement, Continuous Learning, Creativity and Innovation, customer and competitor understanding, Customer centric thinking, Customer data knowledge, Data Analysis, Data visualization and interpretation, Decision Making, Digital Collaboration, Digital Fluency, Industry knowledge and advocacy, Integrated pricing, Leading transformation, market, Negotiation planning and preparation {+ 13 more}.