Job Description
Senior Manager, Design Nando's Peri Peri USA is growing fast and we're looking for a Senior Manager, Design to help bring our new restaurants to life and to drive our renovation projects across the fleet, ensuring that all locations meet or exceed our brand standards. We bring marinated, flame-grilled chicken and PERI PERI joy to guests every day. We move quickly, care about craft, and back our restaurants with the tools they need to succeed, smart commercial thinking and operational empathy. At Nando's, we want to be the most loved restaurant brand in North America, sharing the spirit of Nando's PERI PERI with everyone who chooses to access it. We will redesign and build a business that thrives as it answers fully to its consumers' needsand endures over time through genuinely putting people at the heart of what we do. We will lead with our values and act with care, compassion, and kindness. By doing this, we will Change Lives Together, every day and everywhere. The Senior Manager, Design leads the cross-functional design program for Nando's restaurant portfolio, ensuring every new restaurant opening (NRO), renovation, and brand-led refresh meets our aesthetic, operational, and commercial standards. This role owns the design governance framework, sets the multi-year physical environment roadmap, leads internal and external design partners, and ensures design excellence across all pipeline types. The Senior Manager, Design shapes the design strategy and standards of the built environment, anticipates risks across markets, manages program-level design budgets, and ensures cross-functional teams (Development, Construction, Operations, Procurement, Facilities, Brand) are aligned on priorities, sequencing, workflows, and required deliverables. This role does not originate design concepts but ensures that work produced by external design consultants is accurate, technically sound, fully coordinated, and aligned with brand requirements, directly influencing the long-term integrity of the Nando's brand through effective design leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making. Key Responsibilities Design Strategy, Standards & Roadmap Contributes to shaping the multi-year physical environment strategy, ensuring design standards evolve to meet guest expectations, operational efficiency, cost performance, and brand direction. Lead the creation, governance, and continuous improvement of brand design standards, including layouts, spatial logic, FF&E, finishes, detailing, and material specifications. Monitor emerging design and construction trends and work jointly with Construction to evaluate impacts, mitigate risks, and develop recommendations that ensure Nando's environments remain operationally efficient, cost-effective, and future-ready. Partner with Brand, Operations, and Development to ensure standards reflect consumer preferences, operational realities, and emerging restaurant formats. Program Leadership & Cross-Functional Alignment Lead the design program across NROs, remodels, refreshes, special projects, and strategic initiatives. Ensure alignment with pipeline sequencing and business priorities. Set clear workflows, tools, calendars, and approval gates for all teams involved in design, permitting, procurement, and construction. Facilitate cross-functional reviews, ensuring timely decision-making and risk mitigation that protects schedule and investment. Serve as the primary design leader representing Design in cross-functional forums, budget reviews, pipeline meetings, and executive discussions. Consultant, Vendor & Partner Management Lead and manage multiple external design partners (Architect of Record, Interior Design, MEP, Structural, Kitchen, South African suppliers) to deliver coordinated, high-quality work at scale. Establish performance expectations, KPIs, and operating rhythms for external partners; manage accountability, scorecards, and alignment across all markets. Drive early detection of design issues and ensure timely resolution across disciplines. Design Deliverables, Technical Quality, & Documentation Oversee all design deliverables, including feasibility studies, test fits, design development packages, materials packages, permit drawings, bid sets, construction drawings, and shop drawings. Govern the quality and accuracy of technical documentation across all consultants; ensure constructability, code compliance, and alignment with Nando's standards. Author and approve critical design guidelines, templates, tools, and review protocols. Maintain updated internal documentation to support brand and operational initiatives such as display planograms and marketing initiatives. Budget Ownership, Cost Strategy & Value Engineering Manage the design program