Regional Training Manager

Job Title: Regional Training Manager

Reports To: VP of Talent Management

FLSA Status: Exempt 

Location: Plano, TX

 

Summary:

Mendocino Farms is growing — 107 stores and counting, with 20+ openings a year on the horizon. At that pace, the strength of our management teams isn’t just a people priority; it’s an operational one. The Regional Training Manager is the person who ensures that growth doesn’t dilute what makes Mendo, Mendo.

 

With approximately 50 stores across your region and 6–7 Directors of Operations (DOs) as your primary partners, this isn’t a role where you’re running training sessions in every restaurant. It’s a role where you’re building the capability of the leaders who run those restaurants — and holding yourself accountable to what that produces.

 

Your work will center on three things: owning the field execution of the MIT (Manager-in-Training) program across your region, facilitating event-based learning experiences that develop managers at scale, and deploying targeted support to stores where people challenges are putting performance at risk. You’ll measure your impact in MIT completion rates, manager development participation, promotion pipeline strength, and the operational health of the stores you support.

 

You’ll also be the most important feedback loop the L&D team has. What you see in the field — what’s working, what’s not translating, where the gaps are — directly shapes what gets built at Base Camp. That intelligence is part of your job, not a side conversation.

 

This role is right for someone who thinks like a strategist, shows up like an operator, and measures their success by what happens in the restaurants after they leave.

 

What You’ll Own:

MIT Program – Regional Execution & Accountability

• Own the end-to-end field execution of the MIT (Manager-in-Training) program across your region — from participant launch through certification — and hold yourself accountable to regional completion rates and time-to-certification benchmarks.
• Build early relationships with MIT participants; coach them proactively through the program, identify skill gaps before they become certification barriers, and partner with GMs to close them in real time.
• Track regional MIT metrics — cohort progress, completion rates, promotion outcomes, and 90-day performance post-certification — and present a regular regional scorecard to DOs and the VP of Talent Management.
• Partner with the Training Coordinator on scheduling, logistics, and LMS tracking; own the participant relationship and field-side execution while the TC owns the systems.
• Surface patterns across cohorts — where candidates consistently struggle, which content isn’t landing, where GMs need more support — and bring specific, actionable insights back to the L&D team to strengthen the program.

Event-Based Learning & Manager Development

• Facilitate regional learning events for managers — leadership workshops, skill-building sessions, Train the Trainer programs, and other cohort-based experiences — partnering with the L&D team on program design and content while owning delivery and follow-through in the field.
• Partner with DOs to identify management development priorities in their areas; bring those needs to the L&D team so programming is built around real gaps, not generic topics.
• Own the logistics and execution of regional training events: coordination, facilitation, attendance tracking, and post-event effectiveness measurement.
• Establish a regional learning calendar that creates consistent manager development touchpoints throughout the year, not just during onboarding or MIT.
• Track event participation rates and manager satisfaction scores; report outcomes to the VP of Talent Management and use data to refine the regional programming approach each quarter.

DO Partnership & Regional Strategy

• Serve as the dedicated L&D partner to your 6–7 Directors of Operations — building the kind of trust that makes you their first call on people development questions, not an afterthought.
• Establish a regular meeting cadence with each DO to review MIT pipeline health, identify stores with emerging people challenges, and align on where your time will create the most value in the coming weeks.
• Translate DO feedback and operational performance data into a clear, defensible prioritization of where L&D support is deployed across your region — and be prepared to articulate that prioritization to the VP of Talent Management.
• Keep DOs current on training initiatives, program updates, and L&D resources; reduce the friction between what Base Camp is building and what field leaders actually know about and use.
• Bring a regional perspective to L&D planning conversations — your DOs’ priorities should shape what the team builds, not just react to it after the fact.

Targeted Store Support

• Identify and prioritize stores in your region where significant people challenges — leadership gaps, high early-tenure turnover, culture concerns, or persistent skill deficits — are materially affecting performance.
• Partner with the DO and GM to conduct a focused needs assessment, build a time-bound action plan, and determine whether the solution is coaching, structured training, or an escalation to the People team.
• Execute support plans with clear milestones and follow-up checkpoints; measure whether interventions produce movement on the targeted metrics before closing out the engagement.
• Maintain visibility into store health trends across your region so you’re deploying support proactively, not reactively, and escalating risk to the VP of Talent Management before it becomes a crisis.

Field Intelligence & L&D Partnership

• Serve as the primary field feedback source for the L&D team — partnering with the Instructional Designer on content accuracy and operational applicability before programs go live, and providing specific, structured feedback on existing materials based on what you’re observing in restaurants.
• Pilot new programs and content in the field; return actionable findings — not general impressions — that make the final product meaningfully better before broader rollout.
• Use LMS completion data, assessment results, and DO feedback to stay ahead of regional trends; proactively flag emerging capability gaps to the L&D team so content priorities stay aligned with what the field actually needs.
• Contribute to an annual regional review of training effectiveness — summarizing what worked, what didn’t, and what should be built, retired, or revised in the coming year.

 

What You Bring:

Experience & Education

• 4+ years of leadership experience in a restaurant or hospitality environment, with multi-unit, training, or field L&D experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated track record of driving measurable results across a large geography by working through others — you know how to create impact at scale without being in every room.
• Experience facilitating management-level training, leadership development workshops, or cohort-based learning programs for experienced operators.
• Proven ability to build credible, trust-based partnerships with operations leaders; you’ve been the person a DO calls, not the person they tolerate.
• Experience using training and operational data to prioritize decisions and report on outcomes.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.

Skills & Knowledge

• Strong facilitation skills — you can lead a room of experienced managers, read the energy, adjust on the fly, and make development feel worth their time.
• Strategic and data-driven — you build a regional plan, track what’s working, and adjust based on outcomes rather than instinct alone.
• Operationally credible — you understand the pressures DOs and GMs are managing, and you show up as a partner who makes their jobs easier, not harder.
• Clear, confident communicator across levels — equally effective in a coaching conversation with a new MIT candidate and a business update with a VP.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, LMS platforms, and comfort adopting new digital tools as needed.

Who You Are

• A portfolio thinker. You look at your region the way a good operator looks at their business — where’s the highest need, where will the investment pay off, what can wait, and what can’t.
• Accountable to outcomes. You set targets with your DOs and the VP of Talent Management, report on them honestly, and adjust when the numbers say to.
• A coach first. You’re more interested in building a GM’s capability to develop their own team than in being the one who does it for them.
• Self-directed and disciplined. You manage a large, complex region without someone managing your calendar — and you stay organized, responsive, and ahead of your commitments.
• A strong upward communicator. Your VP knows what’s happening in your region because you tell them — proactively, clearly, and without being asked.
• Energized by travel and variety. You genuinely enjoy being on the road, in restaurants, and in the company of operators — because that’s where this job lives.

 

Work Environment & Travel:

This is a fully field-based role. Each Regional Training Partner covers an assigned region of the country, with significant travel required within that footprint. The work environment includes active restaurant settings with varied temperatures, food products, and commercial equipment. A valid driver’s license and reliable transportation are required.

• Significant travel within assigned region; frequency varies based on market size, store count, and business priorities.
• Extended periods of standing and walking during restaurant visits; occasional lifting up to 25 pounds.

 

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary with bonus potential
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and paid sick leave
• Free and delicious Mendo meals
• Mileage and travel reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program
• Pet insurance, discounted gym memberships, and Tickets at Work

 

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to lift 25 pounds.
• Sitting / standing 6-8 hours.
• Hand use: single grasping, fine manipulation, pushing and pulling
• Work requires the following motions: bending, twisting, squatting and reaching

There is no “I” in Mendo

Mendocino Farms is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. Mendocino Farms will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.

* Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.