Manager of Business Analytics

About Ford's Garage

Ford's Garage is rapidly expanding as a full-service restaurant brand famous for blending America’s passion for automobiles with superior food and welcoming hospitality. Licensed by Ford Motor Company, the brand offers a distinct dining experience inspired by automotive heritage and premium service standards.

Position Summary

The Manager of Business Analytics is responsible for transforming the brand's diverse data sources into actionable business insights. This role manages the collection, organization, and quality assurance of data from various restaurant technology platforms including POS, back office, loyalty programs, online ordering, labor management, and customer feedback. The position is also accountable for reporting that is practical and utilized by leadership and operational teams. Further responsibilities include oversight of corporate business applications, ongoing menu data governance, and leading the operational implementation of the brand's AI initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and sustain executive dashboards, financial reports, and KPI scorecards monitoring sales, labor, and food costs.
• Track and analyze business performance in sales, trends, marketing efforts, and address ad hoc data requests.
• Study menu item sales mix, profit margins, and price sensitivity to optimize ingredient costs versus high-margin items.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, and Marketing to detect trends and operational inefficiencies.
• Inspect POS and customer satisfaction data to guide pricing, promotions, and cost-saving strategies.
• Ensure data accuracy and consistency from systems such as Aloha POS and R365 accounting software.
• Maintain pricing and menu item databases with high data integrity.
• Lead the operational rollout of AI projects, conducting use case identification, readiness evaluations, and pilot programs.
• Manage datasets that feed AI tools, including foundational data warehousing or lakes.
• Compare AI features in vendor platforms with standalone solutions, distinguishing marketing claims from real benefits.
• Define AI governance policies alongside senior leadership, including privacy, validation, and appropriate usage.
• Oversee AI pilot projects with measurable objectives and report results to senior management.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Analytics, Data Science, Finance, Statistics, or closely related fields.
• Over three years of practical experience working with restaurant technology systems and data, preference for menu data management expertise.
• Proficient in SQL querying and experience using BI tools like Power BI, Tableau, or Looker.
• Strong understanding of restaurant KPIs such as Prime Menu Item Mix (PMIX), comparable sales, labor cost percentages, marketing channels economics, and guest lifetime value analytics.
• Familiarity with data integration concepts including APIs, ETL/ELT processes, and data warehousing platforms (Snowflake, BigQuery, Fabric preferred).
• Interest and judgment in applying AI technology to business challenges, discerning genuine value from hype.
• Excellent communication abilities for presenting complex findings to executives and translating data concepts to operational teams.
• Disciplined approach to process management and documentation.
• Preferred experience with Aloha Enterprise reporting systems and prior restaurant team member background.

Success Targets in First Year

• Complete comprehensive data inventory and dictionary for core operational systems.
• Implement and ensure adoption of a leadership dashboard suite, replacing manual spreadsheet reports.
• Document and execute robust menu and master data update procedures achieving measurable accuracy improvements.
• Launch an initial AI pilot with clear success metrics and documented results.