About Us
At Pressed Cafe, we believe exceptional food and drink start with quality ingredients and a passion for hospitality. Our all-day menu features Mediterranean-inspired dishes made with fresh, local ingredients, paired with great coffee and fast, friendly service.
Pressed Cafe is an emerging, high-growth premium quick-casual restaurant company with a strong regional presence and exciting expansion plans. With multiple locations today and an aggressive development pipeline, we are building the infrastructure to scale significantly over the next several years. As a founder-led organization, we remain deeply committed to hospitality, culture, and delivering exceptional guest experiences.
At the heart of everything we do is our mission: Great People, Great Food, Great Coffee.
About the Role
As Pressed Cafe continues its growth trajectory, we are seeking a strategic and hands-on Chief People Officer (CPO) to build, lead, and evolve our People function required for our next phase of growth.
The CPO will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team and a trusted advisor to ownership. This leader will architect and execute a people-first strategy that supports rapid growth, strengthens company culture, enhances operational excellence, and develops top-tier hospitality talent across restaurant and corporate teams.
The CPO will report directly to ownership and work closely with the executive leadership team across Operations, Finance, and Development.
This role is based out of our HQ office in Nashua, NH and will require regular travel to restaurant locations to stay closely connected to our teams and operations.
This role requires a forward-thinking HR executive who understands the complexity of multi-unit restaurant operations and thrives in entrepreneurial, fast-paced environments.
What You’ll Do
The CPO will lead all aspects of the People function, including talent acquisition, culture development, leadership training, compensation strategy, HR systems, and workforce planning across restaurant and corporate teams.
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and execute a comprehensive People strategy aligned with the company’s growth goals and brand vision.
- Serve as a strategic partner to ownership and executive leadership on workforce planning, organizational design, and leadership development.
- Build scalable organizational infrastructure to support new restaurant openings and long-term expansion.
- Lead workforce planning initiatives that support aggressive growth targets.
Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
- Design and oversee full-cycle recruiting strategies for restaurant leadership, hourly team members, and corporate roles.
- Build employer branding initiatives that position Pressed Cafe as a top hospitality employer.
- Implement processes and systems to support high-volume hiring while maintaining strong candidate quality.
Culture & Employee Engagement
- Champion and strengthen a values-driven culture across all locations.
- Develop engagement initiatives that improve retention and enhance the employee experience.
- Lead programs that strengthen morale, performance, and brand pride across restaurant and corporate teams.
- Partner with Operations leadership to ensure cultural alignment across all markets.
Leadership Development & Training
- Build structured onboarding, training, and development programs for hourly employees, managers, and senior leaders.
- Establish leadership competency models and performance development pathways.
- Develop succession planning frameworks to support internal promotions and career growth.
- Implement scalable training programs to support multi-unit expansion.
- Lead the evaluation and implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS).
Total Rewards & Compliance
- Design competitive compensation and benefits programs aligned with market trends.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws across all locations.
- Oversee employee relations, risk management, and policy development.
- Guide performance management processes that reinforce accountability and results.
HR Infrastructure & Systems
- Evaluate and implement HR technology platforms to support company growth.
- Lead the RFP and implementation of modern HRIS and LMS systems.
- Develop KPI dashboards and people analytics to inform strategic decisions.
- Build and lead a scalable HR team as the company continues to grow.
What You Bring
- 10+ years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, including at least 5 years in a senior executive role.
- Significant experience in multi-unit restaurant, hospitality, retail, or other consumer-facing environments.
- Deep expertise in Talent Acquisition, Payroll, and Learning & Development functions.
- Experience designing compensation structures and managing benefits programs.
- Experience supporting high-growth, emerging brands (fast casual or QSR preferred).
- Demonstrated success building HR infrastructure within scaling organizations.
- Strong understanding of labor-intensive, hourly workforce environments.
- Strong business acumen and ability to partner closely with Operations and Finance.
- Experience in privately owned or founder-led companies preferred.
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree or HR certification (SPHR, SHRM-SCP) preferred.
- Project management experience is a plus.
Why This Role Is Exciting
- Opportunity to build and shape the People function for a rapidly scaling hospitality brand.
- Direct partnership with ownership and executive leadership on company growth strategy.
- Ability to shape culture, leadership development, and organizational infrastructure during a critical expansion phase.
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.
