senior manager, Coffee Initiatives/Excellence – International

Now Brewing – senior manager, Coffee Initiatives/Excellence – International
#tobeapartner

Job Summary
This role contributes to Starbucks success by advancing the company’s mission to be the premier purveyor of the world’s finest coffee and by leading the strategy, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of coffee quality and coffee excellence initiatives across international markets. 

The senior manager, Coffee Initiatives/Excellence – International establishes scalable systems, processes, tools, and learning solutions that enable markets and licensees to consistently deliver exceptional Starbucks coffee quality and customer experiences. The role leads end-to-end programming—from strategy and cross-functional development through engagement, training, implementation, equipment programming, and sustainment—to address capability gaps and drive coffee excellence across every coffeehouse.

This role translates enterprise and global coffee strategies into implementation-ready solutions; aligns global, regional, market, and functional stakeholders; manages interdependencies, risks, decisions, and resources; and measures business and operational impact. The role indirectly leads globally distributed partners and Licensee stakeholders and models Starbucks guiding principles.

We welcome applications from talent globally. Depending on the selected candidate, the position may be based in our Seattle, EMEA or Hong Kong Support Centre. The job title may vary by location to reflect local organizational structures and market requirements.

Key Responsibilities
1) Coffee Quality Strategy and Centre of Excellence
•    Leads an internationally applicable Centre of Excellence for coffee brewing, beverage quality, and equipment standards to drive consistent execution across all coffeehouse formats.
•    Establishes governance, benchmarks, diagnostic tools, and performance measures to monitor and improve coffee quality across international markets, embedding requirements into standards, learning, engagement programs, and operating routines.
•    Identifies quality and capability gaps and leads targeted mitigation and sustainment programs, applying coffee, equipment, retail, and industry expertise to strengthen execution and decision-making.

2) Coffee Initiatives and Program Management 
•    Identifies opportunities and leads coffee initiatives from strategy through implementation and sustainment, with accountability for stakeholder engagement, operational readiness, delivery quality, and measurable outcomes.
•    Applies program-management discipline to define scope, governance, milestones, resources, dependencies, risks, decision rights, and success measures, while maintaining visibility to program health and required actions.
•    Leads complex, multi-year programs across international teams, adapting priorities and resolving tradeoffs among business value, coffee quality, market needs, operational feasibility, timing, and enterprise priorities.

3) Cross-Functional Leadership and Stakeholder Management
•    Aligns senior leaders, international and regional teams, markets, licensees, and cross-functional partners around shared goals, decision rights, ownership, and handoffs.
•    Builds cohesive stakeholder communities and engagement plans that strengthen advocacy, readiness, adoption, and sustained execution across international markets.
•    Models a productive team environment and coaches partners to navigate team dynamics and deliver shared outcomes.

4) Implementation, Adoption, and Continuous Improvement
•    Translates coffee strategies, and cross-functional inputs into scalable, implementation-ready programs, playbooks, tools, and learning resources for international markets.
•    Evaluates cross-functional and market interdependencies and partners with regional teams to validate operational feasibility, readiness, and adoption while maintaining central ownership of program content and quality.
•    Monitors and evaluates market needs, program adaptations, risks and opportunities across coffee excellence portfolio to continuously improve execution, driving value to partners, customers and Licensee business. 
 

Required Experience
•    Experience leading cross-functional programs in an international retail environment, including collaboration with regional teams, market operators, licensees, or franchisees. Proven ability to navigate competing market priorities, cultural differences, implementation constraints, and varying levels of capability while delivering scalable solutions that can be adopted across multiple countries.
•    Strong retail and industry coffee knowledge, including coffee quality, brewing, beverage, and equipment standards; Q Grader, SCA, AST, or comparable accreditation is an advantage.
•    Experience leading cross-functional programs in international, multi-market retail environments and delivering scalable solutions across regional teams, market operators, licensees, or franchisees.
•    Program-management expertise across portfolio planning, governance, resources, budgets, dependencies, risks, decisions, stakeholders, and delivery of multiple workstreams.
•    Ability to translate complex strategies, technical requirements, and operational needs into clear standards, playbooks, learning solutions, communications, and implementation tools.
•    Strong strategic thinking, business acumen, analytical judgment, problem solving, and decision making, with the ability to navigate competing priorities, cultural differences, implementation constraints, and varying market capabilities.
•    Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, align diverse stakeholders without direct authority, and move teams from consultation to decision and action.
•    Strong written, verbal, facilitation, and executive-communication skills, including leadership engagement, change, and adoption planning.
•    Ability to prioritize and adapt across multiple programs while maintaining accountability for outcomes, quality, timelines, and stakeholder visibility; proficiency with AI tools, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and collaborative planning and content-management tools.

Preferred Experiences 
•    Four-year degree in business, operations, program management, communications, organizational development, coffee, food science, or a related field; project or program management certification considered.
•    Eight or more years of experience leading cross-functional programs or projects in a large, matrixed organization.
•    Five or more years of coffee-industry experience; recognized coffee, sensory, roasting, brewing, or equipment accreditation preferred.
•    Experience supporting international retail operations, licensees, franchisees, or geographically distributed market operators.
•    Experience designing and implementing operational standards, quality systems, learning programs, tools, resources, processes, or launch plans.
•    Experience mentoring project or program managers and building capability in cross-functional teams.
•    Knowledge of retail store operations, implementation planning, operational readiness, change management, adoption, and sustainment.
•    Experience evaluating the financial, operational, customer, partner, or brand value of programs and investments.
•    Knowledge of sustainability, regulatory, compliance, sourcing, food-safety, or responsible-business considerations affecting coffee and retail operations.

Our Promise
• Our partner promise: Bridge to a better future
• Our customer promise: Serve the world's finest coffee with a moment of connection
• Our farmer promise: Ensure the future of coffee for all
• Our community promise: Contribute positively
• Our environmental promise: Give more than we take
• Our shareholder promise: Generate long-term returns

Let us give you the opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself. It is time for you #tobeapartner. Apply today!

All partners (employees) and applicants will be treated fairly, without regard to gender, race, color, national origin, citizenship, religion, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital/family status, gender identity or other factors protected by law. We have zero tolerance for any type of discrimination or harassment based on the foregoing.