Full-Time
Global Network Operations Lead
Yum! Brands
5,001-10,000 employees
Global franchised fast-food restaurant operator
No salary listed
United States
In Person
 DevOps & Infrastructure (1) |
|---|
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- Strong experience supporting enterprise-scale or global network environments with 24x7 operational requirements.
- Deep understanding of network operations practices, including incident management, problem management, change management, escalation, service monitoring, operational reporting, and root cause analysis.
- Experience with enterprise networking technologies such as routing, switching, firewalls, VPN, SD-WAN, wireless, DNS, load balancing, network segmentation, cloud connectivity, and network monitoring platforms.
- Experience supporting voice, contact center, or unified communications operations is preferred; WebEx Cloud Contact Center experience is strongly preferred if voice scope is activated.
- Strong understanding of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, audit findings, compliance requirements, control evidence, and operational risk management as they relate to network and voice environments.
- Ability to create and maintain operational standards, runbooks, playbooks, escalation models, dashboards, and service management procedures.
- Experience coordinating Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams, regional operations groups, vendors, and managed service providers.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to assess impact, prioritize risk, identify root causes, and drive sustainable corrective actions.
- Ability to communicate complex technical and operational issues clearly to technical teams, business stakeholders, vendors, and leadership.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across regions, functions, and service providers.
- Experience with ITSM platforms, monitoring tools, vulnerability management tools, reporting dashboards, and operational governance processes.
- Own 24x7 operational stability of the global network environment, including incident response coordination, escalation management, operational readiness, service health, and network reliability.
- Monitor global network availability, performance, capacity, resiliency, and incident trends to identify operational risks before they affect brands, restaurants, corporate users, or critical business services.
- Lead operational reviews, incident postmortems, and problem management activities to identify root causes, reduce repeat incidents, and improve long-term service reliability.
- Partner with regional teams, Tier 2 and Tier 3 support groups, vendors, and managed service providers to ensure timely response to high-priority incidents and operational escalations.
- Provide functional leadership for Voice Operations support teams if the scope is activated, with primary focus on WebEx Cloud Contact Center support operations.
- Align voice support teams to consistent incident, escalation, triage, documentation, change-readiness, and service health practices.
- Coordinate support execution for WebEx Cloud Contact Center issues, including service-impacting incidents, recurring problems, vendor escalations, configuration-related support needs, and operational readiness activities.
- Partner with contact center stakeholders, vendors, managed service providers, Network Engineering, and business teams to maintain service continuity and improve support outcomes.
- Ensure voice operations support practices are integrated into broader GETS operational rhythms, reporting, risk escalation, and service review cadences.
- Establish, maintain, and continuously improve global network operations standards across regions to ensure consistent execution and prevent operational fragmentation.
- Define and maintain standard operating procedures, runbooks, escalation paths, maintenance expectations, change readiness requirements, monitoring practices, and service management standards.
- Extend applicable operational standards to voice and WebEx Cloud Contact Center support teams where the scope is included.
- Ensure Tier 2 and Tier 3 operational teams follow consistent practices for incident management, problem management, change execution, vulnerability response, configuration management, and documentation.
- Identify regional or functional process gaps and drive standardization plans that improve control, visibility, reliability, and accountability.
- Align Tier 2 and Tier 3 operational execution with enterprise network, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and GETS strategy.
- Translate enterprise strategy into practical operational requirements, including runbooks, monitoring standards, tooling expectations, reporting needs, service review cadences, and escalation models.
- Partner with Network Engineering, Security Architecture, Security Engineering, Infrastructure, Cloud, GRC, and regional technology teams to ensure operational practices support broader technology and cybersecurity objectives.
- Provide operational input into network and voice operations roadmaps, tooling enhancements, service improvement plans, and risk reduction initiatives.
- Drive remediation and resolution of audit findings, compliance requirements, cyber vulnerabilities, and operational risks related to the global network environment.
- Include voice and WebEx Cloud Contact Center operational risks, compliance needs, support gaps, and remediation activities where the role’s voice scope is activated.
- Partner with GRC, Vulnerability Management, Cyber Defense, Infrastructure, regional teams, vendors, and service providers to prioritize remediation based on risk, business impact, and operational feasibility.
- Track remediation owners, target dates, dependencies, evidence requirements, and closure status to ensure risk items are addressed within agreed timelines.
- Support operational evidence collection, control validation, audit readiness, and compliance reporting activities.
- Define operational requirements for network monitoring, observability, alerting, logging, ticketing, dashboarding, and reporting tools.
- Ensure monitoring coverage aligns to critical services, priority network assets, business impact, escalation requirements, and risk indicators.
- Support service health visibility for WebEx Cloud Contact Center and related voice operations capabilities where in scope.
- Develop and maintain operational dashboards that provide visibility into global network health, voice support health where applicable, incident trends, remediation status, service performance, and regional execution.
- Use operational data to identify improvement opportunities, reduce recurring issues, and strengthen accountability across GETS, regional teams, and support providers.
- Serve as a trusted operational lead for global network operations practices within GETS.
- Provide coordination and guidance to support teams responsible for WebEx Cloud Contact Center if voice operations are included in the role scope.
- Influence regional teams, vendors, service providers, and internal partners to adopt common standards, tooling practices, and operational expectations.
- Facilitate cross-functional working sessions to resolve complex operational issues, remove blockers, and improve service reliability.
- Mentor less experienced team members and provide guidance on incident response, troubleshooting, operational discipline, documentation, and risk-based prioritization.
- Represent network and, where applicable, voice operations in service reviews, project discussions, risk forums, audit remediation reviews, and operational improvement planning.
- Experience with WebEx Cloud Contact Center experience is preferred if voice scope is activated.
- Relevant certifications such as CCNP, CCNA, ITIL, CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, Cisco Collaboration, WebEx, or cloud networking certifications are preferred but not required.
Yum! Brands operates a global portfolio of fast-food chains, including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill, primarily through franchising in more than 155 countries with about 61,000 restaurants. Its revenue mainly comes from franchise and license fees as well as royalties, plus some company-owned locations. The company differentiates itself by leveraging a large, multi-brand network with a franchise-heavy model that supports rapid international expansion while keeping operating costs down. Its goal is to grow its global footprint, maximize value from its brands, and continuously optimize operations and menus across markets.
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Louisville, Kentucky
Founded
1997
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Yum signed June 2026 Pizza Hut sales totaling $2.7 billion.
- Q2 2026 ex-Pizza Hut system sales rose 7%; digital mix exceeded 60%.
- Taco Bell’s Q2 same-store sales rose 7%; AI menu boards expand nationwide.
What critics are saying
- Taco Bell’s July 2026 cyclospora outbreak cut U.S. same-store sales 2% quarter-to-date.
- Pizza Hut’s sale closes only after Q3 2026 approvals; failure delays portfolio cleanup.
- If Taco Bell weakens, Yum loses its main growth engine and valuation support.
What makes Yum! Brands unique
- Yum’s asset-light franchisor model converts 61,000 restaurants into royalty income.
- Byte by Yum powers AI menus, digital ordering, and cross-brand experimentation.
- Taco Bell drives growth while Pizza Hut exits, sharpening capital allocation.
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Benefits
Flexible Work Hours
Professional Development Budget
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Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 10%1 year growth
↑ 10%2 year growth
↑ 10%Taco Bell's same-store sales dropped 2% in July-September following a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce, down from a 7% increase in the previous quarter. Parent company Yum Brands reported sales bottomed out the weekend of 18-19 July but have since recovered halfway to year-ago levels. The chain removed shredded iceberg lettuce from US restaurants on 17 July after federal health officials connected it to the outbreak affecting customers in nine states. Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce from central Mexico the following day. Yum Brands chief executive Chris Turner credited quick action, clear social media communication, and daily specials like $1 Mexican pizza for winning back diners. Company shares rose 6% on Thursday. Other chains including Chipotle and Chopt also reported lower traffic due to the outbreak.
Yum Brands reported mixed second-quarter results on Wednesday but provided no update on the cyclospora outbreak linked to Taco Bell restaurants. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.62, beating expectations of $1.58, whilst revenue of $2.17 billion fell short of the $2.2 billion forecast. Net income rose to $853 million from $374 million year-over-year. Net revenue climbed 12% to $2.17 billion, driven by new restaurant openings. Global same-store sales increased 3% in the quarter. Taco Bell's same-store sales jumped 7%, whilst KFC reported 2% growth and Pizza Hut declined 1%. The results cover the period ended 30 June, before the FDA linked the outbreak to Taco Bell in mid-July.
Yum! Brands reported Q1 revenues of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year-on-year, exceeding analysts' expectations by 0.6%. The owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill delivered strong results, beating EBITDA and same-store sales estimates. Despite the solid performance, the stock has declined 3.7% since reporting and currently trades at $150.75, suggesting investor expectations may have been higher than Wall Street's published projections. The traditional fast food sector showed strength overall in Q1, with 12 tracked companies collectively beating revenue consensus estimates by 1.4%. El Pollo Loco emerged as the quarter's top performer, reporting revenues of $126.2 million, up 5.9% year-on-year and exceeding expectations by 3.2%. Its shares rose 12.5% following the results.
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Tracy Skeans is retiring from Yum Brands. She has been with the company for more than 25 years, including as chief operating officer and chief people and culture officer Alicia Kelso, Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News June 2, 2026 Tracy Skeans has been with Yum Brands for more than 25 years Tracy Skeans is retiring from Yum Brands later this year after serving with the company for more than 25 years, most recently as chief operating officer and chief people and culture officer. Upon her retirement, she will move into an advisory position. Skeans joined Yum Brands - parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill - as a financial analyst in 2000 after stints at Price Waterhouse and Union Switch & Signal. In 2005, she moved to the Pizza Hut team, serving as director of financial planning and moving her way up to senior director of human resources. In 2011, she was named chief people officer of Pizza Hut U.S., then CPO of Pizza Hut Global. Skeans then served as president of Pizza Hut International, overseeing a business spanning more than 85 countries and thousands of restaurants worldwide. She moved back to Yum Brands corporate in 2016 as chief transformation and people officer, a position she held until early 2021. In that role, she helped lead the company's transition to a pure-play franchisor in 2019, while advancing the company's talent and culture strategy. During an interview Tuesday morning, Skeans said this work throughout the past 10 years has been the most meaningful during her career. "Walking through that evolution of the business - in 2016, spinning off Yum China was a huge moment for the company, then changing the whole business model to become asset light and focus more on our franchisees - those were moments in my career where I felt we were changing the trajectory of Yum as a business. The business model was changing, and we needed to have that win. It took two to three years, but we did it. It was a crowning moment," she said. Following that transformation, Skeans also played a central role guiding the integration of Habit Burger & Grill in early 2020, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted Yum because of its giant global footprint of more than 63,000 restaurants in more than 155 countries and territories. "While it was a hard time, a scary time, navigating the company through that was the most trying time in my career because of the way I feel about our people. I felt the weight of wanting our company to perform on behalf of all those people and we made it through and stronger. It was the hardest, but most meaningful, because we were providing something more than food - we were providing stability and hope to employees and consumers," Skeans said. In January 2021, she was promoted to Yum's chief operating officer and chief people and culture officer, with responsibilities that include leading cross-brand collaboration on operational execution and people capability. She believes her finance background and subsequent transition to leading people and culture have helped create a unique and distinctive leadership style that she hopes will be part of her legacy. "We are an enormous business. Therefore being grounded in how a business works, makes money, what are the results and outcomes, whether same-store sales, development or profits - that is the language that keeps us growing," Skeans said. "What I have been privileged to do is then use and build culture - using culture and leaders with heart, smarts and courage - to unlock the true potential of the company. You may have a successful business model, but if you're only focused on the business needs and not your people, you won't have a culture that people enjoy working in or where they do their best work. "We want leaders to lead culture to fuel results, a one-plus-one equals 10 equation. That intersection is my favorite place to sit." During Skeans' career at Yum, she has served under four CEOs, including Yum founder David Novak, Greg Creed, David Gibbs, and Chris Turner, who was named to the role in October 2025 following Gibbs' retirement. "Over a remarkable 25-year career at Yum, Tracy has been instrumental in shaping the company's operational excellence model, culture, talent and long-term growth strategy," Turner said in a statement. "Having worked alongside Tracy for several years, I've seen firsthand the leadership, wisdom and heart she brings to every conversation and decision. Tracy has led Yum through some of the most important moments in our history, including our transformation into a more focused, asset-light global franchisor, all while advancing enterprise capabilities, culture and talent across our global system. Her impact on Yum will be felt for years to come." Skeans' responsibilities will transition to the company's next chief people & culture officer and chief scale officer, both of whom are to be determined. Skeans will assist in the transition in her advisory role through early 2028. Follow her on TikTok: @aliciakelso Executive Editor, Nation's Restaurant News Alicia Kelso is the executive editor of Nation's Restaurant News. She began covering the restaurant industry in 2010 for QSRweb.com, FastCasual.com, and PizzaMarketplace.com. When her son was born, she left the industry to pursue a role in higher education, but swiftly returned after realizing how much she missed the space. In filling that void, Alicia added a contributor role at Restaurant Dive and a senior contributor role at Forbes. Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including Forbes Asia, NPR, Bloomberg, The Seattle Times, Crain's Chicago, Good Morning America, and Franchise Asia Magazine. Alicia holds a degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University, where she competed on the women's swim team. In addition to cheering for the BGSU Falcons, Alicia is a rabid Michigan fan and will talk about college football with anyone willing to engage. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son. Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters Content Spotlight