Director IT - Franchisee & Restaurant Support

Subway•Shelton, CT

About The Position

Ready to build what’s next with one of the world’s most iconic brands? At Subway, we are not standing still. We are building. This is a business focused on what matters most: growing franchisee profitability, strengthening our brand and creating long-term value. The people who thrive here are the ones who want to make a real impact. You will not just do the work. You will shape it. We move fast. We think like owners. We make decisions that matter. We hold ourselves to a high standard because what we do directly impacts thousands of franchisees around the world. If you bring energy, accountability and a bias for action, you will fit right in. We take the work seriously, but we also know the best results come from teams that support each other, celebrate wins and show up ready to build something better every day. This is your chance to be part of what’s next. About the Role: The Director, Franchise & Restaurant Technology owns the end-to-end technology experience for franchisees and restaurant operators—including strategy, delivery, support, and continuous innovation of franchise technology—across Subway’s global network. This role leads a 75+ person Help Desk team (Own the Help Desk team and experience for the business-to-business support of franchisees). Must have current or previous exp managing call center/helpdesk/contact center/etc. This role represents Franchise & Restaurant Technology to executive stakeholders, franchisees, restaurant operators, and vendors. The Director is a senior technology leader who combines deep operational knowledge with a forward-looking approach to AI and automation. This role is expected to actively drive the adoption of AI-powered tools, intelligent workflows, and data-driven operations to improve franchisee satisfaction, reduce manual effort, and enable scalable, high-quality technology delivery across one of the world’s largest franchise networks.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required in Technology, Engineering, Business, or related field
10–15 years of experience in technology, restaurant systems, product, or operations leadership roles
4–6 years of experience leading teams or large cross-functional technology initiatives
Demonstrated experience deploying or scaling AI and automation capabilities in an operational environment
Franchise, QSR, retail, or hospitality experience strongly preferred
Experience operating in multi-unit or franchise environments at scale
Strong experience leading franchise, restaurant, or field technology functions in complex enterprise environments
Demonstrated knowledge of AI, machine learning, and intelligent automation — including practical experience deploying AI tools in operational or support contexts
Proven ability to build and execute technology roadmaps that integrate AI and automation as strategic capabilities
Hands-on experience with POS systems, restaurant hardware, and in-store technology platforms (QSR, retail, or hospitality experience preferred)
Ability to influence senior stakeholders and franchise partners and drive alignment across a matrixed organization
Strong executive communication skills — able to present complex topics clearly and credibly at the leadership level
Experience managing vendor relationships, platform portfolios, and technology budgets
Demonstrated people leadership and organizational development experience
Strong business acumen with a focus on operational impact, scalability, and value realization
People Management: Yes; Direct Reports include managers, platform leads, and senior individual contributors
Scope: Franchise- and restaurant-facing technology platforms, AI & automation initiatives, POS operations, and vendor portfolio

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree preferred
Up to 15% travel (field, franchise, vendor, or cross-functional engagement)

Responsibilities

Lead This role leads a 75+ person Help Desk team. Absolute MUST have exp with managing call center, contact center, helpdesk, etc.
Own end-to-end delivery of restaurant and franchise technology initiatives from planning through launch and continuous optimization
Lead, develop, and retain a high-performing team of managers, platform leads, and senior individual contributors
Build a culture of accountability, innovation, and customer-centric thinking — with AI and automation fluency as a core team capability
Set clear expectations, delivery standards, performance goals, and development plans
Build trusted relationships across a complex, matrixed organization to influence without authority and drive alignment
Oversee hiring, onboarding, and organizational development across the franchise and restaurant technology team
Own the multi-year technology roadmap for franchise- and restaurant-facing platforms, systems, and capabilities
Prioritize initiatives based on operational impact, franchise feedback, ROI, and enterprise readiness
Own vendor strategy and executive relationships for franchise and restaurant technology platforms, POS systems, and third-party solutions
Navigate cross-team dependencies, delivery risks, and escalation paths with rigor and urgency
Incorporate franchisee and restaurant feedback into product planning, platform prioritization, and continuous improvement cycles
Lead platform evaluation, technical due diligence, and vendor performance management
Manage budgets, forecasting, and cost optimization across the franchise and restaurant technology portfolio
Represent franchise and restaurant technology needs in enterprise planning, architecture governance, and AI strategy forums
Communicate complex technical and operational decisions into clear, actionable narratives that drive decisions at the leadership level
Own the strategy, administration, and lifecycle management of POS platforms and restaurant technology systems
Collaborate with Engineering, Product, Infrastructure, and Platform teams to ensure scalable, secure, and highly available solutions
Ensure solutions align to enterprise architecture, security, and integration standards while addressing the operational realities of a global franchise network
Balance standardization, scalability, and flexibility across corporate and franchise environments
Embed AI and automation as core strategic pillars — identifying use cases, building the business case, and driving adoption across restaurant and franchise technology
Establish governance and responsible use frameworks for AI and automation within the franchise and restaurant technology domain
Champion the use of AI in knowledge management, incident resolution, and support operations — enabling faster resolution, self-service, and proactive issue identification
Continuously improve support processes, SLAs, and franchise satisfaction metrics through data-driven insights and automation
Drive adoption of AI-powered tools for franchisee support, operational analytics, predictive maintenance, and intelligent workflow automation
Evaluate and position AI-enabled vendor capabilities as part of the platform selection and renewal process
Partner with enterprise AI, data, and engineering teams to build scalable automation pipelines that reduce manual effort and improve service quality
Track and communicate the business impact of AI and automation investments to senior and executive leadership
Directly own communication and resolution of high-severity incidents, emerging risks, and significant opportunities to appropriate leadership audiences, including executives
Partner with training, change management, and communications to drive operational readiness and adoption support for new technology deployments
Oversee Tier 1 and Tier 2 support operations for restaurant-facing technology, including POS, hardware, and in-store connectivity
Partner with POS vendors and internal engineering teams to ensure system stability, uptime, and rapid issue resolution
Prepare and deliver executive-level reporting on platform performance, franchise satisfaction, AI adoption, and strategic initiative progress
Serve as a thought leader and senior subject-matter expert for restaurant and franchise systems at the enterprise level
Represent franchise and restaurant technology to senior and executive leadership, franchise leadership, field operations, and restaurant support teams