Director of Franchise Support and Performance

Tierra Encantada HQ • Minneapolis, MN

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Tierra Encantada, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN is the leader in Spanish immersion early education®, and provides high-quality language immersion education and care to children 6 weeks through 6 years of age. Our award-winning concept has received numerous accolades, including Top 50 Franchise Companies Doing the Most to Champion Diversity by Entrepreneur Magazine, 10 Hottest Franchise Businesses in America by Inc Magazine, and The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies. We are currently in four states and expanding to several new states a year.
At Tierra Encantada, our values fuel everything we do. We are passionate about nurturing children's growth and creating intentional learning environments that inspire curiosity and development. We celebrate the richness of diversity, embracing the unique perspectives it brings to our community. Guided by optimism, we are driven by a shared vision for a brighter future for every child, family, and team member we serve. Join us and be part of a mission-driven team that is committed to making a lasting impact-one child, one family, and one community at a time.
Position Overview
Tierra Encantada is hiring for a Director of Franchise Support & Performance to be responsible for building, owning, and operating the franchise support function for Tierra Encantada. This role is responsible for creating the systems, processes, scorecards, communication rhythms, and accountability structure that enable franchisees to perform successfully and consistently across the brand.
This is a hands-on builder role, not a traditional oversight role. In the early stage of the function, this leader will personally serve as the primary support partner for franchisees and will directly handle franchisee questions, business reviews, issue resolution, site support, cross-functional coordination, and performance follow-up. As the franchise system grows and support needs become more complex, this role will define and build the future franchise support team.
The ideal candidate has deep franchise operations experience, strong business acumen, and a proven ability to coach franchise owners to achieve sales/enrollment, profitability, operational, safety, and brand-execution goals. They thrive in ambiguity, create structure where none exists, and balance trusted partnership with clear accountability. This position reports directly to the Chief Operations Officer.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business administration, operations, hospitality, early childhood education, or a related field preferred; equivalent franchise, multi-unit, or operations leadership experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
• 7+ years of progressive experience in franchise operations, multi-unit operations, or field business consulting with at least 5 years directly coaching or consulting franchisees in a franchise business consultant, field consultant, operations consultant, or similar role
• Proven track record of improving unit-level performance through coaching, business planning, KPI management, and operational follow-through
• Experience building systems, processes, SOPs, playbooks, scorecards, or operational infrastructure from scratch or during a significant scale-up phase
• Experience in early childhood education or service-based franchise systems preferred
• Experience with Franconnect preferred
• Strong business acumen with deep understanding of unit-level economics, including revenue/enrollment, labor, margins, customer experience, and growth drivers
• Ability to analyze KPIs, identify root causes, and translate data into practical actions franchisees can execute
• Excellent communication, coaching, influence, and stakeholder-management skills with the ability to build trust while maintaining accountability
• Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution, travel, site visits, audits, and direct franchisee support
• Based at the Minneapolis corporate office with one work-from-home day per week and ability to travel up to 25%

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a scalable franchisee support model, including roles, structure, communication channels, SLAs, escalation paths, and service delivery expectations
• Serve as the primary support partner for franchisees throughout the full lifecycle, from franchise agreement through opening and ongoing operations
• Personally answer franchisee questions and coordinate the right internal resources when answers require input from construction, training, marketing, operations, finance, or other cross-functional partners
• Guide franchisees through key operational processes, including remodels, new center buildouts, openings, training coordination, and ongoing business support
• Monitor key milestones and hold franchisees accountable to required operational, facility, safety, and brand specifications
• Build and document core support processes to ensure franchisees know how and when to engage corporate support and receive consistent guidance across all locations
• Develop and implement franchisee scorecards with clear KPIs tied to enrollment/sales, profitability, operational quality, brand standards, and growth readiness
• Collaborate with franchisees to set, track, and achieve business goals for their locations, including revenue growth, profitability, same-location performance, and future unit growth where applicable
• Facilitate annual planning and franchise business review processes to assess performance against prior commitments, align on future goals, and identify priority areas
• Use data and analytics to diagnose performance gaps, recommend actions, and coach franchisees toward improved results
• Partner with franchisees to build structured business improvement plans and follow up regularly to ensure commitments are executed
• Monitor franchisee execution of operational standards, safety expectations, customer/family experience, and local marketing plans
• Conduct site visits, audits, and operational assessments as needed based on performance trends, business reviews, or other indicators
• Establish and lead a consistent operating cadence across the franchisee lifecycle, including regular check-ins, monthly performance reviews, and quarterly business reviews
• Ensure all meetings are structured, efficient, documented in Franconnect, and focused on performance, commitments, and follow-through (not status updates)
• Maintain clear visibility into franchisee priorities, progress, and risks through disciplined meeting rhythms, documentation, and follow-up
• Lead organization and planning for all franchisee training including Onboarding, Opening and the annual Franchise Convention
• Personally lead and execute field support, including site visits, audits, operational assessments, new-opening support, and targeted follow-up with franchisees
• Hold franchisees accountable to brand standards, policies, safety requirements, and operational execution
• Identify system-wide performance gaps and and implement scalable solutions that improve consistency, franchisee execution, and business results
• Drive implementation and adoption of new programs, tools, marketing initiatives, and operational changes across the franchise system
• Build and implement a structured onboarding program for new franchisees from franchise agreement to opening and early operations
• Develop and refine training materials, SOPs, playbooks, and franchisee-facing resources that support consistent execution
• Ensure consistent and effective ramp-up of new locations and owners to operational, safety, brand, and financial expectations
• Create a high-quality franchisee experience through clear communication, responsiveness, structured support, and timely follow-through
• Transition franchisee engagement from reactive support to proactive, performance-driven partnership
• Serve as the primary point of contact and trusted advisor, ensuring franchisees receive timely, accurate answers and follow-through
• Balance strong support with clear accountability for performance, commitments, and brand standards
• Initially serve as the sole owner of franchise support, directly supporting all franchisees without an existing support team
• Define the future organizational structure for franchise support, including franchise business consultants/coaches and related support roles, as the franchise system scales
• Lead hiring, onboarding, and development of franchise support team members as franchise growth and system complexity require
• Evolve from an individual contributor to a player-coach as the franchise system scales, while continuing to stay close to execution and franchisee performance

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 12 paid holidays
• PTO accrual of 160 hours
• 401(k) with 3% employer match
• Discounted childcare and waitlist priority for enrollment
• Company paid professional development
• Corporate office amenities (gym, wellness/nursing room, onsite company cafe with coffee, espresso bar, beverages, and snacks available to employees at no cost, onsite free parking), casual work environment, and employee-focused events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees