Franchise Onboarding Specialist

RemotelyHR•Portland, OR

7d•$75,000 - $95,000•Remote

About The Position

The Franchise Onboarding Specialist is responsible for managing the entire onboarding experience from Franchise Agreement signing handoff through grand opening. Serving as the primary project manager and trusted advisor for new franchise owners, this role ensures each franchise location progresses through the pre-opening process on schedule while providing an exceptional onboarding experience that builds confidence, accountability, and long-term success. This role partners closely with Franchise Development, Marketing, Real Estate, Design, Construction, Training, Supply Chain, Finance, Technology, Compliance, and Executive Leadership to ensure every franchise owner receives consistent, high-touch support throughout their development journey. The individual will build and maintain scalable onboarding systems, documentation, reporting, and communication processes that support French Florist's continued franchise growth. This role begins as an individual contributor and is expected to continuously improve the onboarding experience while helping establish best-in-class franchise development systems for a rapidly expanding national franchise network.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Project Management, Hospitality, Education, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
2–5 years of experience in franchise operations, onboarding, project management, customer success, implementation, client services, or related operational roles.
Demonstrated experience managing multiple complex projects simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
Strong experience building, maintaining, and improving operational systems, documentation, and business processes.
Exceptional project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Outstanding communication, coaching, and relationship-building abilities.
Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to proactively identify risks and implement solutions.
Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
Comfortable working independently in a fully remote environment while collaborating across multiple departments.
Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills.
Ability to build scalable processes and continuously improve systems.
Customer-focused mindset with a passion for delivering exceptional franchise owner experiences.
Proficiency with business technology platforms, including: Wrike, Delightree, Wisetail, Ninety.io (EOS), Shopify, VistaPrint, Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Gmail, Calendar), Microsoft Office Suite, Project management and CRM platforms.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a franchise, multi-unit, retail, hospitality, or other high-growth business environment preferred.
Project Management certification (PMP, CAPM, Google Project Management Certificate, or equivalent) preferred but not required.
Experience supporting entrepreneurs, business owners, or client onboarding is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact for franchise owners from Franchise Agreement signing through opening day, and the initial post opening period.
Lead franchise kickoff meetings and establish onboarding expectations, timelines, and milestones.
Conduct recurring weekly onboarding meetings with franchise owners to review project progress, remove roadblocks, and maintain momentum.
Develop, manage, and maintain detailed pre-opening project timelines for multiple franchise locations simultaneously.
Monitor project milestones, identify risks, proactively address delays, and implement recovery plans when necessary.
Escalate critical issues to leadership while coordinating cross-functional solutions.
Build trusted relationships through proactive communication, coaching, accountability, and exceptional customer service.
Own the execution of all operational onboarding activities required for successful store openings.
Collaborate with Franchise Development, Marketing, Real Estate, Design, Construction, Supply Chain, Finance, Training, Technology, and Executive Leadership throughout the development process.
Coordinate vendor introductions and assist franchise owners with operational account setup.
Support implementation of technology platforms, operational systems, POS, software logins, and required business tools.
Ensure franchise owners understand operational requirements, deadlines, and expectations throughout each development phase.
Facilitate communication between internal departments and franchise owners to maintain alignment and project continuity.
Partner with the Learning & Development team to coordinate timing and attendance of franchise owner, manager, and employee training.
Track training registrations, attendance, certifications, and required learning path completion.
Monitor completion of all onboarding documentation, operational requirements, compliance items, and brand standards.
Verify franchise owner readiness through milestone tracking, readiness assessments, and opening checklists, and report status updates to the department.
Maintain accurate onboarding documentation, reporting, and project records across company systems.
Ensure franchise owners are fully prepared for successful grand openings.
Own and evolve onboarding dashboards, project documentation, meeting notes, and franchise communication records.
Manage onboarding resource libraries, SOPs, templates, and operational documentation.
Continuously improve onboarding processes, systems, and tools to support a scalable franchise model.
Support special projects that enhance franchise operations, onboarding, education, and franchise owner success.
Contribute to the ongoing development of best-in-class franchise onboarding experiences.