International Business Development Manager (Americas)

Inspire•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Business Development Manager - International is a regional role reporting directly to the Vice President, Development – International, supporting the Americas region. This critical leadership will drive growth within the Inspire International platform across all 6 Inspire Brands while developing overall unit growth strategies for the Americas, sourcing relevant potential partners, leading the development, strategy and implementation of the market planning process alongside cross functional teams to diligently evaluate capabilities, and successfully reaching commercial agreements before adding them to our network. This primary focus of this role is to drive new business in new markets as well as strategic and sizable renewals with existing business partners. This role will be on the international development team, working closely with Regional Operations Teams, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain and Legal Counsel.

Requirements

Minimum: 4-year Degree required in Business Management, Real Estate, Finance, or relevant field.
10+ years of experience in strategic development or sales targeted roles within franchise and licensing across any sector.
Experience working in international business environments
Prior franchisee relationship experience
Results-oriented and a team player
Exceptional collaboration and communication skills
Strong commercial acumen with proven negotiation skills
Ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, prioritize effectively, and coordinate across teams and the organization
Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport and influence stakeholders
Prior franchisee relationship experience
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment while working independently
Proficiency in the full Microsoft Office suite
Demonstrated passion for building the Inspire Brands International platform and bringing its brands and guest experiences to people around the world

Nice To Haves

Preferred: MBA or master’s degree preferred
Preferred: Bi-lingual, English and Spanish
F&B/QSR sector experience preferred

Responsibilities

Develop and adapt strategies for the Americas region that lead the long range planning (LRP) process to ensure a strong pipeline of potential new business partners, as well as lead activities that enhance awareness of Inspire Brands’ portfolio in all channels, driving the highest development growth in the company
Utilize professional contact networks and industry communities to ensure clear and actionable annual plans that drive pipeline and meet overall growth ambitions in both annual and long-range plans
Lead Business Development and Market Planning teams in close coordination with Design & Construction
Align with cross-functional teams in evaluating new business partners and their business plans, validating their credibility to join our network with commercially sound assumptions and thinking, meeting both internal and external expectations
Work collaboratively with other functions and market teams to collectively ascertain the partner’s ability to deliver on development obligations
Actively participate in business development meetings, including International Business Development Committee, regional meetings, and International Department meetings
Create and manage effective marketing tools to increase interest and build relationships with vendors and other partners to generate qualified leads
Leads multiple phases of the new partner process, including interviews, due diligence, site visits, discovery days, selection, evaluation, and final approval of new franchisees into the Inspire Brands system, including key commercial term discussions
Work closely with all functions to ensure each piece of new business aligns with enterprise growth strategy and ambitions
Oversee strategic regional market planning and analysis to support the development of new stores and accelerate market growth, using market research to build market plans and inform market development decision-making
Manage regional market growth objectives and ensure franchisees meet commitments toward goals for net unit growth
Provide Business Development and Market Planning support to Regional Teams for existing business renewals to achieve future-year commitments for unit growth, always following best practices and ways of working
Prospecting of new franchisees in key target markets
Participate in special projects aimed at driving new restaurant openings and net unit growth