Market Planning, GIS & Real Estate Lead – Canada

The Subway HR Team•Toronto, ON

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Market Planning, GIS & Real Estate Lead – Canada is a multi-disciplinary analytical role that supports Subway Canada’s development strategy through market planning, GIS analysis, data stewardship, and portfolio insights. This position combines spatial analytics, forecasting, competitive intelligence, and database management to support network decisions across new restaurant openings (NROs), relocations, closures, and non-traditional formats. In addition to market and real estate analytics, the role functions as the data and systems backbone for multiple development functions, including maintaining and improving Smartsheets, Excel-based trackers, and internal dashboards supporting Real Estate, Leasing, Franchise Sales, and Construction. The individual serves as Subway Canada’s development analytics subject matter expert, helping the organization grow intelligently, protect key trade areas, and align geography-based decisions with both brand objectives and franchisee economics. A further responsibility includes supporting real estate sourcing through web-based research and scraping of landlord, broker, and retail platforms to proactively identify and evaluate new site opportunities. An understanding of QSR/Retail development cycles, trade areas, and unit-level economics is required to translate data into commercially grounded recommendations that support both brand growth and franchise success.

Requirements

3-8 years experience in market planning, GIS, retail real estate analytics, or related roles.
Proficiency with GIS tools/platforms (e.g., Esri, ArcGIS, MapInfo, QGIS, or equivalent)
Proficiency with analytics platforms like Sitewise, PiinPoint, Tango, Geolytix, ENVISION (Environics), or equivalent
Advanced Excel skills + experience working with Smartsheets or similar workflow tools
Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including forecasting and scenario analysis.
Experience working with retail, QSR, franchise, or portfolio-based real estate environments.
Ability to interpret and synthesize data into clear, actionable recommendations for non-technical stakeholders
Understanding of sales forecasting, trade-area demand, and unit-level economics

Nice To Haves

Exposure to QSR, franchised retail, consumer real estate, or development planning
Familiarity with Canadian retail landlords, brokers, and development ecosystems
Exposure to development, real estate, or leasing functions within multi-unit systems

Responsibilities

Lead the development and maintenance of GIS-based market planning tools, spatial analytics, and trade area models.
Conduct trade area assessments including demographics, competitive landscape, traffic patterns, and retail adjacencies.
Build cannibalization, white space, saturation, and sales impact models to support network decisions.
Partner with Real Estate to support the evaluation of new units, relocations, expansions, closures, and non-traditional formats through analytics-backed recommendations.
Maintain and enhance datasets supporting ongoing development planning decisions
Support real estate team with real estate committee approvals by supporting presentation development with data insights, mapping support, etc
Maintain and evolve GIS platforms, databases, and dashboards supporting development decisions.
Serve as internal SME on spatial analytics tools and methodologies
Provide cross-functional support across the development department
Present findings to leadership in clear, concise, commercially sound formats
Serve as system owner for development-related databases and trackers across Real Estate, Leasing, Construction, and Franchise Sales.
Maintain and improve Smartsheets, Excel-based tools, Franconnect databases and KPI dashboards for pipeline tracking, expiries, construction timelines, transfers, and other workflows.
Ensure high data integrity and version control for key development systems.
Actively scan landlord, broker, and retail platforms for new listings, redevelopment plans, vacancies, and non-traditional opportunities.
Use web-scraping or structured data collection to build market intelligence pipelines.
Compile listings and opportunities for Real Estate and non-traditional teams in a structured, geography-based way
Maintain competitive mapping and competitor new build/closure databases & tracking systems
Monitor QSR/Retail trends influencing consumer behavior, trade flows, and development strategies.
Produce insights on market shifts, partner platforms (e.g., Walmart, C-stores), and retail node performance
Support network strategy initiatives including market saturation analysis, sales recapture analytics, footprint optimization, white space identification, and cannibalization studies.
Provide structured analytical support for relocations, trade-area shifts, and remediation of underperforming Subway locations
Model economic implications of portfolio decisions (revenue, cannibalization, rent exposure, and unit-level economics).
Collaborate with Real Estate and Leasing on complex network decisions (relocations, redevelopments, closures, exits)