Vice President, Franchise & Development
About The Position
Starbird Chicken is redefining fast casual dining with fresh, craveable food and a welcoming, community-driven environment. We’re built on bold flavor, genuine hospitality, innovation, and operational excellence. As we enter our next stage of national growth, franchising and real estate development will be central to scaling the brand. The Vice President, Franchise & Development is a senior leader and key partner to the CEO, responsible for driving Starbird’s national growth across both corporate and franchise restaurants. This executive owns the full development strategy—expanding market presence, increasing brand penetration, and building long-term revenue. We are looking for a visionary, execution-focused leader who can create repeatable, franchise-ready systems and build a disciplined development engine for a national brand.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred
- 10–12+ years of executive leadership in restaurant, food & beverage, or multi-unit consumer brands
- Proven experience scaling brands across corporate and franchise systems
- Strong relationship builder with a track record of influencing franchise partners
- Expertise in franchise recruitment, territory planning, and restaurant real estate
- Strong financial acumen, negotiation skills, and data-driven decision-making
- High integrity and professionalism
- Experience building scalable franchise infrastructure and systems
- Strong understanding of franchise agreements, FDDs, and regulatory requirements
- Deep knowledge of restaurant unit economics and development ROI
Responsibilities
- Lead national franchise strategy and market expansion
- Build and manage pipeline, territory plans, and growth forecasting
- Partner with the CEO and executive team on development priorities and investments
- Create scalable systems, reporting, and infrastructure
- Own franchise, real estate, and corporate development budgets
- Build relationships with sophisticated multi-unit operators and developers
- Lead franchise recruitment, networking, and lead generation
- Represent Starbird at industry events
- Evaluate candidates for operational, financial, and cultural fit
- Lead discovery, presentations, and approval processes
- Serve as primary executive contact through the development lifecycle
- Lead real estate strategy, market prioritization, and site approvals
- Partner with franchisees, brokers, and landlords to secure strong locations
- Support site selection, LOIs, lease review, and development timelines
- Collaborate with Construction, Design, and Operations on openings
- Establish scalable development standards and market criteria
- Oversee development from agreements through openings
- Ensure franchisees meet development schedules and commitments
- Manage accurate reporting on deals, pipeline, and market growth
- Oversee FDD updates, agreements, and regulatory compliance with legal
- Support renewals, transfers, restructures, and terminations
- Build systems and tools to support long-term franchise expansion
Benefits
- Influence the growth of a high-potential national restaurant brand
- A culture of innovation across menu, technology, and guest experience
- Entrepreneurial, collaborative leadership environment
- A people-first culture grounded in hospitality
- Opportunity to shape market expansion and franchise growth
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Executive
