Director of Franchise Development & Strategic Planning - Americas

CKE Restaurants, Inc.; Mexico Beach (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading quick-service restaurant company seeks a Director of Development and Strategic Planning to oversee regional growth initiatives and manage the Annual Operating Plan. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in the QSR industry, strong strategic and financial planning skills, and is fluent in Spanish. This role requires collaboration with cross-functional teams to drive development in new and existing markets while maintaining a keen focus on franchisee success.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in the QSR restaurant industry managing teams in financial planning and strategy.
• Fluency in Spanish and familiarity with Latin American culture.
• Ability to analyze and present complex ideas concisely.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for regional growth aligned with development objectives.
• Partner with Finance to manage the Annual Operating Plan (AOP).
• Lead the execution of multi-country restaurant openings.

Skills

Leadership

Financial planning

Strategic thinking

Bilingual (Spanish)

Cross-functional project management

Job description

Position Summary

The Director, Development and Strategic Planning is responsible for delivering annual development targets, securing new development agreements, and leading the Region’s strategic planning process in partnership with Finance to construct and manage the Annual Operating Plan (AOP). This role serves as a key commercial and strategic thought partner to the General Manager, overseeing major growth initiatives and ensuring disciplined execution of the multi-country restaurant openings pipeline. The Director will define and drive the Region’s long-range growth roadmap, accelerate development in existing markets, and lead new-country entry strategies to support the Region's ambition to become a $2 billion system sales region with 1,000 restaurants by 2030. This position plays a critical role in aligning development strategy, franchisee financial health, governance processes, and cross-functional execution to deliver sustainable and profitable expansion across the Americas Region.

Essential Functions

• Provides strategic leadership for regional growth aligned with annual and long-range restaurant development objectives, ensuring delivery of net-new unit targets and system sales growth.
• Partners with Finance to develop and manage the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) for development, including forecasting, variance analysis, and identification of risks to plan.
• Maintains development planning and financial tracking models supporting the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), including updating development forecasts, tracking opening progress, and preparing variance reporting for leadership review.
• Drives a structured, multi-country restaurant openings pipeline by implementing tracking tools, milestone governance processes, and recurring review meetings with field teams and franchisees.
• Maintains the regional development pipeline tracking system, ensuring accuracy of milestone updates, documentation, and reporting dashboards; prepares recurring pipeline reports and materials for development review meetings.
• Monitors adherence to agreed development schedules and escalates risks to the General Manager and cross-functional leadership as appropriate.
• Supports the development and periodic refinement of the Region’s strategic growth roadmap, including market prioritization and expansion sequencing aligned with global strategy.
• Oversees third-party market mapping and white space analysis to inform territory planning and development decisions.
• Leads the commercial evaluation and negotiation support for development agreements, master franchise agreements, and other commercial arrangements; partners with Legal to ensure accurate documentation and maintains organized tracking of key commercial terms and obligations.
• Reviews franchisee financial performance and unit-level economics to assess development capacity and identify risks to expansion commitments.
• Collaborates with Operations, Design & Construction, and Supply Chain to improve development processes, drive cost efficiencies, and support scalable restaurant growth.
• Coordinates cross-functional development milestone tracking across Operations, Finance, and Design & Construction, ensuring timely updates, documentation, and escalation of risks impacting planned restaurant openings.
• Facilitates regional best practice forums with franchisees to strengthen execution capabilities in site selection, development planning, and financial performance.
• Influences franchisees and cross-functional stakeholders through data-driven insights and clear communication to support regional growth objectives.
• Supports preparation of franchise development marketing materials and investment presentations in collaboration with Marketing and Business Development teams.
• Maintains relationships with industry contacts and external advisors to support regional development initiatives.
• Leads assigned cross-functional projects that enhance development performance and regional growth outcomes.

Position Qualifications/Core Competencies

• 10+ years of experience managing and leading teams in the QSR restaurant industry across financial planning, strategy, and development.
• Ability to manage multiple high-priority assignments in a fast-paced environment.
• Expert ability to analyze and present complex ideas in a concise and compelling manner.
• Experience leading cross-functional projects and presenting results to senior management or a board of directors.
• Strong network of contacts and a proven ability to source and recruit world-class franchisees.
• Must be fluent in Spanish and have a strong familiarity with Latin American culture.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Satellite office, if available, Home office, field work (restaurants)

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Sitting for extended periods of time, using the telephone, typing, and/or operating a computer and/or mouse
• Travels as needed internationally, approximately twenty-five (25)%

The Company retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position as deemed appropriate with or without notice.

Location can be Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, or US, but open to candidates in other parts of South America / Caribbean that are highly qualified.