Director, Franchise Development

Ugly Bagel Co; Nashville (TN); Presencial; USD 115.000 - 135.000; Tempo integral

Resumo da vaga

Ugly Bagel Co in Nashville seeks an experienced Director of Franchise Development to lead franchise recruitment and sales nationwide. This hands-on role requires building scalable development systems, owning the end-to-end sales process, and driving multiunit deals with the CEO and marketing teams.

You will recruit, qualify, and close franchise partnerships, travel for candidate meetings and industry events, and help grow Ugly Bagel into a national franchise brand through strategic leadership.

Qualificações

• Minimum 5 years in franchise development or related growth role.
• Proven track record closing franchise agreements.
• Understanding of recruitment, disclosure procedures, and sales processes.
• Experience selling franchise opportunities to investors and multiunit operators.
• Proficient with CRM, prospect management, and sales reporting.
• Excellent communication and relationship-management skills.
• Willingness to travel; Nashville area residency or relocation required.

Responsabilidades

• Own and execute the franchise development sales process from prospect identification through executed franchise agreements.
• Generate, qualify, nurture, and convert prospective single-unit and multiunit franchise candidates.
• Conduct discovery calls, franchise presentations, candidate interviews, and development meetings.
• Build and maintain relationships with qualified franchise investors, operators, and strategic partners.
• Coordinate candidate Discovery Days, leadership meetings, and franchise development activities.
• Manage the candidate qualification process to ensure prospective franchisees meet financial, operational, and cultural requirements.
• Work with executive leadership and franchise counsel to ensure appropriate franchise disclosure and sales compliance procedures are followed.
• Consistently achieve established franchise development and signing objectives.
• Manage and optimize an existing franchise prospect database and active development pipeline.
• Maintain accurate prospect records, sales activities, follow-up schedules, and opportunity tracking within the CRM.
• Collaborate with marketing leadership to develop and optimize franchise lead-generation campaigns.
• Leverage digital prospecting, LinkedIn, targeted outreach, webinars, and industry relationships.
• Analyze lead quality, conversion rates, acquisition costs, and sales performance to improve results.
• Develop reporting and forecasting processes for executive leadership.

Conhecimentos

Franchise development

Franchise sales

Negotiation

CRM platforms

Prospect management

Relationship building

Travel readiness

Entrepreneurial mindset

Ferramentas

CRM platforms

Sales reporting tools

Descrição da vaga

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A&g Dept Management Full Time Home Office Nashville, Nashville, TN, US

Salary Range: $115,000.00 To $135,000.00 Annually

About Ugly Bagel

Ugly Bagel is an emerging, fast-growing fast-casual restaurant brand headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Built on the belief that great food doesn't have to be perfect to be extraordinary, we've created a distinctive brand that combines freshly made bagels, innovative menu offerings, a playful personality, and a commitment to spreading joy.

With three locations established in Middle Tennessee and a franchise development platform positioned for expansion, Ugly Bagel is entering an exciting new phase of growth.

Our vision is to build a nationally recognized restaurant brand through strategic franchise partnerships, operational excellence, and a culture that embraces individuality and community.

We're seeking an experienced, results-driven Director of Franchise Development to lead our franchise recruitment and sales efforts.

This is an opportunity to join an emerging brand at a pivotal stage, work directly with company leadership, and play an instrumental role in building a national franchise organization.

Position Summary

The Director of Franchise Development will be responsible for driving franchise growth by identifying, recruiting, qualifying, and securing new franchise partners across targeted markets.

This position requires a hands-on sales professional with demonstrated success closing franchise agreements, developing qualified prospect pipelines, and managing the franchise development process from initial inquiry through execution.

The ideal candidate brings an entrepreneurial mindset, strong relationship-building skills, and experience working within growing or emerging franchise organizations.

Unlike traditional franchise development leadership roles focused primarily on managing large teams, this position requires direct involvement in the sales process, ownership of results, and the ability to build scalable development systems as the company expands.

The Director will report directly to the CEO and collaborate closely with marketing, operations, and executive leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Franchise Sales & Recruitment

• Own and execute the franchise development sales process from prospect identification through executed franchise agreements.
• Generate, qualify, nurture, and convert prospective single-unit and multiunit franchise candidates.
• Conduct discovery calls, franchise presentations, candidate interviews, and development meetings.
• Build and maintain relationships with qualified franchise investors, operators, and strategic partners.
• Coordinate candidate Discovery Days, leadership meetings, and franchise development activities.
• Manage the candidate qualification process to ensure prospective franchisees meet the company's financial, operational, and cultural requirements.
• Work with executive leadership and franchise counsel to ensure appropriate franchise disclosure and sales compliance procedures are followed.
• Consistently achieve established franchise development and signing objectives.
• Manage and optimize an existing franchise prospect database and active development pipeline.
• Maintain accurate prospect records, sales activities, follow-up schedules, and opportunity tracking within the company's CRM and prospecting systems.
• Collaborate with marketing leadership to develop and optimize franchise lead-generation campaigns.
• Leverage digital prospecting, LinkedIn, targeted outreach, webinars, industry relationships, and other business development channels.
• Analyze lead quality, conversion rates, acquisition costs, and sales performance to improve results.
• Develop consistent reporting and forecasting processes for executive leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve candidate engagement and shorten the franchise sales cycle without compromising candidate quality.

Strategic Growth & Market Development

• Collaborate directly with the CEO to execute the company's franchise expansion strategy.
• Identify and develop relationships with qualified franchise operators in priority geographic markets.
• Support the recruitment of multiunit franchise development partners.
• Represent Ugly Bagel at franchise conferences, industry events, and strategic networking opportunities.
• Provide market feedback and competitive insights to inform franchise recruitment strategy.
• Assist in building scalable franchise sales processes, systems, and future team structures.
• Contribute to the company's long-term national expansion initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in franchise development, franchise sales, or a closely related franchise growth role.
• Demonstrated track record of personally closing franchise agreements and achieving development targets.
• Strong understanding of franchise candidate recruitment, qualification, disclosure procedures, and sales processes.
• Experience selling franchise opportunities to qualified investors, owner-operators, and multiunit operators.
• Proficiency with CRM platforms, prospect management systems, and sales reporting.
• Excellent interpersonal communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to independently manage multiple prospects throughout various stages of the development process.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to work effectively in a growing organization.
• Willingness to travel for franchise recruitment, candidate meetings, and industry events.
• Must reside in the Nashville, Tennessee metropolitan area or be willing to relocate before beginning employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Franchise development experience within quick-service restaurants, fast-casual dining, food and beverage, or consumer-facing franchise concepts.
• Experience helping an emerging franchise brand grow from its initial locations into a larger regional or national presence.
• Established relationships with franchise operators, multiunit developers, and industry professionals.
• Experience developing and closing multiunit franchise agreements.
• Familiarity with digital franchise lead generation, CRM automation, and targeted outbound prospecting.
• Experience developing scalable franchise sales processes and organizational infrastructure.

Performance Expectations

The Director of Franchise Development will play an important role in executing Ugly Bagel's aggressive growth strategy.

Initial performance expectations include:

• Taking ownership of existing franchise prospects and development opportunities.
• Establishing a disciplined sales process with measurable conversion and pipeline performance.
• Building a consistent pipeline of financially qualified franchise candidates.
• Collaborating with marketing to strengthen lead generation and candidate acquisition.
• Contributing toward the company's initial objective of securing 10–12 franchise unit commitments in 2027.
• Supporting the development of a scalable franchise sales organization capable of accelerating growth in subsequent years.

Success in this position will be measured through franchise agreements executed, qualified pipeline development, conversion performance, candidate quality, and contribution to the company's overall expansion strategy.

Ugly Bagel offers a competitive compensation structure designed to reward individual performance and franchise development success.

• Base Salary:$115,000–$135,000 annually, commensurate with experience.
• Commission: Uncapped performance-based commission on qualifying franchise sales.
• On-Target Earnings:$180,000–$200,000+ annually, with additional earning potential for exceptional performance.
• Opportunity to work directly with the company's CEO and founding leadership team.
• Meaningful influence over franchise growth strategy and sales infrastructure.
• Opportunity for career advancement into a Vice President of Franchise Development role as the company expands and organizational needs evolve.

Why Join Ugly Bagel?

Ugly Bagel is at a unique stage in its growth journey.

We've established a recognizable brand, developed our initial restaurant operations, and created the foundation for an ambitious franchise expansion strategy.

We're now assembling the leadership team that will help guide the company through its next phase of development.

For the right individual, this is an opportunity to do more than sell franchises. It's an opportunity to help shape the growth of an emerging restaurant brand, build meaningful relationships with entrepreneurs and operators, and contribute directly to the development of a national franchise organization.

We value initiative, accountability, creativity, collaboration, and people who take pride in the results they deliver.

If you're an experienced franchise development professional looking for an opportunity to make a significant impact, we'd welcome the opportunity to connect.

Join Ugly Bagel and help us build something beautifully ugly.

Ugly Bagel is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Ugly Bagel is an E-verify employer.