Director, New Franchisee Onboarding

The Goddard School; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Goddard Systems, LLC (GSL) corporate team seeks a Director, New Franchisee Onboarding Program to lead onboarding, coaching, and transition experiences for new franchisees across The Goddard School system.

You will translate strategies into actionable plans, drive program execution, and ensure readiness outcomes. The role leads Onboarding Franchise Consultants and partners across functions to deliver high-quality franchisee experiences and successful openings or transitions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, PM, ECE, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years of progressive experience in franchising, multi‑unit operations, education, or complex program leadership.
• Experience leading field teams, multi-school program, openings, transitions and operational initiatives.
• Strong understanding of cross-functional operations, complex timelines, and dependency management.
• Proven ability to drive business outcomes, influence senior stakeholders, and manage risk.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, coaching and leadership skills.
• Travel required 70%.

Responsibilities

• Role model Goddard values for employees and franchisees.
• Assess onboarding consultants’ capability and develop coaching and execution skills.
• Conduct development conversations and support performance plans.
• Build a strong,accountableand high-performing team environment.
• Translate company priorities intoonboarding execution plans.
• Establish accountability expectations for the franchisee onboarding experience from preliminary agreement through post-opening or post-transfer stabilization.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Franchising

Risk management

Coaching

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, Project Management, Early Childhood Education, or related field

Job description

Come join the Goddard Systems, LLC (GSL) corporate team! We're a great place to work, offering meaningful career opportunities, employee-friendly perks, and competitive benefits. As the manager of The Goddard School franchise system, GSL supports more than 675 schools in delivering high-quality, play-based early childhood education to children and families across the United States. Our successful franchise business model is built on strong partnerships with franchisees and supported by experienced professionals in business, marketing, IT, franchise operations, finance, and education. Together, we help create joyful, supportive environments where children flourish. Today, The Goddard School serves more than 90,000 students across 38 states, and we're continuing to grow.

Position Summary

The Director, New Franchisee Onboarding Program, leads the onboarding, coaching, and transition experience for new and incoming franchisees across The Goddard School system. The Director translates strategies, standards, and priorities into an effective operating plan and is accountable for program execution, team performance, readiness outcomes, and continuous improvement. This role helps ensure franchisees are prepared to operate successfully, aligned with the Goddard brand, and positioned for strong early enrollment and long-term success.

The Director leads and develops the Onboarding Franchise Consultants, monitors progress across new school openings and ownership transfers, identifies risks, and drives timely action and escalation. Working in partnership with functional teams, the Director identifies gaps, communicates their impact on franchisee readiness, and escalates issues requiring action or decisions from the appropriate functional leaders. The role plays a critical part in delivering strong openings, effective transitions, and consistent, high-quality franchisee experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Role model Goddard values for employees and franchisees.
• Assess onboarding consultants’ capability and develop coaching and execution skills.
• Conduct development conversations and support performance plans.
• Build a strong,accountableand high-performing team environment.
• Translate company priorities intoonboarding execution plans.
• Establish accountability expectations for the franchisee onboarding experience from preliminary agreement through post-opening or post-transfer stabilization.
• Ensure onboarding execution isdisciplined andtied to milestones, KPIs and readiness expectations.
• Lead structured franchisee reviews to track progress and risks.
• Identifyand communicate gaps in readiness,changeover,and stabilizationwhenopeninga new school or transitioning ownership of an existing school.
• Escalate issues toappropriate functionalpartners.
• Recommend improvements based on portfolio insights.
• Influence collaboration and alignment across functions without direct authority.
• Build relationships with franchisees to support onboarding success for new schools and ownership transfers.
• Coachfranchiseeson applying required onboarding tools, operating standards and readiness expectations relating to marketing, financial setup, health & safety, licensingand the family experience.
• Monitor portfolio trends, risks, and readiness gaps.
• Reinforce franchisee ownership of onboarding and readiness requirements,relatingto the franchisee’s business plan.
• Assess onboarding performance using data and observation.
• Identify at-riskschools and ensure escalation.
• Drive corrective actions within team control.
• Reinforce brand standards and compliance requirements.

Planning, Insights & Communication

• Align onboarding plans to company prioritiesand goals.
• Deliver data-driven insights and reporting on onboarding, readiness, risks and outcomes.
• Communicate effectively withSchool Support Leadership.
• Maintain consistent communication cadencewith the franchisee and internal stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Project Management, Early Childhood Education, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years of progressive experience in franchising, multi‑unit operations, education, or complex program leadership.
• Demonstrated experience leading field teams, multi-school program, openings, transitions and operational initiatives.
• Strong understanding of cross-functional operations, complex timelines, and dependency management.
• Proven ability to drive business outcomes, influence senior stakeholders, and manage risk.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, coaching and leadership skills.
• Proficiency with project management, reporting, and performance tracking tools.
• Travel required 70%.

Preferred

• Experience supporting franchise systems or large‑scale school openings.
• Experience in early childhood education or regulated environments.
• PMP or comparable program management certification.
• Familiarity with licensing timelines.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.