New Business Leasing Specialist

Red Ember Recruitment (PTY) Ltd; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 30 000 - 60 000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a New Business Leasing Specialist to spearhead strategic expansion in Cape Town and Gauteng. This role is pivotal in securing prime restaurant locations across South Africa and the broader African region. The Specialist will engage in lease negotiations, generate high-potential leads, and build strong relationships with key stakeholders. If you are driven, possess exceptional negotiation skills, and are passionate about real estate and business development, this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on the company's growth trajectory.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in lead generation and lease negotiation.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with landlords and franchisees.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic expansion through targeted lead generation and lease negotiations.
• Conduct site visits and maintain a 12-month pipeline of new sites.

Skills

Lead Generation

Lease Negotiation

Stakeholder Management

Market Research

Financial Analysis

Education

Matric

Job description

Red Ember Recruitment is looking for a New Business Leasing Specialist in Cape Town or Gauteng.The New Business Leasing Specialist is responsible for driving strategic expansion through targeted lead generation, lease negotiations, and relationship management with landlords and franchisees. This role plays a critical part in securing prime restaurant locations across South Africa and assist in the broader African region. The Specialist will identify and secure strategic lease opportunities, including lease takeover, white box conversions and lease renewals, ensuring alignment with the company’s growth strategy.

Site visits :

• Minimum of 15 site visits per month.
• Lead Generation :
• A minimum of 5 qualified leads per month.

Lease Agreements :

• Closed and secured a minimum of 4 leases per quarter.
• Full franchisee engagement and participation in lease discussions.

Stakeholder meetings :

• A minimum of 3 engagements with current landlords per month and presenting key insights from the landlords to internal stakeholders.

Reporting :

• Timely submission of weekly, monthly reports and board reports

Expansion pipeline :

• Maintain and update a rolling 12-month pipeline of new sites.

Requirements

• Matric

Lead Generation & Site identification

• Generate at least five high-potential leads within the first three months.
• Create and maintain a dynamic list of target sites for new development bearing in mind the different brands within the portfolio.
• Conduct market research to identify upcoming opportunities in malls, busy streets, and developing urban nodes and match them with the different brands.

Lease Negotiation & Site Acquisition

• Lead lease negotiations for new store locations, takeover of existing leases, and renewal of existing leases.
• Evaluate white box and iconic site opportunities for strategic growth.
• Collaborate with operations, compliance and finance teams to structure lease terms aligned with business objectives.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Build and sustain strong relationships with key landlords (e.g., Redefine, Old Mutual, Liberty, Attacq).
• Maintain ongoing communication and trust with franchisees throughout the leasing and site selection process.
• Serve as the key liaison between landlords, developers, and internal project teams.
• Support franchisees with site feasibility assessments and location strategies.
• Align new site selection with brand positioning and demographic targeting.
• Host monthly New Business development seminars / conferences with landlords, potential and current franchisee and other stakeholders.

Financial and Feasibility Analysis

• Collaborate with finance and operations teams to assess ROI, sales projections and occupancy costs.
• Conduct feasibility studies to ensure selected site meets the criteria for the suggested brand.
• Ensure lease terms align with the company’s strategic and financial goals.

Reporting & Analysis

• Attend and contribute to weekly development team meetings.
• Provide monthly progress reports on new business activities.
• Deliver quarterly board updates on development performance and pipeline.
• Maintain updated restaurant leasing files for each location.

Travel

• Travel extensively within South Africa for site inspections and stakeholder meetings.
• Potential travel to other African countries for regional expansion opportunities.