SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES
The Director of Market Planning is responsible for partnering cross-functionally with Development, Real Estate, Operations, and Finance to determine where, how, and at what pace the brand grows its café footprint. This role will also support the development of market strategies to maximize unit economics, franchisee returns and long-term brand penetration
The ideal candidate is both analytical and strategic. They leverage cross-functional partnerships, large data sets and analytic tools, combined with a strong understanding of customer behavior, market demand and real estate to support actionable and thoughtful growth.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND KEY RESULTS AREA
Market Strategy & Planning
- Build and maintain DMA and trade area level cafe capacity models, utilizing trade area and site characteristics, competitive density and brand performance benchmarks
- Identify whitespace opportunities and priority markets for both new expansion and infill opportunities
- Define optimal cafe clustering strategies, establishing maturity curves by market type (e.g. established, growth, emerging, new and next horizon)
- Set and manage ‘cafes per capita’ benchmarks and adjust based on trending performance data
- Ensure cross-functional alignment on real estate execution that fits with the company’s long-term growth and financial goals
Site Selection & Analytics
- Leverage GIS tools such as Sitewise and large data sets to set true trade areas, identify top quartile cafe attributes (access, co-tenancy, traffic drivers, digital behaviors)
- Develop predictive AUV models based on correlation analysis
- Build cannibalization models to quantify impacts of new cafes on existing units, understanding saturation curves and inflection points where returns become compressed
- Identify minimum spacing thresholds by market type and leverage to identify underpenetrated opportunities and oversaturated markets
- Standardize site grading scorecard based on optimal trade area, site and competitive characteristics
Unit Economics & Performance Analytics
- Understand franchisee unit economics, AUV, margin and payback implications across markets and cohorts to inform analysis and recommendations
- Validate AUV proformas for new sites and market entries
- Identify underperforming pockets tied to sub-optimal site selection or overdevelopment and communicate with key stakeholders to develop countermeasures
- Create market-level narratives to support franchise development deal flow
- Assess territory rights, encroachment risk and rebalancing opportunities
- Monitor industry trends, competitor activity and share of wallet, and stay current on emerging market dynamics
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date market planning tools and documentation
Process & Structure Implementation
- Partner cross-functionally to enhance data visibility, ensure consistent evaluation criteria, and support decision making through integrated financial and operational insights.
- Develop and standardize market planning frameworks, tools, and methodologies to ensure consistency and scalability across all markets
- Ensures processes such as site evaluation, approval workflows, and market prioritization are in place to help improve speed and quality of real estate.
- Create and maintain structured pipelines for new site opportunities
- Partner with cross-functional teams to define roles, responsibilities, and timelines within the development lifecycle
- Continuously evaluate and refine processes to drive efficiency, transparency, and alignment with evolving business needs
- Implement reporting cadences and tracking mechanisms to monitor progress against market plans and development goals
- Present findings and recommendations clearly to executive stakeholders
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, Business, Statistics, Finance or related field
- 5–7+ years of experience in real estate planning, market analysis, or restaurant development
- Strong analytical skills with experience in site selection, trade area analysis, and sales forecasting
- Proficiency with GIS mapping tools (e.g Sitewise) data visualization, project management tools (e.g. Quickbase), and CRM tools. Experience with other real estate and analytic tools a plus (e.g. Costar)
- Advanced Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel
- Knowledge of restaurant, retail, or real estate preferred
Key Competencies
- Strategic thinker with strong business acumen
- Data-driven decision maker
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
- Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders
- Detail-oriented with strong project management capabilities
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
