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Restaurant Brands International Inc. is one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with nearly $45 billion in annual system-wide sales and over 32,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories.
RBI owns four of the world's most prominent and iconic quick service restaurant brands – TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING®, POPEYES®, and FIREHOUSE SUBS®. These independently operated brands have been serving their respective guests, franchisees and communities for decades. Through its Restaurant Brands for Good framework, RBI is improving sustainable outcomes related to its food, the planet, and people and communities.
RBI is committed to growing the TIM HORTONS®, BURGER KING®, POPEYES® and FIREHOUSE SUBS® brands by leveraging their respective core values, employee and franchisee relationships, and long track records of community support. Each brand benefits from the global scale and shared best practices that come from ownership by Restaurant Brands International Inc.
Job Summary: The Area Franchise Lead, US Central is a people and business leader responsible for driving the overall performance and health of franchise organizations within a designated market. The AFL leads and develops a team of Operations Partners (OPs), while serving as the primary business partner to franchise owners and their leadership teams. The role brings together franchisee business strategy, profitability, growth, organizational capability, and restaurant performance to strengthen franchisee businesses and deliver sustainable results for the brand.
While Operations Partners focus primarily on four-wall restaurant operations and execution, the AFL maintains a broader view of each franchise organization—helping owners identify opportunities, establish priorities, build organizational capability, and develop plans that improve both near- and long-term business performance. The AFL is accountable for building strong franchisee relationships, developing a high-performing Operations Partner team, and ensuring alignment between franchisee priorities and brand objectives.
Roles & Responsibilities:
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Operations Partners, setting clear priorities, managing performance, building their capabilities as trusted advisors to franchisees, and deploying resources against the highest-priority opportunities across the market.
Serve as the primary business partner to franchise owners and their leadership teams, building trusted relationships while maintaining accountability for business performance, commitments, brand expectations, and long-term success.
Conduct holistic franchisee business reviews across profitability, sales, restaurant operations, people, growth, and brand standards, translating insights into clear priorities and actionable business plans.
Partner with franchisees on long-term business strategy, including profitability, portfolio health, investment priorities, organizational capability, leadership structure, and sustainable growth.
Drive market and restaurant performance through the Operations Partner team, identifying and addressing opportunities across key metrics including Speed of Service (SOS), Guest Satisfaction (OSAT), Restaurant Evaluation Visits (REV), and other brand performance indicators.
Maintain accountability for brand standards and restaurant execution across the market, including food safety, cleanliness, repair and maintenance, and serve as the primary escalation point for significant performance concerns, Zero Tolerance issues, and other critical brand standards matters.
Partner with Operations Partners and franchisee leadership teams to address performance gaps, developing corrective action plans, providing targeted coaching and capability-building, and ensuring improvements are sustained over time.
Lead franchisee readiness and execution of key business and brand priorities, including onboarding new franchisees, facilitating franchise transfers and ownership transitions, and supporting system-wide initiatives, new product launches, regional marketing programs, and other strategic priorities.
Serve as a key escalation point for franchisee business needs and day-to-day challenges, helping franchisees navigate and connect with the appropriate RBI teams to resolve operational, equipment, technology, financial, and other business issues while removing barriers to performance.
Utilize RBI’s Problem-Solving Methodology and business data to identify root causes, trends, risks, and opportunities, translating insights into focused, data-driven action plans for franchisees and the Operations Partner team.
Communicate business and operational insights to franchisees and internal stakeholders, creating transparency, accountability, and alignment around priorities, commitments, performance, and business goals.
Collaborate cross-functionally to advocate for franchisee and market needs, strengthen partnership across the organization, remove barriers to performance, and align franchise organizations with broader brand objectives.
Skills and Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Hospitality, or a related field.
5-7+ years of experience in QSR, retail, food & beverage, or similar franchised industry, with multi-unit management experience preferred.
Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and familiarity with data analysis tools.
Strong understanding of business and financial metrics, with the ability to analyze and interpret data to support decision-making.
Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with franchisees, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Skilled in root-cause problem-solving methodologies and able to implement solutions to drive operational improvement.
Effective communicator, with excellent presentation and influencing skills.
Willingness to travel within the assigned market to support franchise locations and field teams.
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Benefits at all of our global offices are focused on physical, mental and financial wellness. We offer unique and progressive benefits, including a comprehensive global paid parental leave program that supports employees as they expand their families, free telemedicine and mental wellness support.
Restaurant Brands International and all of its affiliated companies (collectively, RBI) are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers that do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, provincial or federal laws, rules, or regulations. RBI's policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment. Accommodation is available for applicants with disabilities upon request.
