Franchising Manager - Retail / QSR Industry - Newlands East, Durban

Opportunity Available!!!

Purpose of the Role

Our reputable QSR / Retail client is seeking an experienced Franchising Manager to join their team based in Newlands East.

The successful candidate will be responsible for driving the organization’s franchise growth strategy by identifying, attracting, evaluating, and onboarding high-quality franchise partners who will contribute to the sustainable expansion of the business.

This role extends beyond franchise sales and focuses on building a strong pipeline of financially capable, operationally competent, and culturally aligned franchisees while ensuring a professional and seamless franchisee journey from initial enquiry through to successful handover to the operations team. The successful candidate will work closely with multiple internal stakeholders to ensure new franchise partners are positioned for long-term success while maintaining governance and protecting the integrity of the brand.

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Finance, Property, Entrepreneurship, or a related field.

• Franchise Management qualification (advantageous).

Experience

• Minimum 5–8 years' experience in Franchising, Franchise Development, Business Development or Multi-site Retail Expansion.

• Proven experience recruiting, assessing, and onboarding franchisees.

• Experience presenting franchise opportunities to prospective investors.

• Experience evaluating financial capacity and commercial viability of franchise applicants.

• Experience managing multiple franchise opportunities simultaneously.

• Experience working within a retail, QSR, hospitality or franchise environment would be highly advantageous.

• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams including Legal, Finance, Operations, Real Estate and Training.

Knowledge

• Strong understanding of franchise business models.

• Knowledge of franchise agreements and commercial contracts.

• Financial analysis and investment evaluation.

• Business case preparation.

• Market and territory analysis.

• Franchise sales processes.

• Microsoft Office Suite.

• CRM systems (advantageous).

Key Responsibilities

Franchise Development

• Develop and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective franchisees.

• Generate new franchise opportunities through referrals, networking, marketing campaigns, and franchise exhibitions.

• Promote franchise opportunities to qualified investors.

• Maintain accurate records of all franchise leads and opportunities.

Franchisee Recruitment & Assessment

• Evaluate prospective franchisees against financial, operational, and cultural criteria.

• Conduct interviews and franchise assessments.

• Assess business experience, leadership capability, and long-term suitability.

• Prepare franchise recommendations for approval.

Franchise Sales Process

• Present franchise opportunities to prospective investors.

• Guide applicants through the franchise approval process.

• Coordinate franchise documentation and agreements.

• Ensure applicants receive an exceptional onboarding experience.

Stakeholder Management

• Liaise with Legal, Finance, Real Estate, Development, Operations and Training teams.

• Coordinate internal approval processes.

• Ensure successful handover of approved franchisees.

• Build long-term relationships with franchise partners.

Portfolio Growth

• Identify expansion opportunities with existing franchisees.

• Support network growth initiatives.

• Monitor franchise pipeline performance.

• Prepare regular management reports and forecasts.

Governance & Compliance

• Ensure franchise recruitment processes comply with company policies.

• Maintain accurate franchise records and documentation.

• Ensure confidentiality of applicant information.

• Support continuous improvement of franchise recruitment processes.

Key Competencies

• Excellent negotiation skills.

• Strong commercial acumen.

• Exceptional relationship-building ability.

• Strong presentation and communication skills.

• Financial and business analysis skills.

• High level of professionalism.

• Strong organizational and planning ability.

• Excellent stakeholder management.

• Ability to influence and persuade.

• Strong decision-making ability.

• Results-driven.

• High attention to detail.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities.

• Self-motivated and proactive.

• Problem-solving ability.

• Ability to work independently and within a team.

Please take note: if you have not been contacted within 14 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.