Director of Real Estate & Development
Company: Confidential
Department: Development
Reports To: CEO / Executive Leadership Team
Location: Hybrid / Remote (To be discussed)
Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent
About the Role
Our company is a rapidly growing quick-service restaurant (QSR) company seeking an experienced, commercially minded Director of Real Estate & Development to lead the strategic growth and development of its restaurant portfolio across Canada and the United States.
This is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing the full real estate and development lifecycle, from market planning and site identification through acquisition, negotiation, construction, opening, and ongoing portfolio optimization.
The ideal candidate brings significant experience in QSR real estate, multi-unit development, and franchise growth, with a strong understanding of what makes a restaurant site commercially viable.
Working closely with the executive leadership team, franchisees, construction, operations, finance, and external development partners, the Director will help determine where, when, and how the company should grow, while ensuring new locations support the organization's long-term strategic objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Real Estate Strategy & Market Expansion
- Develop and execute the company's real estate strategy in alignment with overall corporate growth objectives.
- Lead market planning and expansion strategies across existing and emerging markets.
- Identify priority markets, trade areas, and development opportunities based on population growth, demographics, traffic patterns, competition, real estate conditions, and restaurant performance.
- Develop market-level growth plans and real estate pipelines to support franchise and corporate development targets.
- Evaluate opportunities for new market entry, infill development, relocations, remodels, and portfolio optimization.
- Provide senior leadership with recommendations regarding market opportunities, risks, investment requirements, and development timelines.
Site Selection & Development
- Lead the identification, evaluation, and approval of prospective restaurant sites.
- Establish and maintain site selection criteria appropriate for the company's QSR model.
- Oversee site feasibility analysis, including demographics, traffic counts, accessibility, visibility, parking, co-tenancy, competition, trade area characteristics, and projected sales potential.
- Review and approve site packages, financial analyses, market studies, and development proposals.
- Coordinate with operations and franchise development teams to ensure proposed locations align with franchisee capabilities and market strategy.
- Manage relationships with brokers, landlords, developers, municipalities, consultants, and other real estate partners.
Lease & Deal Negotiation
- Lead or oversee the negotiation of leases, purchase agreements, development agreements, assignments, renewals, extensions, and other real estate agreements.
- Evaluate proposed deal structures, including rent, lease terms, tenant allowances, exclusivity, options, termination rights, and other commercial considerations.
- Partner with legal and finance teams to assess risk and ensure transactions align with the company's financial and operational requirements.
- Establish appropriate approval processes and deal thresholds for real estate transactions.
Development & Construction Oversight
- Oversee the development process from approved site through restaurant opening.
- Partner closely with construction, design, operations, and franchise teams to ensure projects remain on schedule and within approved budgets.
- Monitor development timelines, project milestones, landlord obligations, permitting, construction readiness, and opening requirements.
- Identify and resolve development issues that may affect project cost, timing, or restaurant viability.
- Establish consistent development standards, processes, and reporting across the portfolio.
Franchise & Stakeholder Partnership
- Serve as a senior real estate resource for franchise partners throughout the development process.
- Support franchisees in evaluating potential sites and understanding development requirements.
- Build strong relationships with franchisees, developers, landlords, brokers, and strategic partners.
- Collaborate with Franchise Development to align real estate opportunities with franchise sales and territory planning.
- Work closely with Operations to ensure development decisions reflect the practical requirements of restaurant teams.
Portfolio Optimization
- Analyze the existing restaurant portfolio to identify opportunities for relocations, expansions, renewals, remodels, closures, and other optimization initiatives.
- Monitor lease expirations, occupancy costs, store performance, and market conditions.
- Develop strategies to improve the long-term performance and value of the restaurant portfolio.
- Identify underperforming or strategically important locations requiring intervention.
Leadership & Business Development
- Build and maintain a high-performing real estate and development function.
- Establish processes, performance metrics, reporting standards, and development KPIs.
- Develop and maintain a comprehensive real estate pipeline and development forecast.
- Prepare regular reporting and recommendations for the executive leadership team.
- Represent the company in discussions with landlords, developers, brokers, investors, municipalities, and other external stakeholders.
- Stay informed on QSR development trends, commercial real estate conditions, construction costs, and emerging market opportunities.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of progressive experience in commercial real estate, restaurant development, or a related field.
- Significant experience in QSR, fast-casual, retail, or multi-unit restaurant development.
- Demonstrated experience leading site selection, lease negotiations, and multi-location development programs.
- Strong understanding of Canadian and/or U.S. commercial real estate markets.
- Proven ability to evaluate real estate opportunities from both a strategic and financial perspective.
- Experience working within a franchise or multi-unit operating model is strongly preferred.
- Strong financial and analytical capabilities, including the ability to evaluate development economics, occupancy costs, investment requirements, and projected returns.
- Strong negotiation and relationship-management skills.
- Experience managing external brokers, developers, consultants, landlords, and other third-party partners.
- Ability to operate effectively at an executive level while remaining engaged in the details of individual development opportunities.
- Willingness to travel regularly across existing and target markets.
What Success Looks Like
In this role, success will be reflected in the organization's ability to:
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline of high-quality development opportunities.
- Expand the restaurant portfolio in strategically important markets.
- Consistently identify sites that support strong restaurant performance.
- Improve the speed, predictability, and consistency of the development process.
- Negotiate commercially advantageous real estate agreements.
- Support franchise partners through successful restaurant development.
- Maintain disciplined development economics and portfolio performance.
- Establish the real estate and development function as a strategic driver of long-term company growth.
This search is being conducted on a confidential basis. Additional information regarding the organization, portfolio, and opportunity will be provided to qualified candidates during the recruitment process.
We believe in a human-led recruitment process. AI or automated tools are not used to evaluate, rank, or make hiring decisions about candidates for this position. Applications and candidate qualifications are reviewed by members of our recruitment and leadership team, and all hiring decisions are made by people.
