Senior Director of Exit Strategy Support

The Senior Director of Exit Strategy Support provides strategic leadership for the organization's franchise resale and exit strategy function, developing and overseeing a comprehensive program designed to help franchisees plan and execute successful business exits. This role is accountable for the strategic direction, performance, and continuous evolution of the franchise resale program, with a focus on reducing store closures, preserving franchise system health, and maximizing opportunities for successful ownership transitions.

The Senior Director serves as a senior strategic advisor to franchisees and executive leadership on resale, transfer, and exit strategy matters and acts as the primary corporate liaison for franchise resale communications. The role partners extensively across Franchise Development, Operations, Legal, Marketing, Finance, and other functions to establish scalable processes, mitigate risk, identify trends and opportunities, and ensure successful execution of franchise transfers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Franchise Resale Program Management
• Develop and execute the enterprise strategy and long-term vision for the franchise resale and exit strategy program, aligned with overall franchise system and business objectives.
• Establish program goals, performance metrics, operating standards, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen franchisee retention and reduce preventable store closures.
• Provide strategic oversight of the end-to-end resale lifecycle, including exit planning, business valuation, listing strategy, buyer sourcing, buyer qualification, negotiations, transfer approval, and transition.
• Establish and maintain scalable processes, policies, and governance standards to ensure consistent, efficient, and compliant execution across the franchise system.
• Identify emerging risks, market trends, and opportunities affecting franchisee exits and proactively develop strategies and solutions to address them.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex, sensitive, or high-impact resale and transfer matters.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key external partners, including brokers, valuation providers, consultants, and other strategic vendors supporting franchise resale activities.
• Develop and publish exit strategy related content to the franchisees to encourage and influence ownership groups towards internal resale programs vs other outcomes

Executive & Cross Functional Leadership
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert and senior advisor on franchise resale, ownership transitions, and exit strategy.
• Partner with executive leadership to develop strategies that preserve franchise system health, minimize store closures, and support long-term franchisee value.
• Lead cross-functional alignment with Franchise Development, Operations, Legal, Marketing, Finance, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless execution of resale and transfer strategies.
• Influence senior leaders and business partners to resolve complex issues, improve processes, and drive accountability for critical milestones and outcomes.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, decision rights, and service expectations across functions involved in the resale and transfer process.
• Represent the organization in high-level franchisee, broker, buyer, and industry interactions as appropriate.

Franchise & Buyer Experience
• Develop and oversee a proactive franchisee engagement strategy that educates owners on exit planning, business valuation, timing, and available resale pathways.
• Create and deliver executive-level education and resources that enable franchisees to make informed decisions regarding ownership transitions.
• Provide strategic guidance to franchisees navigating complex or high-value exits while maintaining appropriate corporate governance and compliance.
• Oversee the prospective buyer experience in partnership with Franchise Development, ensuring qualified buyers receive clear expectations, timely communication, and a coordinated path through approval and onboarding.
• Establish standards for communication, responsiveness, and transparency throughout the resale and transfer process.

Marketing and Vendor Management
• Develop and oversee the strategic marketing approach for franchise resale opportunities, including positioning, promotional channels, buyer outreach, and lead-generation strategies.
• Build and maintain a high-performing network of external partners supporting valuations, brokerage services, advertising, and transaction execution.
• Negotiate and manage strategic vendor relationships, service agreements, performance expectations, and costs.
• Evaluate vendor performance and market alternatives to ensure the organization receives high-quality, cost-effective support.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of resale-related content, policies, and guidance within the Franchise Operations Manual and other franchise resources.

Internal Support and Strategic Impact
• Establish comprehensive reporting and analytics to monitor resale pipeline health, transaction performance, time to transfer, closure avoidance, and other key performance indicators.
• Provide executive leadership with regular insights, forecasts, trend analysis, and recommendations regarding franchise resale activity and system health.
• Identify systemic barriers to successful resales and lead enterprise-level initiatives to improve conversion, speed, franchisee outcomes, and overall program effectiveness.
• Analyze market and franchise system trends to anticipate future resale activity and inform strategic planning and resource allocation.
• Develop business cases and recommendations for investments, process changes, technology, or new capabilities that enhance the resale program.
• Maintain accountability for program performance and communicate results, risks, and opportunities to senior leadership.

Education and Experience
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Finance, Marketing, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in franchise development, franchise sales, franchise transfers, business brokerage, exit strategy, or a related field, preferably within retail, franchising, or small business.
• Demonstrated experience leading a complex, enterprise-level program or function with significant cross-functional impact.
• Proven success developing and executing strategic programs that influence business performance, revenue, retention, or organizational outcomes.
• Strong understanding of franchise operations, franchise agreements and transfers, small business ownership, business valuation, and financial performance metrics.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively at the executive level, influence senior stakeholders, and navigate complex organizational environments.
• Strong negotiation, conflict resolution, change management, and strategic project leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to use data, market intelligence, and financial analysis to inform strategy and executive decision-making.
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to influence audiences ranging from franchisees and prospective buyers to executive leadership.
• Exceptional organizational and prioritization skills with the ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives and complex transactions simultaneously.
• Strong business acumen and demonstrated ability to translate strategic objectives into measurable outcomes.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, CRM platforms, and other business technology.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 25%, including overnight stays.
• Valid driver's license and ability to rent or operate a vehicle.

Physical Requirements / Work Environment
The physical demands required to perform the essential responsibilities of this position are as follows.
Reasonable accommodations, if necessary and/or as required by law, will be made available.
• The position requires the employee to regularly sit, use hands to handle or touch, talk, hear, and occasionally lift up to 20 pounds.
• Special vision requirements include close vision.
• Regular use of a computer, copier, and other standard office equipment.
• This role operates in a standard office environment.