Vice President, Franchise Development

Location:Pinch A Penny Administration - 6385 150th Ave N., Clearwater, FL 33760 (on-site)

Job Summary:

Pinch A Penny is seeking a Vice President of Franchise Development to drive franchise growth across its ~300-location, multi-state network. Reporting to the President, this leader will own franchise development strategy and execution—from territory planning and franchisee recruitment to real estate/site selection, new store openings, and FDD compliance—while managing the development budget/P&L and building the development team.

Scope & Scale:

• Roughly 300 franchised locations across 10 states (AL, AZ, FL, GA, LA, NC, NV, OK, SC, TX), with active expansion across the Sunbelt.

• Average Unit Volume of approximately $2 million, generating more than $500 million in annual consumer retail sales.

• Initial franchise investment of approximately $500,000 to $800,000 per location, supported by an in-house financing program.

• A 50+ year-old, family-founded franchise system consistently ranked among the most satisfied franchisee bases in the industry.

• Full accountability for the franchise development team, its budget, and unit-growth performance, working closely with Operations, Real Estate, Legal, Marketing, and Finance.

Responsibilities:

Growth Strategy & Planning

• Sets and owns the three-to-five-year franchise development strategy and annual unit-growth targets, aligned with Pinch A Penny and POOLCORP objectives.

• Presents development strategy, pipeline, and performance to the President and POOLCORP leadership, and represents development in enterprise growth planning.

• Leads market and trade-area analysis, white-space mapping, and territory planning to prioritize expansion in existing and target markets.

• Owns the development budget, P&L, and franchise development operating system, including pipeline health, lead conversion, candidate quality, franchise agreement signings, store openings, time-to-open, development ROI, and overall growth performance.

Franchisee Recruitment, Qualification & Award

• Directs the franchise development funnel from initial lead generation through store opening, including broker and referral relationships, candidate sourcing, qualification, Discovery Day, franchise awards, and opening execution.

• Sets and enforces candidate qualification standards, including the financial, operational, and cultural factors that lead to franchisee success and protect the brand.

• Oversees the candidate profile, the franchise sales process, and award governance so that every candidate has a consistent, compliant, high-quality experience.

• Establishes and maintains a data-driven development process with clearly defined stage gates, conversion metrics, forecasting, and accountability throughout the candidate lifecycle.

• Develops and manages relationships with franchise brokers, referral networks, industry associations, and strategic partners to diversify candidate sourcing and improve candidate quality.

Existing and Multi-Unit Franchisee Development

• Oversees resales, transfers, and the acquisition of independent operators into the system, partnering with Operations and Legal.

• Advises existing owners on future store development plans in line with the Confidential Operating Manual.

• Evaluates opportunities for future franchise system growth, including multi-unit expansion, next-generation ownership, succession planning, and ownership transitions across the franchise system.

Real Estate & Site Strategy

• Establishes market planning frameworks that balance franchisee demand, white-space opportunity, competitive positioning, and expected return on investment.Oversees the turnkey development process, including site identification, lease strategy and negotiation, permitting, construction, merchandising, and opening, in coordination with internal departments and the new owner.

Franchise Compliance & Disclosure

• Partners with Legal to maintain the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), franchise registrations and renewals across registration states, and compliance with the FTC Franchise Rule, including financial performance representations (Item 19).

• Makes sure development practices, marketing, and candidate communications follow franchise law and the Franchise Development Handbook.

Team Leadership & Representation

• Builds, leads, and develops the franchise development team, and sets clear goals, standards, and accountability for pipeline execution and franchisee support.

• Creates a culture of accountability through consistent performance measurement, pipeline reviews, forecasting, and coaching across the development team.

• Develops talent and plans for succession within the function.

• Represents Pinch A Penny at franchise, real estate, and industry events such as the International Franchise Association, and complete store and market visits as needed.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, real estate, finance, or a related field. An MBA is a plus. Equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

• At least 10 years of progressive franchise development experience, including multi-unit or area development, and at least 5 years leading a development team or function at the director level or above.

• A track record of setting and hitting system-wide unit-growth targets and managing a development budget or P&L.

• Working knowledge of franchise law and disclosure requirements (FDD, FTC Franchise Rule, and state franchise registration), and experience partnering with legal counsel on compliance.

• Strong real estate and site-selection skills, including trade-area analysis and lease negotiation.

• Comfort with franchise unit economics and the financial qualification and underwriting of candidates.

• Strong strategic-planning, analytical, and leadership skills, with communication ability and presence to influence at the senior level.

• Willingness to travel up to 60 percent, with a high level of self-motivation and the ability to work independently.

Preferred:

• Experience in multi-unit retail, specialty retail, or services franchising, including turnkey development models and in-house financing programs.

• Experience scaling a development function or franchise system through a period of sustained growth.

• Active involvement with industry groups such as the International Franchise Association.

Bilingual, Military, Military Spouses and Veteran applicants are strongly encouraged to apply! We understand the uniqueness of hiring military personnel and veterans and will support him/her in the time of duty or with the transition into new civilian professions. 

All offers to external candidates for employment are contingent upon the successful completion of pre-employment drug testing and background verifications before employment is finalized.