The role of KFC CEE Franchise Growth Lead is both a tactical and operational role that covers the oversight of KFC CEE Franchisees by owning the executional areas of Customer Experience Improvement, People & Culture, Sales & Profit Growth and Compliance through the implementation of the World Class Operations (WCO) framework.
Success will be measured through the continuous improvement and upholding of WCO KPIs (including but not limited to OSAT - taste, speed, accuracy & B2B across all sales channels, ROCC, RGM certified, SSSG/TG, 4W EBITDA…)
KFC CEE is a business with more than 1000 stores, 20 franchisees and 1.8 Bio USD with the ambition to double size by 2030.
KFC CEE Franchise Growth Lead will
Work with cross functional teams to define Franchise strategy at Market level
Foster strong partner relationships with Franchisees that cultivates an open exchange of ideas and information sharing that will help develop future programs that add value to franchise support
Build strong relationships across all facets of the organization to provide leadership Franchisee Operations Leads
Provide operational support to Franchise principal Operators from guidance on strategic direction to day-to-day operations
Develop a culture of high performing heart-led leadership to unleash Franchisee capability and growth
Responsibilities
Franchisee Governance (60%)
Routine & Governance
Develop rhythm and routine for communication, change and performance management: KFC CEE Business Reviews process, Cross functional comms meetings, Market Visits, Know-how/comms calls and webinars, Newsletters, Recognition programs,
Is responsible for lay-out approval new and remodeled restaurants, and for Operation handover of New Store Opening
Own the performance management cycle from risk > to notification > to escalation > to exit
Lead cross functionally the Onboarding of New Partner and/or the Opening of New Markets.
Support
Act as key point of contact and advocate for Franchisees
Partner with franchisees to problem-solve operational challenges, providing coaching, mentoring and best practice guidance to develop short and long-term action plans effective at driving strong results
Assess partners against World Class Ops Capability and co-author plans to address KPI improvement:
Customer Satisfaction (OSAT) (including inherent drivers Taste, Speed & Accuracy) across all sales channels
Adherence to Food Safety & Operating Standards
4 Wall Profit
Influences buy-in/adoption/execution of all new KFC programs
Formulates specific implementation plans and evaluates the effectiveness of actions/programs implemented
Advocacy
Create trust & credibility-based relationships with all stakeholders
Develop an empathy-based understanding of Franchisee challenges to be their voice within the organization, while leveraging negotiation and conflict management skills with Principal Operators and Head of Operations to deliver business goals and priorities.
Update KFC Leadership on all relevant developments, recognizing progress when made
Projects & Change Management
Work collaboratively with REX (Restaurant Excellence) Lead to support change management plans for projects and/or change initiatives
Evaluate the impact of planned organizational change and identify risks and developing risk mitigation tactics
Anticipate and manage resistance to change
Own document & tracking/governance for all in-market initiatives
Restaurant visits (20%)
Combine restaurant visits with franchise operational reviews to provide coaching, identify commercial opportunities
Conduct unannounced restaurants visits to build a clear understanding of guest experience in market
Always recognize restaurant teams for their contributions
Utilize restaurant visits to follow up and validate implementation of agreed systems, tools and processes with franchise operations and HR teams.
Visit restaurants for the launch, support and communication of key strategic cross-functional projects across the BU, or when required by the LT team for the purpose of franchise business reviews
Communication & Know-How Building (15%)
Elevate operator capability to best-in-class levels through know-how cascading
Work collaboratively with HRBP/ Field training to provide Franchisees with exhaustive training material
Play a central role in best practice sharing across the entire Operations Community
Develop Capability building programs (when needed)
Lead through motivation to create excitement for all initiatives both at the RSCs and field levels (founders week activations, Ops summit/conferences)
Develop proposals for stakeholders outlining proposed project structure, approach and work plan
Communicates results/recommendations to project sponsors
Analytics, Insights & Commercials (5%)
Deep dive into operations performance to define key insights and root causes to address for continuous improvement
Provide business driving context and impact analytics for each initiative and influence financial planning process to prioritize Operations initiatives
Participate to cross functional squads and CoE activities as needed
In CEE
Direct report: KFC CEE Franchise Business Coach
Reports to KFC CEE COO
Works directly with KFC CEE REX, FSQA, HRBP/field training, Development, DigiTech
Support cross functional initiatives and squads with KFC CEE SCM, FIT, Marketing
In Yum!:KFC Pan-Europe and Global (inc. CoEs), PH Europe and TB Europe
External:KFC CEE Franchisee Principal Operators and Ops Leaders, Vendors ad-hoc
Qualifications
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
Operations strategy, business degree, or equivalent experience
Fluency in English (written and spoken) is required, speaking a CEE language would be advantageous
EXPERIENCE
8-10 years of experience in Operations, preferred gained within QSR, Retail or Food Service.
Experience in Central and Eastern Europe market place is a plus.
Job Info
* Job Identification 4528
* Posting Date 12/05/2025, 09:37 AM
* Job Schedule Full time
* Locations Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
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