Principal Program Lead, Real Estate Market Strategy & Strategic Insights

Overview

This position is accountable for developing and deploying comprehensive, location-based market strategy that is key to driving Canada’s growth objectives. The position requires ownership and communication of local, regional, and national strategic plans, enabling Chick-fil-A to make the best decisions possible for short and long-term restaurant growth in Canada. This role will help lead and influence through the following capabilities: market expertise (local knowledge, context, perspective), growth strategy ownership, data interpretation (details + big-picture thinking), strategic-level guidance for larger bodies of work (including enterprise-level strategic bets in Canada), objective insights and recommendations, competitive intelligence, and portfolio management (with a perspective on broader network strategy and financial metrics).

This role is a key player on the Canadian Restaurant Development team and, while highly collaborative, also operates with independent decision-making authority and autonomy.

Responsibilities

Partnerships/Collaboration

• Drive and influence decisions within the business regarding growth strategies in Canada.
• Represent Canadian Market Strategy in strategic-level meetings and initiatives.
• Key partner with Canadian leadership and the US-based Strategic Insights leadership team, bringing timely updates and helping shape future work.

Growth Strategy

• Develop, adapt, and update an integrated location strategy for new and existing markets, in conjunction with the Canadian Restaurant Development team.
• Evaluate, drive, and influence innovative solutions and platforms through the lens of the Canadian market ecosystem. This role requires the Strategist to explore pioneering methods and sales channels to serve the Canadian customer demand for the brand.
• Partner with the US-based Strategic Insights team to understand Chick-fil-A’s historic knowledge and learnings from both the US and existing international markets to help inform the growth and investment strategy in Canada.

Market Expertise

• Market-Level Expert: have an intimate understanding of the trade areas within Canada including demographic and psychographic makeup, customer patterns, traffic drivers, and future growth and development opportunities for the area.
• Equip the Canadian leadership team with understandings around key concepts such as guest movement data, capacity index, and shared customer base.
• Provide critical market strategy insights/maps/data to Canadian leaders to help inform strategy.
• Understand and communicate the competitive landscape across Provinces, Territories, local areas, markets, and regions.
• Crucial role as a storyteller, providing context, narrative and perspective for markets that help drive key decisions.

Forecasting, Scenario-Building & Data Strategy

• Generate data models, sales forecasts and financial analyses.
• Prepare sales transfer studies leveraging internal customer data.
• Evaluate multi-scenario situations for existing and potential future deployment strategies, as needed (including by acquisition type).
• Create and communicate other strategic analyses and innovative business solutions as requested.
• Perform mapping functions and spatial analyses, including management of the existing restaurant strategy and site characteristics layers, utilizing GIS capabilities.
• Provide analyses and recommendations for existing restaurant strategies (remodels, relocations, rebuilds) and potential cross-platform market solutions.
• Project sales, return-on-investment and Operator income forecasts from both a location and overall portfolio perspective.
• Produce input and strategic guidance around the tools and models that could impact location-based strategies, in conjunction with analytics in Existing Restaurants.

Portfolio Management/Financial Stewardship

• Measure financial return of asset and capital deployment options on a broad scale, gauging potential ramifications.
• Consistently implement a forward-thinking approach toward resource stewardship through integrated market deployment strategies.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams and local Operators to identify internal and external hindrances and their impact to sales.
• Work with global Finance team on long term Canadian projections model.
• Support the Canadian Restaurant Development team with general financial matters and ad-hoc analysis.

Real Estate

• Collaborate with Real Estate and participate in regular broker calls as the market expert.
• Provide brand and customer insights for each market when evaluating Chick-fil-A real estate options.
• Overlay and evaluate Chick-fil-A‘s success factors when evaluating real estate sites.
• Clearly identify and communicate the characteristics of what a successful real estate site presents as in each Canadian market.
• As a key to our success in each market, clearly identify Chick-fil-A’s ideal customer(s) for each market.
• Recommend and approve each successful real estate transaction in Canada.
• Collaborate with Real Estate to speak on behalf of Chick-fil-A in industry events such as ICSC.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience
• Bachelor’s Degree or the equivalent combination of education, training and experience
• Prefer aptitude with GIS software and Microsoft Excel modeling
• Strategic thinking and problem solving
• Effective communication skills (written, verbal, as an individual, and in group settings)
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail
• Strong presentation skills
• Strong business financial acumen
• Relationship building skills and ability to influence
• Collaborative team player
• Enterprise mindset with a strong can/will-do attitude
• High comfort level with computer usage/new software, technology & tools
• Strong return on investment and investment analysis principles
• Self-starter with the ability to work both independently and on teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or the equivalent combination of education, training and experience.Preferably a concentration in Business, Finance, Real Estate, Analytics, Geography, Urban Planning or other relevant areas of study
• Experience in Canadian restaurant or retail site selection

Minimum Years of Experience

8

Travel Requirements

35%

Required Level of Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Preferred Level of Education

Bachelor's Degree