Fractional Expansion & New Store Development Leader

About the opportunity
We are looking for a senior Expansion & New Store Development leader to work with a fast-growing food chain that is entering its next phase of rapid expansion.
This is a fractional leadership mandate for someone who has personally built and scaled the engine behind rapid multi-location expansion.
The mandate is not simply to manage individual store projects. It is to bring structure, speed and predictability to the entire new-store creation process.
What you will be responsible for
Build a scalable new-store development and expansion playbook
Drive the process from site identification and feasibility through to store opening and handover
Establish clear timelines, milestones, ownership and governance for multiple concurrent openings
Work closely with leadership on location feasibility, store formats, capex and unit economics
Manage architects, contractors, vendors and other external partners
Identify and resolve bottlenecks that slow down store openings
Create a repeatable operating rhythm that can support rapid expansion across multiple cities
Ensure new stores are opening-ready across projects, operations, people, technology and supply chain
Track project timelines and costs and provide leadership with clear visibility on progress and risks
Build internal capability so that the organisation can eventually manage the expansion engine independently
The ideal profile
We are looking for someone who has actually led rapid new-store rollouts, rather than someone whose experience is primarily in running an existing restaurant network.
You should ideally have:
15+ years of experience in QSR, F&B, retail or another multi-location consumer business
Experience leading rapid store / outlet expansion
Personally taken multiple locations from site selection / feasibility to opening
Experience managing several stores simultaneously across cities
Strong understanding of capex, project management, contractors, vendors and timelines
Experience creating processes and governance for scalable expansion
Strong commercial understanding of store-level economics and ROI
The ability to work effectively with founders / promoters and senior leadership
Experience of having opened 50+ stores/outlets would be highly desirable.
This is a fractional leadership role
The expected engagement is approximately 2–3 days per week, with the flexibility to increase involvement during critical phases of expansion.
This could be particularly attractive to:
Former senior QSR / F&B / retail expansion leaders
Experienced operators who have moved into consulting or advisory work
Independent consultants / operating advisors
Senior executives looking for a fractional leadership mandate
What success will look like
The successful leader will help the organisation move from “opening stores” to building a predictable, scalable store-expansion engine — enabling the business to open more locations, faster, with greater control over cost, quality and timelines.
If you have personally built and scaled a multi-location expansion engine, we would love to hear from you.

Work arrangement
No