Senior Real Estate Manager East

Senior Real Estate Manager – East

Job Type: Full-Time Employee, Exempt
Level: Manager or Senior Manager (commensurate with experience)

Department: Business Development – Real Estate
Location: Fort Lee, NJ (preferred); will consider remote within the Eastern Time Zone
Travel: Extensive regional travel required for market tours, conferences, and franchisee meetings
Reports to: Senior Director of Real Estate

SUMMARY
This role is responsible for owning market planning and executing franchise and select corporate real estate transactions within an assigned region, supporting disciplined, scalable expansion across the U.S. The Senior Real Estate Manager owns the full real estate lifecycle from market planning and site identification through lease execution, while partnering closely with Franchise Sales, Construction, Design, Operations, and Brand teams to ensure high-quality, predictable store openings.

As the primary real estate lead in the region, this role serves as a strategic partner to franchisees and internal stakeholders, translating market plans into executable site strategies and guiding deals from concept through approval and opening.

JOB DESCRIPTION
Reporting to the Senior Director of Real Estate, the Senior Real Estate Manager leads market planning, site sourcing, evaluation, negotiation, and execution within the assigned territory. The role serves as the primary real estate point of contact for franchisees, brokers, and landlords, and plays a key role in aligning franchise sales strategy, market development plans, and real estate execution.

The Senior Real Estate Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining market plans, understanding site conditions and constraints, and presenting site recommendations to leadership and the Real Estate Committee. This role works in close collaboration with Construction and Design partners to manage site readiness and mitigate risks from deal execution through opening.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Market Planning & Strategy Ownership
• Own and maintain market plans for assigned territories, including target store counts, approved trade areas, sequencing, and franchise versus corporate allocation.
• Continuously evaluate market conditions, whitespace, competition, and development pacing to inform site strategy and franchise sales efforts.
• Ensure all real estate activity aligns with approved market plans, development priorities, and brand standards.

Franchise Sales Partnership & Franchisee Onboarding
• Partner closely with the Business Development / Franchise Sales team on market strategy, franchise recruitment support, and long-term territory development planning.
• Support franchise sales efforts by providing real estate insights, market feasibility input, and site strategy guidance during franchise recruitment.
• Serve as the primary real estate partner to franchisees post–franchise agreement execution, guiding them through site selection, deal structuring, and lease execution.
• Support franchisee onboarding by clearly communicating real estate processes, timelines, expectations, and required inputs.

Site Selection, Deal Execution & Negotiation
• Source, evaluate, negotiate, and execute franchise and select corporate real estate opportunities within the assigned region.
• Lead LOI and lease negotiations in alignment with approved deal parameters, market plans, and financial targets.
• Maintain a strong understanding of site conditions, including shell type, utilities, infrastructure, permitting considerations, and landlord obligations, and how these factors impact deal structure, economics, and timelines.
• Manage broker relationships and regional market coverage strategy to ensure consistent deal flow and market intelligence.

Cross-Functional Coordination & Execution
• Partner closely with Construction and Design teams from lease execution through opening to manage site readiness, timelines, and risk mitigation.
• Participate in weekly real estate and construction pipeline meetings to review progress, constraints, and upcoming milestones.
• Work with Legal as needed, particularly on select corporate or complex transactions.

Leadership Communication & Governance
• Present site recommendations, deal summaries, and market updates to the Real Estate Committee and senior leadership.
• Maintain accurate pipeline updates, forecasts, and risk flags for assigned markets.
• Prepare reports, analyses, and presentations for leadership as needed to support decision-making and development pacing.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

Education
• Bachelor’s degree in business, real estate, finance, or a related field required.

Experience
• 5+ years of experience in retail or restaurant real estate development.
• Proven experience negotiating LOIs and leases.
• Demonstrated experience owning market planning and executing multi-site development strategies.
• Experience managing broker and landlord relationships across a large geography.
• Strong understanding of site selection, market dynamics, lease structures, and site conditions.
• Experience coordinating with construction and design teams through store opening.

Skills & Capabilities
• Ability to manage multiple deals simultaneously across a large geographic territory.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to assess site constraints and translate them into actionable deal strategies.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present clearly to executives and committees.
• Professional fluency in English required; bilingual capability a strong plus.