Franchise Business Consultant

Job Title: Franchise Business Consultant

Department/Function: Shop Operations

Location: Field (Full Remote) - Must be near major airport

Reports to: Sr. Director of Fran Ops

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Franchise Business Consultant (FBC) is a key strategic partner and trusted advisor to our franchise operators. This role will lead, coach, and model the Potbelly Way values and behaviors. The FBC drives business performance by providing proactive coaching, strategic insights, and data-driven consultation to franchisees with the goal of maximizing sales growth through industry-leading Customer experience and operational execution which delivers strong unit-level profitability. The FBC serves as a cross-functional liaison between franchise owners and corporate teams to support sustainable growth, brand consistency, and operational excellence.

These efforts help grow results in existing shops and help build the foundation of growth for new shop development. FBCs provide support to ensure proper planning and execution of pre-opening, opening and post-opening events.

FBCs are expected to think like owners, act like business accelerators, and lead with influence. They uphold and promote the brand's values while holding franchisees accountable to performance expectations and compliance standards. FBCs also help support and drive organization focus areas.

FOCUS

Why This Role Matters:

This role is critical to the success of our franchise community and directly contributes to scaling the brand through field leadership, strategic insight, and operational coaching. The ideal candidate is not just a consultant-they are a growth catalyst, a trusted partner, and a brand ambassador.

Responsibilities

• Provides impactful advice and assist franchisees in developing business plans to maximize customer satisfaction, drive sales, improve profits, and grow their business.
• Assists franchisees in the development of remedial action plans, as needed.
• Provides strategic coaching in areas of service standards, product quality control, staffing, training, safety, sanitation, and new shop openings.
• Partners with Potbelly corporate franchise operations leadership to identify key priorities for Franchise Operations and establish annual targets.
• Acts as a liaison between franchisees and corporate operations/support staff on key initiatives and activities.
• Ensures that the Potbelly Values and Potbelly Culture is embraced and demonstrated by the franchisees.
• Establishes and maintains positive relationships with franchisees.
• Drives the sell-in and implementation of all Company initiatives.
• Assists in the implementation of local and national marketing programs.
• Ensures that franchisees operate within company standards and comply with the franchise agreements.
• Identifies any product or procedure that is not in compliance with Company standards, ensuring corrective action is taken immediately.
• Makes recommendations to maintain safe working conditions and compliance to Potbelly procedures in the franchise shops.
• Supports and leads franchisee through pre-opening and opening activities.
• Actively shares and assists franchisees in adopting best practices.

Franchise Partnership & Strategic Support

• Serve as a business partner to franchise owners by helping them analyze financials, identify opportunities, and execute growth strategies.
• Facilitate regular business reviews and develop collaborative action plans to drive sales, increase EBITDA, and improve unit economics.
• Provide consultative support on staffing, training, retention, local marketing, and operational planning.
• Lead pre-opening coaching and ramp-up support for new shops, ensuring brand standards are fully implemented from day one.
• Build and maintain influential, trust-based relationships with franchisees through a solutions-focused, collaborative approach.

Operational Excellence & Brand Compliance

• Ensure consistent execution of brand standards across food safety, customer experience, service, cleanliness, and employee engagement.
• Support implementation and adoption of new company initiatives, tools, technologies, and systems.
• Monitor KPIs (sales, labor, COGS, voice of the customer, etc.) and coach operators on how to interpret and act on their data.
• Identify risks and opportunities, offering real-time insights and practical solutions to improve business performance.

Leadership & Influence

• Champion and reinforce the brand culture and values through field leadership and hands-on guidance.
• Proactively escalate concerns and collaborate with internal stakeholders (e.g., HR, Marketing, Finance, Legal) to resolve issues and support franchisee success.
• Inspire accountability and continuous improvement while leading franchisees through change with clarity and confidence.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for franchisee operations and help evolve best practices across the system.

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL FUNCTIONS

• Must have stamina to work extended hours and frequent field visits.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, lift up to 50 lbs occasionally.
• Must be able to travel for multi-day shop openings and market visits.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel up to 75% of the time.
• Food Safety Certification (or ability to obtain within 60 days of hire).
• Must be able to tolerate higher levels of noise from music, customer, and employee traffic.
• Must be able to tolerate potential allergens: peanut products, egg, dairy, gluten, soy, seafood, and shellfish.

EXPERIENCE, EDUCATION, AND BEHAVIORS

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
• 5+ years of multi-unit leadership experience in restaurant, hospitality, or retail franchising.
• Proven success in business consulting, franchise operations, or field support roles.
• Strong business acumen: financial literacy (P&L, COGS, labor), operational metrics, local store marketing, and workforce planning.
• Ability to administer and host quarterly business reviews with franchise owners, operating partners and support center support roles.
• Proficiency in MS Office and back-office systems; familiarity with platforms like Profit Keeper, TalentReef, or LMS tools preferred.
• Deep understanding of franchise systems, brand compliance, and the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) framework.
• Track record of influencing without authority and leading high-level conversations with entrepreneurs and business owners.
• Exceptional communication skills (written, verbal, and interpersonal).
• Must be able to engage across multiple platforms (email, Teams, phone, in-person) with urgency and professionalism.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to turn insights into action.
• Comfort navigating ambiguity and managing change across diverse markets.

Company: Potbelly Corporate

Position: Franchise Business Consultant

Status: Full Time

Shift: First (Day)

Req #: 10734145

Date Posted: August 28, 2025

Location: Chicago , Chicago,
US,
IL,
60611

Job Category: Corporate