Job Title: Corporate Development & Real Estate Director
Job Summary:
We are seeking a driven and experienced Corporate Development & Real Estate Director to lead the expansion of our Lone Star Market, C-store, and Church's Chicken footprint in the Texas market. This role is responsible for overseeing all aspects of real estate development and market growth-including site identification, lease negotiations, construction coordination, and acquisitions. The ideal candidate is a dynamic, relationship-focused professional who can work cross-functionally with brokers, vendors, internal teams, and M&A stakeholders to bring new locations to life and drive strategic takeovers of existing sites.
Key Responsibilities:
Market Expansion & Site Development:
- Identify and pursue new development opportunities to expand the Church's Chicken, C-store and Lone Star Market brand presence across Texas.
- Analyze trade areas, demographics, and traffic patterns to determine optimal site selection for new builds, lease locations, or renovations.
- Work closely with real estate brokers to source and evaluate potential locations.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with local, regional, and national brokers to stay informed on market opportunities.
- Negotiate LOIs and support lease negotiations in collaboration with legal and leadership teams.
Project Coordination & Oversight:
- Oversee the full lifecycle of real estate development projects including new builds, remodels, reimaging, and acquisitions.
- Coordinate between brokers, landlords, architects, contractors, permitting agencies, and the internal back-office team to ensure timely execution.
- Serve as the primary point of contact between the field and internal teams for status updates, timelines, and issue resolution.
- Track and manage project milestones, ensuring each project remains on budget and on schedule.
- Conduct regular site visits to assess progress and maintain accountability among contractors and vendors.
- Conduct meetings with contractors, vendors, architects, engineers, etc.
Internal Team Leadership:
- Lead and manage the internal development coordination team (back office) by assigning priorities, aligning resources, and maintaining project flow.
- Provide regular updates to executive leadership on market growth, project statuses, and development pipeline metrics.
- Ensure alignment between real estate strategy and overall brand growth objectives.
Relationship Management & Market Intelligence:
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with key vendors, general contractors, engineers, architects, and municipal contacts.
- Stay current on zoning, permitting, and other regulatory changes in key Texas municipalities.
- Attend industry events, trade shows, and networking functions to stay connected with real estate trends and broker networks.
- Maintain a pulse on the competitive landscape, identifying opportunities for growth or repositioning.
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of experience in real estate development, preferably within retail, QSR (quick-service restaurants), or multi-unit franchise development.
- Strong understanding of site selection, lease negotiations, permitting, and construction processes.
- Proven experience managing multiple real estate projects from concept to completion.
- Exceptional project management, organizational, and communication skills.
- Ability to travel frequently throughout Texas to visit sites, meet with brokers, and manage projects.
- Self-starter with strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office; experience with project tracking tools and real estate software is a plus.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Business, Construction Management, or related field.
- Familiarity with the Texas real estate landscape and established broker/vendor relationships in the region.
- Experience working with franchise brands or QSR industry.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus.
- Lead M&A efforts to identify and evaluate potential acquisition targets, including existing gas stations, C-stores, or QSRs for conversion or rebranding.
- Collaborate with legal, finance, and executive teams to structure and close acquisition deals.
Salary and compensation:
- Will be a combination of Base salary 90k+ 20-50k Bonus potential.