Growth Director: Rest of Sub Saharan Africa

Ziyana Business Consulting and Training | Full time

Growth Director: Rest of Sub Saharan Africa

Bryanston, South Africa | Posted on 04/09/2026

Our client in the Quick Service Restaurant Industry is looking for a Growth Director: Rest of Sub - Saharan Africa to join their dynamic team.

Scope of Work Done:

Develop and build capability

• Enable and embed thebusiness model by aligning financial planning, development priorities,franchisee support, governance routines and execution disciplines acrosspriority markets.
  
• Leadbusiness planning, forecasting, performance reporting and financial analysis tosupport achievement of revenue, operating profit, capital efficiency and netnew unit growth targets.
  
• Developand maintain franchisee and equity business model economics, including marginimprovement, restaurant-level profitability, capital requirements, returns andrisk assumptions.
  
• Pr oviderobust governance of financial, accounting, capital and strategic projectsplanning activities, ensuring decisions are supported by timely and accuratedata.
  

Develop an accelerated unit expansionstrategy

• Develop and execute anaccelerated unit expansion strategy for the Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa,including market prioritization, pipeline planning, site feasibility andlaunch readiness.
  
• Formpart of the Investment Committee and evaluate new store, remodel, acquisitionand consolidation proposals to validate ROI, capital allocation, risk andstrategic fit.
  
• Developand implement asset growth, optimization and refresh strategies that improverestaurant performance, brand standards, franchisee confidence and long-termmarket sustainability.
  
• Directand co-ordinate development activities, including recommendations on newrestaurants, site opportunities, restaurant concepts, capital expenditure andrestaurant enhancements
  

Build investor, franchisee and ecosystemcapability to enable the business model

• Build a compellinginvestor and franchise partner proposition that clearly articulates marketpotential, growth runway, returns, risks and partnership expectations.
  
• Developrelationships with high-quality franchisees, investors, funders, developers, logistics partners, digital platforms and government stakeholders who canunlock market access and scale.
  
• Leadcommercial modelling, capital allocation recommendations, pricing assumptions,development pipeline planning and investment optimization for priority markets.
  
• IdentifyM&A, acquisition, conversion or strategic alliance opportunities thataccelerate footprint growth, local capability or speed to profitability.
  

Co-create, together with LT, AnnualOperating Plan (AOP)

• Create a disciplinedgrowth operating rhythm using financial reporting, market scorecards,pipeline tracking, business reviews and performance routines.
  
• Ensurecolleagues receive timely, accurate and relevant financial, franchisee,development and market performance data to support business decisions.
  
• Partnerwith Finance, Development, Operations, Marketing, Supply Chain and Legal toembed practical tools, reporting and governance into expansion decisions.
  
• Trackleading indicators including pipeline conversion, market readiness, restaurantunit economics, partner performance, speed to open, cash flow, return oninvestment and capital efficiency.
  

Lead cross-functional execution andgovernance against the AOP and expansion agenda

• Lead agile,cross-functional squads to move priority markets from insight toinvestment decision, partner commitment, launch and scale.
  
• Establishgovernance, decision rights, milestones and escalation processes that removebarriers and accelerate execution across rest-of-Africa expansion.
  
• Provideregular reporting to the General Manager and Africa Leadership Team on growthbets, market readiness, partner progress, risk, capital deployment andstrategic choices.
  
• DeliverNNU growth targets while building the longer-term capability, partnerships andmarket pipeline required for sustained accelerated growth.
  

Key Business Challenges Addressed:

• Turning fragmented,uncertain and high-potential African markets into a prioritized,investable and executable growth pipeline.
  
• Balancingspeed, scale, brand standards, local relevance, partner capability, risk andreturn in complex emerging-market environments.
  
• Creatingthe investor confidence, cross-functional alignment, finance discipline and developmentexecution required to enable the business model and unlock growth across Restof Sub-Saharan Africa.
  

Requirements

• Bachelor’sdegree in Business Administration, Strategy, Finance, Economics, DataAnalytics, Marketing, Innovation, Engineering or a related field MBA, executiveeducation in growth strategy, digital transformation, emerging markets, venturebuilding or equivalent post-graduate qualification preferred.
  
• Minimum10 years’ relevant senior experience in finance, business planning, franchisedevelopment, market expansion, investment governance, corporate development ora related field, preferably in restaurant, hospitality, retail or consumerproducts.
  
• Provenability to unlock accelerated growth by identifying white-space opportunities,building scalable commercial models and converting strategy into measurableexecution.
  
• Strongfinancial and commercial fluency, including business planning, forecasting,scenario modelling, unit economics, ROI analysis, capital allocation, marginimprovement and performance tracking.
  
• Workingknowledge of franchise operating models, development pipelines, restauranteconomics, market-entry requirements and multi-country business modelenablement.
  
• Experiencecreating investor-ready business cases, ROI models, partner value propositions,capital allocation recommendations and board-level decision narratives.
  
• Demonstratedcapability in ecosystem building, including franchise partner attraction,investor engagement, funder relationships, government navigation and strategicalliances.
  
• Highlearning agility and comfort with ambiguity, able to operate across marketswith varied infrastructure, regulation, consumer behavior and partner maturity.
  
• Strongexperimentation mindset, with experience using pilots, rapid testing,stage-gate decisions and evidence-based scale-up plans.
  
• Excellententerprise leadership, influence, negotiation, storytelling and executivecommunication skills across senior internal and external stakeholders.
  
• Proficiencyin relevant tools, including financial modelling, ERP, CRM, market analytics,BI dashboards, project tracking and collaboration platforms.
  

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