Director of Real Estate Analytics and Research

The Director of Real Estate Analytics and Research will develop and lead all aspects of Bojangles’ real estate analytical programs. This position will be responsible for developing innovative and best-in-class research programs that provide valuable and quantifiable insights on Bojangles consumers, competitors, site attributes and market characteristics. The Director will conduct analytical studies for forecasting sales potential at proposed sites, as well as models for optimizing total market level sales and profitability. This role requires a highly collaborative leader who can effectively direct analytical projects, interpret key observations and communicate findings to the Real Estate Committee, Growth & Development Teams, and cross-functional partners.

We are looking for someone who can build an AI-augmented analytics practice who treats AI tools as a core part of their workflow — not a novelty.

What You'll Do with AI

• Use AI tools (including Claude) to accelerate trade area analysis, site scoring, sales forecast preparation, pipeline review, and board- or ELT-facing narrative drafts

• Design and refine AI-assisted workflows for site underwriting, competitive density scoring, demographic analysis, and market-entry assessment

• Build repeatable, documented AI workflows that the broader Development team can adopt — reducing cycle time on REC packages, pipeline reports, and diagnostic analyses

• Critically evaluate AI outputs for analytical accuracy, statistical validity, and organizational fit before use in executive or franchise-facing materials

What We're Looking For

• Demonstrated experience using AI tools in a professional analytical context — not experimentation, but production-grade workflow integration

• Comfort working at the intersection of real estate fundamentals, franchise economics, and emerging analytical technology

• Ability to translate complex analytical findings into clear, persuasive narratives for board members, franchisees, and ELT leaders who may be skeptical of the conclusions

• Strong judgment — you know when to trust the model, when to challenge it, and when the organizational context requires you to lead with the finding rather than the methodology

Job Duties

• Partner with the CDO as the primary analytical resource on all expansion strategy decisions. Lead the diagnostic and scoring work that informs market entry, pipeline prioritization, and site approval recommendations. Produce analytical findings that are board-ready, ELT-ready, and franchisee-ready — including written narratives, graded frameworks, and scenario-based forecasts. Leverage AI tools to accelerate depth and output quality.
• Provide sales forecasts and Sales Transfer estimates; demographic reports and maps; write-ups for approval packages; participate in Real Estate Committee meetings.
• Partner with Consumer Insights, Marketing, Finance, Store Operations, and Franchise Development on integrated analysis of new and existing locations. Engage cross-functional partners early — as co-investigators, not reviewers — to build alignment before findings reach the ELT or board.
• Direct the development and full utilization of real estate analytics and market optimization models.
• Build and maintain the Strategic Reinvestment Database — a comprehensive, living analytical asset encompassing store-level attributes, trade area definitions, consumer profiles, competitive context, and asset condition assessments. This database is the primary foundation for Bojangles’ reinvestment planning, informing remodel prioritization, relocation decisions, lease renewal strategy, and capital allocation recommendations for both company and franchise locations.
• Maintain the 5-year growth plan for every market, consisting of existing stores, REC approved stores and identified future targeted store locations.
• Analyze consumer influences and trends that affect the future growth and performance of our stores.
• Stay abreast of new business intelligence trends, technologies, and efficiencies to ensure that Bojangles research remains best-in-class with the latest offerings in the industry.
• Create and maintain tools including analog tables to help develop/support sales forecasts for potential new locations.
• Maintain and update strategy spreadsheets for all markets. Incorporate prioritization of voids/market optimization plans. Traditional and non-traditional locations. Corporate versus franchised.
• Work with VP of Real Estate and RE Directors on initial review of potential sites to assess likelihood of success and fit with strategy to minimize time spent on inferior opportunities.
• Update and maintain GIS databases – demographics, competition, existing/planned locations, retail, hotels etc.
• Lead the ongoing implementation and development of Kalibrate as Bojangles’ cloud-based forecasting and site analytics platform. Own the data architecture, model validation, internal training, and continuous improvement of Kalibrate outputs. Serve as the primary internal expert and point of contact for Kalibrate integration across Development, Real Estate, and Finance.
• Fulfill special requests for demographic data, mapping, competitive analysis etc.
• Assist in identification and development of franchise/corporate territories.

Non-Essential Job Duties

• Demonstrated ability to deliver analytically rigorous findings to senior leaders who may be invested in a different conclusion — with the credibility, composure, and communication skill to hold the position
• Advanced quantitative skills including statistical modeling, regression analysis, and predictive model validation; ability to distinguish relationship, signal, and correlation-level evidence and communicate that distinction to non-technical audiences
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; proven ability to translate complex analytical findings into board-level narratives, franchise-facing materials, and ELT decision documents
• Strong presentation skills
• Strong leader with the ability to manage, develop coach and Mentor development staff if necessary.
• Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, Power BI, and GIS platforms; working knowledge of AI productivity tools and the judgment to apply them appropriately in executive-facing analytical work
• Position is highly collaborative across the Organization, candidate should possess ability to work closely with multiple team members
• Outstanding organizational skills

Essential Functions

• Undergraduate degree in a quantitative or analytical field (geography, urban planning, statistics, economics, real estate, or market research) required; graduate degree preferred.
• Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in real estate analytics, market research, or a related analytical discipline; restaurant or retail multi-unit experience strongly preferred
• Deep knowledge of trade area analysis, consumer segmentation, demographic modeling, and quantitative research techniques as applied to multi-unit retail or restaurant site selection
• Experience using various GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and predictive analytics models for restaurants or retailers.
• Proficiency in GIS platforms (Kalibrate, Esri, or equivalent), predictive analytics tools, and AI-assisted analytical workflows; strong Excel and data visualization skills; experience presenting to board-level or PE-backed ownership groups preferred