Associate Director, Franchise & ROW

When you join Verizon You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely - even if they're daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love - driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together - lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife. What you'll be doing... As the Associate Director of Franchise & Row for the AI Connect team, you will lead the end-to-end strategic planning, acquisition, governance, and lifecycle management for public franchises and private rights-of-way supporting our long-haul fiber optic and next-generation AI network infrastructure. You will lead a high-performing team responsible for securing and protecting company legal interests, real property rights, and municipal access authority across extensive multi-jurisdictional fiber routes. In this leadership role, you will establish operational standards, direct high-stakes negotiations with Local Franchise Authorities (LFAs), state DOTs, commercial entities, and private landowners, and oversee complete Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM)-from initial request and internal stage-gate approvals to contract execution, compliance tracking, auditing, and renewal. You will also direct vendor performance, manage cross-functional alignment across Legal, Regulatory, Risk Management, OSP Engineering, and Tax, and ensure timely, cost-effective network deployment. Lead Strategy & Team Execution: Direct and mentor a team of ROW and Franchise specialists and external partner firms; oversee capacity planning, workload distribution, performance management, and professional development. Drive Public Franchise & LFA Engagement: Formulate strategic outreach to cities, towns, counties, and LFAs; spearhead "permit-only" advocacy where viable, lead FOIA and competitor parity analyses, and resolve negotiation impasses or escalation protocols. Oversee Private ROW & Land Acquisition: Direct the strategy for securing permanent and temporary private/commercial easements, centerline surveys, title examinations (30-50 year chain of title), and government land grants (e.g., BLM, State Lands) within established pricing and schedule benchmarks. Govern Full Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): Champion the end-to-end CLM architecture (Request, Generate, Negotiate, Approval, Execute, Capture, Comply, Report & Audit, Review & Amend, Renewal) across all public franchise agreements, municipal licenses, and private easement portfolios. Cross-Functional Governance & Redlining Alignment: Institutionalize internal review workflows to consolidate input from Legal, Risk Management, Engineering, Finance, and Tax into master drafts-protecting key legal rights (e.g., assignment, relocation/undergrounding reimbursement, termination for convenience, non-discriminatory fees, and cure periods). Audit, Reporting & Operational Compliance: Ensure post-execution onboarding into Franchise & ROW Tracking Systems; establish rigorous ongoing compliance audits for bond/insurance renewals, municipal gross revenue fee structures, linear-foot cost baselines, and county recordations. Vendor & Budget Oversight: Manage abstract/title agencies, and outside counsel; enforce cycle-time SLAs across individual, commercial, and governmental acquisition pipelines, maintaining strict capital and operational expense budget compliance. Champion the "Be BOLD" Standard: Solve complex regulatory, civic, and property roadblocks with agility, practice thoughtful candor across internal and external stakeholder groups, and deliver impactful, legally sound, and ethical outcomes. This role can be located in any US based Verizon hub location. What we're looking for... You’ll need to have: Bachelor's degree or four or more years of work experience. Six or more years of relevant work experience in telecom right-of-way (ROW), public utility franchise management, municipal government affairs, or commercial real estate law. Proven experience managing and leading teams, including talent development, resource planning, and vendor partner management. Deep subject matter expertise in the entire contract lifecycle (negotiation through ongoing post-execution compliance) for public franchise agreements, municipal encroachment permits, and private easements. In-depth understanding of municipal ordinances, state franchise statutes, competitive parity/FOIA analysis, and public utility regulatory frameworks. Experience with real property due diligence, including title abstracts, boundary surveys, property valuation, and county recording processes. Willingness to travel up to approximately 25% of the time. #J-18808-Ljbffr