Vice President of Franchise Operations and Sales

Job Description

Job Description

Position Title: Vice President of Franchise Operations and Sales

Department :        Operations 

Reports To:          Chief Operating Officer 

Location: Lakewood, CO

Travel: Up to 50% travel to domestic locations 

FLSA Status:       Salaried, Exempt

About Sola Salons:

Sola Salons is a wholly owned subsidiary of Radiance Holdings, LLC. It is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing salon studios franchise and was established in 2004 with the opening of the first-of-its-kind location right here in Denver. Now, with 750+ locations in the US and Canada, we provide 20,000+ salon professionals with premium, fully equipped salon spaces in which they own and operate individual boutique salons alongside the support and tools they need to succeed. 

Our innovative salon concept empowers experienced hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists, and other like-minded beauty professionals to elevate their careers quickly and easily. We provide each stylist with high-end studio space and the basic tools they need to find success as a business owner and entrepreneur. 

Benefits we offer our employees to show our appreciation for the work they do:

Paid Holidays: Take advantage of time off to relax and rejuvenate with 10 paid holidays! 

Flex Time Off (FTO): Our employees work hard and we care about their well-being. Our FTO policy allows the ability to get the rest needed to maintain a well-balanced life!

Health Benefit Program: As a full-time employee, enjoy access to Medical, Dental and Vision insurances with various plans to choose from that best fit your needs!

Safe Harbour 401(k): 401(k): You will be eligible to participate in the company sponsored Safe Harbor 401(k) retirement plan, with up to 4% company match, to help you reach your retirement goals!

Bonus: We believe in the power of rewarding those who go above and beyond and have curated bonus plans for every role to ensure all contributions are recognized and rewarded. 

Employee Discount Program for Spa Services: Pamper yourself with a visit to one of our four corporately owned Woodhouse Day Spas!

Employee Assistance Program: We believe in supporting your mental well-being so you can be the best version of yourself! 

Job Summary:

The Vice President of Franchise Operations and Sales will report to the Chief Operating Officer and be responsible for driving financial performance—both revenue and EBITDA growth—across the brand’s 650+ franchise location.   This leadership position will be responsible for organizing franchisee support infrastructure, prioritizing opportunities based on impact, and implementing Sola’s brand initiatives. 

This is a key leadership position responsible for protecting and improving the franchisees’ investments.

Key Elements Include:

• Improving franchise store performance. This person is accountable for franchise store performance. Success in this role will be measured on franchisee occupancy, revenue and EBITDA performance to budget. 
• Developing actionable dashboard and scorecards. A data-driven approach will be critical for success in this role. This leader will create operational scorecards with the goal of 1) maintaining performance visibility across the franchise system, 2) identifying areas of opportunity and challenges, 3) incorporating accountability into the Franchise Operations Team’s efforts and activities.  
• Create and implement action plans. The core of this role is to operationalize improvement plans and initiatives across the franchise system. This means translating quantitative and qualitative strategy into actionable processes and executional tactics and then maintaining focus to “pull through” these efforts to success. 
• Build franchisee support structure. This position will develop the ongoing franchisee support model for her/his team. The goal is to offer value-added assistance to franchisees. Growing credibility of the team within the franchise community will be critical to this person’s success.
• Enhancing new store performance. This position will oversee support for new store openings. The rate of tenant ramp-up is key for franchisee and franchisor future success, and the VP of Franchise Operation will own this effort.
• Update existing and build new operating manuals. A fundamental responsibility of Sola as a franchisor is to provide proven operational manuals outlining policies, procedures and standards franchisees can use to improve their business. This person will be responsible for updating existing and creating new operating materials.
• Fostering strong communication with franchisees. Sola’s high number of locations creates communication challenges. There is a strong desire from the system for more quantity and quality of formal and informal conversations. Fostering strong, trusting relationships among franchisees will be critical for success in this role. 
• Building sales process and expertise across the franchise system. Leasing studio space to Professionals requires a high-touch consultative sales approach. This leader will own the development and execution of formalizing Sola’s sales process.

This role is critical and will work cross-functionally with all areas of the company. Success in this role is based on the ability to drive positive business results.

The perfect candidate will embody these characteristics in her/his approach:

• Strategic thinker with a pragmatic approach. This person must be a strategic thinker with the ability to synthesize data and turn insights into an actionable plan.
• Ability to get things done. Sola is a fast-moving business. This leader must be able to work efficiently to drive projects toward resolution. Meeting deadlines and internal commitments will be critical to this person’s success. This person should be willing and eager to “roll up sleeves” and get things done. Project management expertise is mandatory. 
• Positive work approach and cultural role model. The ideal candidate should be a beacon of positivity, partnership and encouragement. Being a leader in the company, this person will be a cultural bellwether for others in the organization. 
• Proactivity and internal drive. This person should have a bias toward action, with an unrelenting drive for capturing new growth.
• A clear communicator. Being able to communicate data insights, opportunities and solutions across the franchise system will be critical to this person’s success. The ideal candidate should have exceptional communication skills and be able to clearly describe complex ideas.
• Organized and methodical. This person must be highly organized with a high degree of thoroughness. 
• A blend of empathy with the ability to have honest conversations. The VP of Franchise Ops will be interacting with successful, smart franchisees. As with all franchise systems, there will be times of competing ideas and motivations. Success in this role will require empathy and understand of each franchisee’s unique perspective. However, this person must be able to professionally challenge these perspectives when necessary. 

Primary Responsibilities:

• Create and implement effective action plans with team to address strategic initiatives
• Work collaboratively to develop and/or improve systems, processes, controls and procedures that improve the overall efficiency and quality of service 
• Lead, Coach and Inspire a team of FBCs (Franchise Business Consultants) who help franchisees to improve their business operations, profitability and comply with brand standards.
• Lead the New Store Opening team to support franchisees in opening new locations
• Lead execution of all projects defined in annual plan from ideation to execution
• Look for methods to improve quality, efficiency and productivity, reduce costs and increase profits
• Responsible for driving unit-level economics and franchisee profitability and KPIs
• Own the content of the Operations Manual, ensuring that it reflects the current brand standards by partnering with the Radiance Holdings legal team to ensure the manual is updated regularly.
• Drive franchisee engagement by leveraging all critical programs and events, including our annual conference, regional meetings, webinars, e-mail communications, social media, and intranet, measuring results based on correlation to performance and overall satisfaction.
• Build positive, trusting relationships with new and existing franchise owners, vendors, the Sola team, other Radiance Holdings brand leaders,
• Demonstrate and ensure operational excellence through the training, coaching and encouragement of Sola’s FBC team. Maintain and enhance Sola&rsq