FAT Brands Inc is a leading global franchising company that develops and grows fast casual, quick-service, and casual dining concepts around the world — a portfolio of 12 brands, including Round Table Pizza®, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Great American Cookies, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Native Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, spanning more than 1,700 units worldwide.  

Position Summary 

The VP, Franchisee Relations is the single portfolio-wide owner of complex franchisee matters — ownership transfers, franchisee-to-franchisee transactions, landlord and lease issues, development obligation restructures, and workouts with financially distressed operators. The role brings transaction and negotiation capability to situations that sit above day-to-day operational support, and protects system unit count and royalty base by resolving distress before it becomes closure.

Day-to-day franchisee relationships remain owned by Operations and the Franchise Business Consultant organization; the FBC is the franchisee’s primary contact and everyday problem-solver. This role is the escalation layer above that, engaging when a matter becomes a transaction, negotiation, financial restructure, or legal exposure. It carries no direct FBC reporting relationship and does not run field visit cadence, audit programs, franchise advisory councils, or operational scorecards.

The role covers the U.S. franchised portfolio across all brands as a single position, and is accountable for retained units, completed transfers, and reduction in avoidable closures. Matters involving international Master Franchisees route to the international lead.

Key Responsibilities: 

Transfers and Ownership Transactions

• Own the transfer process end to end when a franchisee sells to another franchisee or a qualified outside buyer — buyer qualification, deal structure, transfer fee, guaranty treatment, and coordination to closing

• Broker matches between exiting operators and qualified acquirers inside the system, keeping units in the network rather than closing

• Manage ownership changes short of full transfer: partner buyouts, entity restructures, estate and succession transfers, and changes of control

• Coordinate with Franchise Counsel on consent to transfer, general releases, personal guaranty assignment and release, and agreement renewal at transfer

• Qualify acquiring parties jointly with Operations and Franchise Sales, so transfers do not become a backdoor around candidate standards

Distressed Franchisee Workouts and Closure Avoidance

• Lead negotiations with financially distressed franchisees, structuring workouts that preserve units and protect long-term royalty and supply chain economics

• Build workout structures using available levers — royalty deferral or abatement, arrears payment plans, remodel or development deferral, fee waivers, and time-limited support — within defined authority and with Finance sign-off on the economics

• Test every distressed situation against the alternatives of closure, transfer, or company assumption, and recommend the best economic outcome rather than defaulting to concession

• Where closure is unavoidable, negotiate an orderly wind-down — arrears settlement, asset disposition, lease resolution, de-identification, and post-term obligations

• Partner with Operations to separate operational underperformance, which routes back to the field team for a performance plan, from genuine financial distress, which routes here

Landlord and Lease Support

• Advise franchisees on landlord negotiations — rent relief, deferral, lease restructure, extension, assignment, and early termination — providing deal structure, comparable terms, and strategy

• Negotiate directly with landlords where the company holds the lease, a sublease position, a guaranty, or a collateral assignment

• Advise the Head of Franchising on lease matters carrying company exposure, including whether to intervene, guarantee, or hold position

• Drive lease assignment and landlord consent within transfer transactions, frequently the critical path to closing

• Track upcoming lease expirations across the franchised portfolio and flag units at renewal risk ahead of the decision window

• Coordinate with Construction on build-out, remodel, and site condition issues arising from lease negotiations

Development Obligation and Agreement Restructuring

• Negotiate Area Development Agreement restructures where a franchisee is behind schedule — revised schedules, territory reduction, or negotiated release — coordinating with Franchise Sales so released territory returns to the pipeline

• Manage remodel and reimage obligation deferrals where a franchisee cannot fund the required investment on the contractual timeline

• Handle renewal negotiations where standard terms are contested or renewal is conditioned on cure of outstanding obligations

• Document every restructure as a formal amendment through Franchise Counsel; nothing operates on informal accommodation

Portfolio Risk Monitoring

• Maintain a watch list of at-risk U.S. franchisees built from royalty arrears aging, sales trend, supply chain credit status, landlord notices, field intelligence, and litigation or lien activity

• Set the early-warning triggers that route a franchisee onto the watch list, so intervention begins before default rather than after

• Report exposure to the Head of Franchising on a defined cadence — units at risk, arrears position, transfers in process, and closures avoided

• Track outcome metrics: units retained, transfers completed, workout performance against agreed terms, and recovery on negotiated arrears

Cross-Departmental Liaison

• Serve as the single coordination point across Operations, Finance, Legal, Construction, Supply Chain, and Marketing for franchisee matters crossing departmental lines

• Partner with Finance and Accounts Receivable on arrears position, collection strategy, credit holds, and the modeling behind any proposed concession

• Route all default notices, cure notices, termination decisions, and litigation to Franchise Counsel, who owns those processes; this role owns the pre-default workout and cure-period intervention preceding them

• Coordinate with Supply Chain on distributor credit terms affecting distressed operators, where a supply interruption would accelerate failure

• Brief Operations leadership and the field team on matters affecting units in their scope, keeping field messaging and corporate negotiation aligned

Approval Authority and Governance

• Approve transfers, workout terms, fee waivers, and concessions within defined authority thresholds; recommend to the Head of Franchising above threshold

• Document every approval and recommendation with the supporting economics and the alternatives considered

• Apply concession decisions consistently across the portfolio so precedent is deliberate and no franchisee can point to disparate treatment

• Maintain the approval framework, recommending threshold adjustments as portfolio conditions change

Additional Recommended Scope

• Franchisee financing: maintain relationships with lenders active in franchise finance and connect qualified franchisees to capital for transfers, remodels, and expansion

• Franchisee group M&A: engage when an operator organization is acquired, when private equity enters ownership, or when a multi-unit operator consolidates

• Item 20 data integrity: ensure transfer, closure, and termination activity is captured accurately, since this data flows into FDD disclosure

• Guaranty management: maintain the record of active personal guarantees and ensure releases occur only against executed documentation

• Post-transaction stabilization: stay engaged after a transfer or workout to confirm performance before handing back to the field organization

• 10+ years in franchising, multi-unit restaurant or retail operations, or franchise development, with substantial transaction exposure

• Demonstrated experience negotiating and closing commercial transactions — business transfers, lease restructures, workout arrangements, or comparable deal work — with documented outcomes

• Strong financial acumen: reads franchisee financial statements, models concession scenarios, and independently assesses whether a workout beats the alternative

• Working knowledge of franchise agreements, area development agreements, transfer and consent provisions, personal guarantees, and default and cure mechanics

• Commercial lease literacy — lease structures, assignment and consent provisions, guaranty positions, and landlord negotiation practice

• Proven ability to hold a firm negotiating position while preserving a long-term commercial relationship

• Multi-brand or multi-concept franchise portfolio experience strongly preferred

• Proven cross-functional coordination without direct authority

• Excellent judgment on when to escalate; comfortable with ambiguity and real financial consequence

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including recommendation materials for senior leadership

• Regular travel required

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA, JD, or equivalent transactional background a plus