Growth Director: Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa

SUMMARY:
Growth Director: Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa

An exciting opportunity exists for an accomplished Growth Director to lead and enable accelerated growth across Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa (RoSSA).

Operating across a complex, high-potential portfolio of African markets, this role will sit at the intersection of growth strategy, finance, investment, franchise development and market expansion. The successful candidate will work closely with senior leadership to translate ambitious growth objectives into commercially sound, executable plans that strengthen restaurant economics, accelerate new-unit development and build sustainable market capability.

The portfolio spans 21 countries and more than 300 restaurants across Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, making this a significant regional leadership mandate.

POSITION INFO:
The Role The Growth Director will be responsible for enabling the RoSSA business model through disciplined financial leadership, business planning, capital governance and development expansion. Key responsibilities will include: Leading strategic and financial planning, forecasting and performance analysis across priority markets. Developing and executing an accelerated unit-expansion strategy, including market prioritisation, development pipeline planning, site feasibility and launch readiness. Building robust franchisee and equity restaurant economics, including profitability, margins, capital requirements, returns and risk assumptions. Evaluating new-store, remodel, acquisition and consolidation opportunities, with a strong focus on ROI, capital allocation and strategic fit. Developing compelling propositions for franchisees, investors and funding partners. Building relationships across the broader growth ecosystem, including investors, franchisees, funders, developers, logistics partners and relevant market stakeholders. Identifying M&A, conversion, acquisition and strategic-alliance opportunities capable of accelerating market entry or growth. Creating disciplined operating rhythms through market scorecards, pipeline tracking, financial reporting and business reviews. Leading cross-functional teams from market insight through investment decision, partner commitment, launch and scale. Providing senior leadership with clear reporting and recommendations relating to market readiness, investment, risk, partner performance and growth opportunities. Delivering net-new-unit growth while building the longer-term partnerships and market pipeline required for sustained expansion. What We're Looking For We are seeking a commercially sophisticated leader who is equally comfortable with strategy and execution. The ideal candidate will bring: A relevant bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Strategy, Finance, Economics, Data Analytics, Marketing, Innovation, Engineering or a related discipline. An MBA, relevant postgraduate qualification or executive education would be advantageous. A minimum of 10 years' senior-level experience in areas such as finance, business planning, franchise development, market expansion, investment governance or corporate development. Experience within restaurants, hospitality, retail or consumer-facing businesses would be highly advantageous. Strong financial and commercial capability, including forecasting, scenario modelling, unit economics, ROI analysis, capital allocation and margin improvement. Experience developing investor-ready business cases and senior or board-level investment narratives. Strong understanding of franchise models, market-entry strategies and multi-country expansion. Demonstrated ability to build relationships with investors, franchise partners, funders and strategic stakeholders. Experience operating effectively across complex and diverse emerging markets. Strong executive communication, influence, negotiation and storytelling skills. High learning agility, commercial judgement and the ability to operate effectively in ambiguity. The Opportunity This is a high-impact regional role for a leader who can turn high-potential but complex African markets into prioritised, investable and executable growth opportunities. The mandate requires someone capable of balancing speed, scale, commercial return, partner capability, brand standards and market realities while helping build the infrastructure required for sustained expansion across Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. If you are a commercially driven growth leader with deep experience in expansion, investment and multi-market execution, we would welcome the opportunity to engage with you.