Director, New Store Openings

Job Description

Job Description

Director, New Store Openings About School of Rock

School of Rock is a global music education franchise brand under Youth Enrichment Brands (YEB), teaching kids and adults to play, perform, and love music. With locations across the U.S. and internationally, School of Rock is scaling its footprint through a disciplined, milestone-driven approach to opening new schools on time and on budget.

Position Summary

School of Rock is seeking a Director of New Store Openings to own the end-to-end construction and project management execution of new school openings across our corporate and franchise-operated portfolio. This role is the single point of accountability from signed lease through grand opening — driving construction, permitting, and buildout timelines, franchisee readiness, and cross-functional coordination with legal, marketing, and operations. The role also manages our relationship with our national real estate broker, directing site-search efforts on behalf of franchisees, though it is not itself a site-selection or lease-negotiation role. The ideal candidate is a strong construction and project manager who thrives on hitting dates, solving field-level problems in real time, and keeping a portfolio of simultaneous openings on track.

Key Responsibilities

Construction & Project Management

• Own the master opening timeline for each new location, from lease execution through grand opening, tracking construction and buildout milestones and flagging at-risk dates
• Manage the construction and buildout process in partnership with architects, general contractors, and the construction/facilities team, from initial scope through final punch list
• Track permitting, inspections, and code compliance milestones across jurisdictions, escalating delays early
• Own construction budgets for each opening, tracking spend against plan and flagging overages
• Maintain and refine standard opening playbooks, prototype specs, budgets, and timelines to drive consistency across markets
• Serve as the primary point of contact for franchisees and corporate stakeholders throughout the construction and opening process

National Broker & Real Estate Coordination

• Serve as the primary internal point of contact managing our national real estate broker relationship on behalf of franchisees seeking new sites
• Direct and prioritize the broker's site-search activity across markets, ensuring franchisee criteria and timelines are clearly communicated
• Review incoming site options from the broker for basic fit (size, condition, budget) before handoff to legal/leadership for lease negotiation
• Coordinate the transition from secured site to construction kickoff, ensuring lease and site-condition information transfers cleanly to the buildout team

Franchisee & Cross-Functional Support

• Guide franchisees through the pre-opening checklist, including staffing, training, marketing launch, and systems setup
• Coordinate with marketing on local launch campaigns and grand opening events
• Partner with operations and training teams to ensure each location is fully ready to open on day one
• Provide regular opening-pipeline status reporting to senior leadership

International Coordination

• Coordinate with the international development team to adapt opening playbooks and timelines to local market and regulatory requirements abroad

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in construction project management, retail/restaurant new store openings, or franchise development; franchise industry experience strongly preferred
• Demonstrated track record managing multiple simultaneous construction or buildout projects on time and on budget
• Working knowledge of commercial construction, permitting processes, and general contractor management
• Working knowledge of commercial real estate and site-selection criteria, sufficient to direct and evaluate the output of a national broker relationship (prior direct site-selection or lease-negotiation experience not required)
• Strong project management skills, with comfort using project tracking tools to manage a multi-site pipeline
• Excellent communication skills, with experience presenting to senior leadership and supporting franchisee-facing conversations
• Ability to travel occasionally (1–2 trips per month) for site visits, construction walkthroughs, or store openings
• Bachelor's degree in construction management, business, real estate, or a related field preferred

Location

• Canton, MA preferred, open to remote for the right candidate