About the Role
School of Rock is seeking a Director of New Store Openings to manage the end-to-end construction and project management of new school openings. This role is accountable from lease signing through grand opening, driving timelines, franchisee readiness, and cross-functional coordination. The role also manages the relationship with our national real estate broker for site-search efforts.
Responsibilities
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Coordinate with the international development team to adapt opening playbooks and timelines to local market and regulatory requirements abroad.
Requirements
- 5+ years of experience in construction project management, retail/restaurant new store openings, or franchise development.
- 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.
- 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.
Skills
- Construction project management
- Retail/restaurant new store openings
- Franchise development
- Franchise industry experience
- Commercial construction
- Permitting processes
- General contractor management
- Commercial real estate
- Site-selection criteria
- Project tracking tools
- Communication skills
- Presentation skills
- Franchisee support
Location
- Canton, MA
- Remote
Work Type
- Full-time
Experience Level
- Director
Education Level
- Bachelor's degree in construction management, business, real estate, or a related field preferred
About the Company
- 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.
