What are the responsibilities and job description for the Business Development Analyst position at Rita's Italian Ice?
Business Development Analyst (Franchise Development)
Company: Rita’s Italian Ice
Reports to: Chief Development Officer (CDO)
Role Type: Full-time
Focus: Managing and reporting on two pipelines: New Unit Signing Franchise-to-Franchise Transfers
Role Summary
Rita’s Italian Ice is seeking a highly driven Franchise Sales Analyst to manage the data, reporting, and process flow behind our franchise sales and franchise transfer pipelines. This role sits at the center of our growth engine, supporting the CDO, Franchise Sales Director, internal leadership, and franchise sales prospects. You will own pipeline reporting (Excel PowerPoint FranConnect), produce Board-ready updates, and help uncover insights that improve conversion, speed, and candidate quality. You’ll also interact directly with franchise prospects to collect and organize required documents and keep deals moving. This role is ideal for someone with an analytical mindset, strong interpersonal skills, high attention to detail, and a “never give up” attitude.
Key Responsibilities
- Pipeline Management (New Sales Transfers)
- Maintain and manage pipeline accuracy across FranConnect and supporting trackers.
- Monitor stage movement, aging, next steps, and bottlenecks; ensure clean data and consistent definitions.
- Partner closely with the Franchise Sales Director to keep deals moving and priorities clear.
- Support franchise-to-franchise transfer tracking (status, milestones, documentation, approvals).
Reporting & Board-Ready Insights
- Build and maintain Excel-based pipeline dashboards and performance reports (weekly/monthly/quarterly).
- Create executive and Board of Director-ready PowerPoint updates:
- Pipeline health, stage conversion, cycle time, key wins/losses
- Forecast and scenario views (best case / expected / risk)
- Issues, risks, and recommended actions
- Spot patterns and problems early (e.g., stage drop-offs, stalled deals, document delays) and propose solutions.
- Turn data into clear “what it means” insights—not just numbers.
Prospect Interface & Document Collection
- Communicate with franchise prospects confidently and professionally (including senior-level prospects).
- Facilitate the execution of Meet The Team Days
- Request, collect, organize, and track required materials, such as:
- Personal financial statements / net worth documentation
- Background checks
- Disclosure acknowledgements
- Financial statements, legal documents, and other supporting items
- Ensure submissions are complete, consistent, and properly logged; escalate gaps quickly.
- Support the overall prospect experience with timely follow-ups and clear communication.
Analysis & Qualification Support
- Review and analyze prospect documents for completeness, reasonableness, and alignment with qualification standards.
- Prepare clean internal summaries that help leadership make decisions faster.
- Maintain high confidentiality and professionalism in handling sensitive information.
- AI Enablement (Core Expectation)
- Use AI tools to speed up reporting, generate leadership updates, summarize pipeline movement, and identify risks.
- Help create lightweight AI workflows/agents for repeatable tasks (e.g., report drafting, data checks, status summaries, follow-up messaging).
- Continuously improve how the team uses AI to work faster and smarter.
- Other duties as requested, directed or assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Business Analytics, or a related field.
- 0–2 years of experience (recent graduates welcome).
- Advanced Excel capability (pivot tables, formulas, data validation; dashboards a plus).
- Strong PowerPoint skills with a professional executive presentation style.
- Comfortable working in a CRM environment (FranConnect experience is a plus).
- Strong written and verbal communication; confident speaking with senior-level prospects.
- Proven ability to manage details and follow-through in a fast-paced environment.
- High integrity and discretion handling confidential information.
- Highly proficient using AI to create reports, summaries, and leadership updates.
Key Attributes
- Has an analytical mindset and loves solving problems with data.
- Is comfortable building and using AI workflows/agents to automate repeat tasks.
- Has strong interpersonal and sales support skills—outgoing, professional, and persistent.
- Has exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
- Is inquisitive and asks great questions.
- Never gives up—owns the follow-up and gets things done.
- Thrives in a fast-paced environment and grows quickly.