Regional Director and Role-out lead

Regional Director — UK Launch & International Roll-out

📍 London, UK ✈️ Regional & international travel ⏱ Full-time 🏢 Hybrid 👤 Reports directly to Founder & CEO

Chicky Time is an early-stage startup. This is a ground-floor role — there is no existing team to inherit, no established market presence to manage, and no fixed playbook to follow. You will build all three. If that sentence excites you more than it concerns you, read on.

About Chicky Time

Chicky Time is an automated fried chicken quick-service restaurant concept built around a compact, staffless machine that serves freshly prepared chicken 24 hours a day without on-site staff. The business operates on a franchise model, supported by central kitchen infrastructure that supplies each location.

We are in the pre-launch phase and actively building the team that will take the concept to market, starting in the United Kingdom.

Market rollout sequence

🇬🇧 United Kingdom1

🇺🇸 United States2

🇩🇪 Germany3

🇿🇦 South Africa4

The UK is the primary launch market. Once established, the same model will be extended into the United States, Germany, and South Africa under your oversight.

Role overview

As Regional Director, you will be responsible for the full commercial and operational launch of Chicky Time across your assigned territories. This covers four interconnected workstreams: central kitchen infrastructure, franchisee development, automated restaurant deployment, and brand presence.

Responsibilities

Central kitchen rollout

• Identify and secure central kitchen locations in key cities across your region
• Oversee the establishment and operational setup of each kitchen site
• Build and manage the supply chain and logistics routes that connect central kitchens to deployed machines

Franchisee development

• Build the regional franchisee database from the ground up
• Identify, approach, and qualify prospective franchisee partners
• Guide candidates through the franchise process from initial contact to signed agreement

Automated restaurant rollout

• Manage the end-to-end deployment of Chicky Time machines at franchisee sites across the region
• Liaise with local health and safety departments to secure all required approvals and ensure ongoing compliance
• Coordinate site logistics, installation, and commissioning in collaboration with operations and supply partners

Brand development

• Build Chicky Time's brand presence across your region — through trade relationships, local partnerships, events, and community engagement
• Act as the primary face of Chicky Time in-market, representing the brand to franchisees, venue operators, suppliers, and regulators

What we're looking for

• Proven experience in franchise development, territory rollout, or multi-site expansion — ideally within QSR, food retail, or hospitality
• Demonstrated ability to build commercial relationships from scratch — franchisees, landlords, venue operators, or supply partners
• Experience managing logistics and supply chain setup across multiple locations
• Familiarity with local authority processes, food safety regulation, and health and safety compliance in the UK
• Comfortable operating as a first hire in a new market — self-directed, resourceful, and at ease with ambiguity
• Strong communicator and relationship builder at all levels — from regulatory contacts to C-suite
• Based in London or willing to relocate; able to travel regionally and internationally as required

Compensation

This is an equity-based role. Compensation is structured around meaningful ownership in the business rather than a fixed salary, in keeping with the stage and the opportunity on offer. Details are discussed directly with the founding team during the interview process.