Director of Affiliates

CrossFit is seeking a Director of Affiliates—a proven business leader and experienced affiliate owner to lead our affiliate business and ensure HQ effectively serves and empowers the global CrossFit affiliate community.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will lead the teams responsible for supporting, expanding, and strengthening the global affiliate network. You will define the strategic vision, drive key performance metrics, and collaborate across all HQ departments to deliver practical, high-impact solutions for affiliate owners.

As someone who has operated an affiliate, managed operations, coached athletes, and driven business growth, you will leverage your firsthand operational experience to support thousands of affiliate owners in scaling sustainable, successful businesses.

Key Outcomes

• Network Growth & Retention: Drive affiliate network expansion while enhancing retention strategies and tracking core performance metrics.
• Affiliate Advocacy & Support: Provide robust operational support, foster direct feedback channels, and serve as the primary advocate for affiliate owners within HQ.
• Operational Excellence: Streamline business operations, establish clear performance benchmarks, oversee budget allocation, and leverage data-driven insights.
• Team Leadership: Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing team focused on execution, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Business Model Optimization: Enhance unit economics for affiliates and ensure all HQ initiatives deliver tangible value to local gym owners.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Execution: Lead overall strategy and execution for the affiliate business unit, maintaining accountability for quarterly performance targets.
• Community Engagement: Engage directly with affiliate owners through site visits, community events, and roundtables to gather field intelligence and align HQ priorities.
• Unit Economics: Analyze affiliate unit economics to identify drivers of sustainability, growth, and operational risk across the network.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner cross-functionally with Education, Sport, Marketing, Product & Technology, Finance, and Legal to ensure cross-departmental alignment.
• Budget Management: Manage the departmental operating budget in collaboration with Finance, optimizing resource allocation to yield high impact for owners.
• Operational Improvement: Monitor key performance indicators, streamline workflows, and remove operational friction for local gym operations.
• Team Mentorship: Coach, mentor, and cultivate leadership development within the affiliate operations team.

Qualifications & Core Competencies

• Affiliate Ownership: Current ownership and operational experience with a CrossFit affiliate.
• Certifications & Open Participation: Active CrossFit Level 4 (CF-L4) certification and ongoing active participation in the CrossFit Open.
• Strategic Analysis: Strong analytical and strategic planning skills with a focus on measurable outcomes.
• Affiliate-First Leadership: Agile, affiliate-first leadership style with a dedication to eliminating low-value processes.
• Team Building: Proven capability to build trust, inspire teams, and develop talent effectively.

Education & Experience

• Executive Leadership: 10+ years of progressive executive leadership in business operations, account management, franchise/network operations, or professional services.
• Remote Team Management: Demonstrated expertise managing senior leaders and leading geographically dispersed or remote organizations.
• Growth & Scaling: Proven track record of driving operational scale, financial growth, and customer retention metrics.
• Operational Frameworks: Experience designing and implementing scalable operational frameworks and organizational structures.
• CrossFit Ecosystem Domain Expertise: Deep domain expertise and understanding of the CrossFit affiliate model and ecosystem strongly preferred.

Originally posted on Himalayas