Director Culinary Standards (Corporate Chef)

Purpose:The Director Culinary Standards is responsible for the research and development, ongoing review, and improvement of proprietary restaurant culinary programs and platforms. This position will work in a support relationship with the Restaurant Development team for all proprietary brands, maximizing growth and long-term profit through development of menu items, culinary standards, and new product development.

Essential Functions:

• Works with integrated team to develop culinary standards for new proprietary restaurant brands based on business needs and gaps in portfolio
• Works with internal support and external consultants in developing new concept menu selections and development of culinary training and operational standards for proprietary brands
• Develops and communicates ongoing proprietary culinary standards, objectives, and goals consistently thorough out the organization
• Develops and communicates proprietary restaurant culinary controls and best practices
• Reviews proprietary restaurant culinary standards with internal resources to gauge financial results and develops strategies to optimize quality and financial results
• Works with operations to support all business goals related to proprietary culinary programs
• Acts as point of contact, liaison, and subject matter expert for all proprietary brand culinary related questions  
• Manages external culinary relationships for tactical execution of based on brand strategies set by cross functional group led by the Brand Director

Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Work Environment:

• Education and Experience: The combination of education and professional experience must exceed 8 years:
  • In a leadership role: Requires 3 years of experience leading a team of F&B operations professionals engaged in developing and executing culinary programs
  • In a technical role: Requires 8 years of experience engaged in developing and delivering culinary programs
    • A bachelor’s degree in a program related to the functional area can count for 3 of the eight-year requirement
    • An MBA or a master’s level degree in a program related to the functional area can count for an additional 2 years of the eight-year requirement
  • In the industry: 3-5 years of Hospitality, F&B and/or Retail experience
• Specialized Skillset/Competencies/Traits
  • Requires experience in culinary research and development, multi-unit restaurant culinary operations or new restaurant culinary development
  • Requires demonstrated working knowledge of conceptual menu development, procurement, food safety standards and development of culinary brand standards
  • Requires working knowledge of the food service industry specific design/construction including opening unit oversight, planning, and management
  • Requires strong organizational skills including experience with menu rollout 
  • Business acumen and also has the mindset required to understand the long-term implications of culinary planning and to advance the organizations goals
  • Demonstrated history of understanding the needs of the business, stakeholders, the employee population and individual circumstances
  • Demonstrated history of creating and maintaining positive work environments through coaching, developing, and leading teams to achieve common goals
• Location/Travel:
  • This position is remote but should be in close proximity to an airport location
  • This position requires up to 70% travel to airport locations