Director of Menu Development

Description

We are looking for an experienced Director of Menu Development to lead long-term menu strategy, innovation, and culinary team development. By connecting guest insights, brand priorities, operational realities, and market trends, this role will shape our menu to strengthen brand relevance, support restaurant success, and drive sustainable growth.

Essential Functions:

• Shape Menu Strategy

  • Develop and maintain a multi-year menu strategy and roadmap aligned with organizational growth objectives

  • Define the role priorities, and decision making of key menu categories, balancing innovation, renovation, simplification and diversification

  • Identify emerging guest, competitive, and industry trends and translate them into strategic, brand-relevant menu recommendations

  • Partner with cross functional teams to ensure menu strategies reflect guest needs, restaurant realities and business priorities

  • Establish goals and success metrics for the menu portfolio and evaluate performance against guest, sales, profitability and operational execution

• Steward Culinary Vision & Menu Development

  • Serve as the steward of our identity; ensure menu offerings remain true to the highest quality brand standards and guest expectations

  • Establish menu guardrails, quality standards and flavor principles that guide menu development decisions

  • Provide leadership and direction across the menu development process, from opportunity identification and concept development through testing, validation and implementation

  • Prioritize the menu portfolio and allocate resources across initiatives based on business impact and organizational priorities

  • Lead the Menu Strategy Committee to drive organization alignment and decision making on active and future menu priorities

  • Serve as culinary leadership with franchisees, suppliers, agency partners and senior leadership teams

  • Build and maintain relationships with culinary experts, suppliers and industry partners that strengthen organizational capabilities

  • Continuously evaluate culinary processes, capabilities and organizational structure to support future growth

  • Serve as the menu strategy leader during annual planning and long-range business planning

• Lead and Develop the Menu Team Members

  • Employ successful communication and coaching to enable individual and team success and engagement

  • Establish team priorities, allocate resources and ensure alignment with organizational objectives

  • Establish effective ways of working across the menu team and its cross functional partners to improve alignment, decision-making and speed to market

  • Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement

  • Manage departmental budgets and external partner resources to maximize impact and efficiency

  • Support and enhance the culture of our Franchising System 

Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Culinary Arts, Food Science, Business, Marketing, Hospitality, or related field preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience

• 10+ years of leadership experience in menu strategy, culinary innovation, product development, or related disciplines in the restaurant industry or equivalent combination of education experience

• 3-5 years of people management experience

• Strong leadership capabilities in creating long-term vision and roadmap for menu development and managing internal and external stakeholders to realize successful outcomes

• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing enterprise-level decisions

• Excellent communication and influencing skills, capable of engaging with executive teams and diverse stakeholders

Additional Info:

Starting Pay Range: $130,000-$150,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Bonus based on business results and individual success. We also offer workplace flexibility including flexible work hours and a hybrid work model.