Director of Food & Beverage Strategy

Director of Food & Beverage Strategy

Requirements

• Minimum 7-years of relevant industry experience in catering and/or retail foodservice, preferably with 5 years of leadership experience in the sport or live event industry
• Experience managing high-volume food operations, particularly in sports and special events
• Experience building and implementing programs focused on maintaining the highest standards of food quality and guest experience
• Experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders and proven success at building excellent working relationships
• Experience of delivering complex projects on time and within budget
• Excellent leadership skills with track record of people development and budget achievement
• Extremely detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills
• Strong communication, team building, and interpersonal skills
• Well-developed problem-solving skills and ability to work independently to resolve issues
• Fluent working with Office suite products including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint
• Self-starter with experience in defining tasks, seeking feedback, and evolving work where applicable
• A collaborative mindset; someone who prioritizes the team and fosters a culture of high performance without ego
• An innovative viewpoint, challenging the status quo and thinking ahead to future years of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement
• Ability to implement and manage change effectively

Responsibilities

• Hire, train, motivate, and evaluate unit-level staff
• Directly supervise multiple sub-functions including retail strategy and operations, contract implementation, and amenity catering operations
• Develop, optimize, and adhere to unit budgets with clear steps to implement, monitor, and appropriately measure plan deliverables through financial metric and KPI tracking
• Develop a clear growth plan from present through Games time
• Stay updated on industry trends and innovations to continuously improve the food and beverage experience
• Develop and oversee training programs in conjunction with selected partners to deliver optimized revenues and customer service
• Work with Head of F&B, key LA28 FAs, and external stakeholders to create overall food vision and strategy, integration with sustainability plan, menu development, and service levels by constituent group
• Manage/oversee RFP strategy, development, and execution for master catering deals
• Work with Director of Village F&B to determine approach to F&B at the Athlete Village
• Implement cost-control measures without compromising quality or guest satisfaction
• Manage assigned F&B budget
• Support the establishment of core planning principles, including operational and service design plan
• Develop inclusive hospitality strategies to create frictionless guest experiences to meet the needs of guests and stakeholders with diverse physical, cultural, and dietary requirements
• In conjunction with selected partners, support the development of spatial allocations for both BOH & FOH kitchens and serveries, and equipment needs to deliver required F&B services
• Support the development of the QA strategy, policies, and venue plans to ensure safe food handling
• Ensure integration with other key functional areas for seamless delivery of F&B services
• Implement sustainable practices in food sourcing, waste reduction, and energy efficiency
• Establish close working relationships with key functional areas (especially Venues & Infrastructure, Venue Management, Cleaning & Waste, and Integrated Operations) to ensure the Food & Beverage strategy maximizes revenue opportunities, minimizes costs, and works effectively within operational constraints

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to communicate in multiple languages preferred
• Bachelor’s degree or culinary degree preferred