Director – Food & Beverage Operations

Director – Food & Beverage Operations

Requirements

• Minimum 7-years of relevant industry experience in catering and retail foodservice, preferably with 5 years of leadership experience in the live sport industry
• Experience managing high-volume concessions operations, particularly in large professional sports stadiums and arenas
• Experience managing premier suite and lounge catering services to prestigious clientele
• 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 delivering complex projects on time and within budget
• Experience working with senior managers across multiple functional areas
• 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
• Ability to implement and manage change effectively

Responsibilities

• Hire, train, motivate, and evaluate unit-level staff
• Directly supervise multiple sub-functions including retail concessions operations, contract implementation, and amenity catering operations
• Adhere to unit budgets with clear steps to implement, monitor, and appropriately measure plan deliverables through financial metrics and KPI tracking
• Identify areas of opportunity within venue operations for increased revenue
• 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 Functional Areas, and external stakeholders to help create overall food vision and strategy, integration with sustainability plan, menu development, and service levels by constituent group
• Implement cost-control measures without compromising quality or guest satisfaction
• Oversee implementation of negotiated contractual terms with partners at all competition venues
• Support the establishment of core planning principles, including operational and service design plan
• Assess and develop iterative architectural plans and renderings in conjunction with various LA28 Functional Areas to ensure appropriate allocation of resources according to venue and sport specific F&B needs
• Develop inclusive service strategies to deliver frictionless guest experiences to meet the needs of guests and stakeholders with diverse physical, cultural, and dietary requirements
• Collaborate with various LA28 Functional Areas to design, develop, and procure infrastructure needs for both existing venue overlay and temporary venue builds
• Support the development and implementation of the venue QA strategy, policies, documentation, and tracking systems to ensure safe food handling and incident response
• 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