Director of Food and Beverage Innovation

5 days ago

Dallas, Texas, United States Sugarloaf Hospitality LLC Full time $120,000 - $180,000 per year

Position Summary

The Director of Global Food & Beverage Innovation is a senior strategic leader responsible for shaping and delivering a flavor-forward, culture-fueled innovation strategy that propels TGI Fridays into the next era of casual dining. This role will drive the development of unexpected yet satisfying food and beverage platforms that are visually stunning, socially magnetic, and globally inspired.

More than just product development, this position is about building breakthrough guest experiences through bold, craveable innovation. You will oversee the entire process—from insight-led strategic planning to hands-on concept creation, culinary team direction, and commercial rollout.

This individual must fuse creativity with operational discipline—leading a cross-functional team to bring high-impact innovations to market that elevate the brand, energize franchisees, and deliver globally scalable results.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

  • Define and lead the global food and beverage innovation strategy, ensuring alignment with the company's brand objectives, guest occasions, and long-term growth priorities
  • Identify growth opportunities across celebration, everyday dining, bar-forward experiences, and off-premise channels
  • Develop annual and multi-year innovation roadmaps that are insight-driven, operationally feasible, and scalable across markets

Innovation Development

  • Translate brand strategy, cultural trends, and consumer insights into clear, inspiring innovation briefs
  • Manage and direct contracted innovation chefs, agencies, and partners in the development of new menu platforms and product concepts
  • Oversee product development cycles including concepting, tastings, testing, feedback, and iteration

Cross-Functional Execution

  • Lead cross-functional collaboration across culinary, operations, marketing, supply chain, international, and franchise stakeholders
  • Guide the transition of innovation from development to execution, ensuring that products meet standards for quality, cost, complexity, and guest appeal
  • Support market testing, implementation planning, and global rollout processes

Talent & Team Leadership

  • Source and manage culinary innovation talent (internal and external) with a strong bias for creativity, brand fit, and executional practicality
  • Champion a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability within the organization

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of experience in food and beverage innovation, with a track record of success in multi-unit restaurants, hospitality, or foodservice
  • Strong strategic planning and concept development skills
  • Proven ability to lead end-to-end product development processes, from ideation to market launch
  • Experience working with culinary teams, chefs, and cross-functional stakeholders globally
  • Deep understanding of global flavor trends, guest behavior, and menu lifecycle management
  • Outcome-oriented with strong leadership, communication, and project management skills
  • Ability to balance creative innovation with operational and financial realities
  • Thrives in a scrappy environment and willing to wear many hats to accomplish team goals
  • Thinks outside of the box – unafraid to challenge the status quo and "we've always done it this way" mentality

Why This Role Matters

This position plays a critical role in elevating TGI Fridays' global relevance and driving growth through bold, guest-centric menu innovation. The ideal candidate will bring both visionary thinking and pragmatic execution to help differentiate the brand and energize markets around the world.

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