Director, Food and Beverage Concept Development

At Disney, we‘re storytellers. We make the impossible, possible. We do this through utilizing and developing cutting-edge technology and pushing the envelope to bring stories to life through our movies, products, interactive games, parks and resorts, and media networks. Now is your chance to join our talented team that delivers unparalleled creative content to audiences around the world.
“We create happiness.” That’s our motto at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. And it permeates everything we do. At Disney, you’ll help inspire that magic by enabling our teams to push the limits of entertainment and create the never-before-seen!
The Walt Disney World Resort features four theme parks, twenty eight Disney owned and operated hotels with more than 30,000 rooms, two water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and Disney Springs, a dining shopping and entertainment complex.
Food and beverage is a significant part of the Disney vacation experience and we are known for our diverse dining options from food trucks to Five Diamond restaurants. With over 500 food and beverage locations, the Walt Disney World Resort serves over 60 million meals annually.
The Director, F&B Concept Development will lead the creation, development and execution of new and reimagined dining experiences for the Walt Disney World Resort. In addition to new concept development and execution, the director will be accountable for all aspects of new food and beverage concepts as well as a comprehensive site-wide beverage strategy (including spirits, beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages). The director will partner with Food & Beverage site executives, functional disciplines, internal partners and industry experts within a matrix structure to jointly accomplish Walt Disney World Food & Beverage goals.
The scope of the role includes the Walt Disney World, with many projects impacting both operating and non-operating areas. This role has a significant level of visibility; an ideal candidate has a high level of comfort in working with executives across the organization. Executive interactions include project partnerships, individual meetings, and large-scale Executive Committee presentations. The director will lead and drive concepts with scalability across sites requiring interface and integration with executives and partners worldwide. The director will lead a team of 12 and will report to the Vice President, Food and Beverage. Responsibilities

• Set the vision for how Walt Disney World guests will experience dining in the future leveraging innovative ideas and great stories as the foundation for best-in-class, relevant concepts that drive satisfaction and business/financial value
• Lead all aspects of concept development from ideation to implementation
• Lead Food & Beverage program development for new concepts including design and facility planning
• Infuse corporate and Food & Beverage strategies, standards and priorities into new concepts
• Continually advance and evolve concepts through innovations in industry trends, health and wellness, technology, equipment, design, sustainability, and safety
• Partner with culinary concept group in the creation of menus that complement concepts, drive quality and maximize value
• Establish a strategic approach for new business growth through new concepts; position WDW Food & Beverage as a key business driver of overall Guest visitation, experience excellence, and profitability
• Optimize and drive growth through innovative new concepts and products, cost management strategies, and efficiencies in design and construction
• Partner with key Food & Beverage industry leaders, senior executives, internal clients and partners in the development and delivery of concepts
• Provide leadership and development to the Walt Disney World Food & Beverage concept development team members
• Represent the organization and participate in industry related organizations and associations
• Advise and partner with a range of external suppliers, designers and consultants
• Plan, organize and deliver project updates and concept presentations for senior executives up to and including site Presidents, Chairman, CEO, and Board of Directors
• Coordinate internal and external benchmarking to identify sustainable and measurable applications, which may be executed for guest and/or cast experience improvement, revenue growth, or cost initiative implementation
• Communicate and partner with site-level client groups to maintain an understanding of priorities, business requirements, climate, environmental impacts, and overall landscape of conditions and attitudes affecting food and beverage operations
• Engage in market analysis to inform business decisions
• Serve as the on-site executive of the Flavor Lab, a 7500 foot state of the art research and development facility
• Leverage/engage a broad audience of key stakeholders, partner groups and operations clients including but not limited to Environmental Services, contractors, Walt Disney Imagineering, Facility Asset Management, Safety Services, Engineering Services, and Architecture and Facility Engineering.

Basic Qualifications

• Food and Beverage Concept Development Leadership Experience
• Minimum of 8 years progressive leadership experience in the food and beverage industry.
• Possess knowledge of the latest trends and technologies with proven relationships with industry influences to proactively transfer knowledge to the greater team.
• Proven experience and success leading food safety and healthy practices and initiatives
• Proven ability to effectively lead in a fast paced, highly dynamic global environment with a focus on increasing heart of house efficiency while considering front of house operating environments
• Demonstrated passion and commitment to diversity including inviting diverse perspectives, fostering an inclusive work environment and supporting workforce diversity
• Proven ability to foster innovative thinking and appropriate risk taking
• Possess unquestioned ethics and integrity

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong understanding of restaurant design and equipment
• International experience

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, or related field or equivalent experience

Additional Information©Disney is an equal opportunity employer. Drawing Creativity from Diversity.