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Director of Foodservice - Berkeley Culinary

Whitsons Culinary Group • Illinois, Illinois • 9h ago

Berkely, IL, USA

Requisition Number

15751

Location

Berkely Il

Job Description

SUMMARY

The Director of Foodservice - Hospitality & Leisure serves as the primary commercial leader responsible for driving growth across Whitsons' hospitality, leisure, and destination-based foodservice segments. This role leads sales strategy and execution for customers including entertainment venues, attractions, travel & leisure operators, hospitality groups, and other experiential dining environments.

This role is entrepreneurial in nature and requires a highly motivated, self-starting sales leader with a strong growth-oriented mindset. The ideal candidate is energized by building new relationships, opening new market opportunities, and expanding Whitsons' presence within hospitality, leisure, and destination-based foodservice environments. Success in this role requires creativity, resilience, and the ability to operate with autonomy while effectively influencing cross-functional partners to deliver innovative, scalable, and experience-driven foodservice solutions.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

Strategic Sales Leadership

Develop and execute the hospitality & leisure foodservice sales strategy, including new customer acquisition, portfolio expansion, and annual revenue planning.

Identify growth opportunities within destination dining, seasonal operations, and experiential foodservice environments.

Translate customer and market insights into actionable commercial strategies and pipeline forecasts.

Customer Relationship & Account Management

Build and maintain senior-level relationships with hospitality operators, venue leadership, and foodservice decision-makers.

Serve as a trusted advisor to customers by delivering tailored solutions that balance experience, quality, speed, and scalability.

Lead customer presentations, contract discussions, and executive-level business reviews.

Sales Process & Execution

Own the full sales lifecycle, including prospecting, proposal development, pricing strategy, contract negotiation, and close.

Partner with Operations, Culinary, Supply Chain, QA, and Finance to ensure operational readiness and successful program execution.

Maintain disciplined pipeline management, forecasting accuracy, and documentation.

Market, Category & Competitive Intelligence

Monitor hospitality and leisure industry trends, consumer behaviors, and competitive activity.

Leverage data and customer insights to support concept development, menu strategies, and service models.

Provide market feedback internally to support innovation and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner closely with Operations and Culinary to ensure programs meet service expectations in high-volume and dynamic environments.

Collaborate with Finance and Legal on pricing models, contract structures, and bid responses.

Support internal stakeholders with customer insights and growth intelligence.

This role offers a salary range of $130,000 - $150,000 annually, based on skills, experience, and location. Employees also receive a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, generous PTO, and paid holidays.

Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or related field required.

MBA preferred.

Experience

Minimum 7 years of progressive sales experience within CPG, retail, private label, or co-manufacturing.

Demonstrated success managing national or regional retail accounts.

Proven ability to meet or exceed revenue targets consistently.

Experience presenting to senior leadership and customer decision makers.

Strong background in interpreting syndicated data and retail analytics.

Experience leading complex negotiations and multi-stakeholder commercial processes.

Core Competencies

Market & Experience-Driven Strategy - Drives growth through deep understanding of hospitality, leisure, and experiential dining environments, balancing creativity, service expectations, and commercial results.

Customer Partnership & Influence - Builds trusted, senior-level relationships and serves as a strategic advisor to hospitality and destination-based customers.

Sales Execution & Negotiation - Leads the full sales lifecycle with discipline, initiative, and an entrepreneurial spirit, actively creating opportunities from prospecting through pricing, contracting, and close.

Cross-Functional Alignment - Partners with Operations, Culinary, Supply Chain, and Finance to deliver seamless, high-quality execution in dynamic environments.

Business Acumen & Accountability - Applies strong financial, operational, and analytical judgment to drive sustainable, results-oriented growth.

Technical Skills

Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Familiarity with CRM platforms for pipeline management and reporting.

Work Schedule

This is a full-time exempt position. Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00

Supervisor

Michelle L Rothermich

Salary Target

$130,000-$150,000

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