Director - International Culinary Innovation

Responsibilities

• Establishes the long-term global culinary innovation strategy aligned with international growth objectives and brand positioning.
• Shapes the vision for best-in-class R&D processes, capabilities, and infrastructure across global markets.
• Identifies and prioritizes breakthrough concepts, platforms, and innovation pathways that strengthen competitive advantage.
• Oversees end-to-end innovation, including ideation, concept refinement, prototyping, consumer and sensory testing, and market scaling.
• Ensures products meet brand standards while accounting for diverse regional tastes, operational needs, and supply-chain feasibility.
• Champions disciplined experimentation, data-informed decision-making, and trend-forward product development.
• Leads, inspires, and develops a global network of in-country chefs to support culinary innovation.
• Builds a culture of creativity, accountability, and collaboration, promoting shared standards and best practices across markets.
• Identifies capability gaps and fosters strong talent pipelines across international culinary and R&D functions.
• Understands business dynamics that impact each region’s menu through relationships with cross-functional team members and franchisee’s.
• Serves as a strategic partner to Brand Marketing, Operations, Supply Chain, QA, Engineering, Finance, and Franchise leadership.
• Ensures seamless integration of culinary innovation into operational systems, supply channels, and go-to-market processes.
• Influences and supports regional leadership teams to ensure alignment of innovation priorities with broader business strategies.
• Parsners with supply chain and QA leaders to assess risks, validate manufacturing readiness, and protect global product quality.
• Translates sensory insights into actionable direction for product optimization, consumer acceptance, and market success.
• Ensures global consistency in sensory methodologies while allowing for culturally relevant adjustments.
• Acts as a global culinary spokesperson and brand ambassador across media engagements, industry forums, and innovation showcases.
• Represents the brand with franchisees, suppliers, senior leadership, and external partners to inspire confidence and alignment.
• Leads internal innovation sessions, workshops, and global forums to activate organizational excitement around culinary strategy.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree
• Travel: 30%

Pay

$154,000.00 - $277,000.00 Annually