Director of New Concepts, Beverages

About the Role

We’re looking for a global platform builder to lead Kwench by KFC, the brand’s newest global beverage brand, designed to bring the next generation into KFC. More than a menu range, Kwench brings together a distinctive beverage portfolio, consumer experience, brand expression, equipment, and operating model. The Global Director will own the strategy, evolution, and global growth of the platform, shaping its future, developing the portfolio and scalable business model, and partnering with priority markets to move from early launches to sustained, meaningful scale.

The role will bring together expertise across Food Innovation, Culinary, Marketing, Insights, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and market teams to make KFC the ultimate drinks destination.

Responsibilities

• Global Platform Strategy and Stewardship (25%)
  • Define and evolve the global ambition, consumer proposition, and multi-year roadmap for Kwench, including its role within KFC’s broader brand, menu, and occasion-growth strategy.
  • Set the global portfolio architecture, standards, non-negotiables, and decision guardrails, including what must remain consistent and where local adaptation can strengthen the proposition.
  • Protect and build Kwench as a distinctive KFC-owned platform, ensuring that the beverage portfolio, brand expression, equipment, and consumer experience work together coherently.
  • Create alignment with KFC and Yum! leadership on priorities, investment choices, and the future direction of the platform.
• Market Partnership, Launch, and Scale (30%)
  • Partner with priority markets from planning through launch and scale, adapting the level of Global support to each market’s capability, readiness, and operating context.
  • Help markets move from early pilots to meaningful estate scale by identifying barriers, aligning the right deployment model, and mobilizing cross-functional support needed to resolve them.
• Portfolio and Innovation Leadership (20%)
  • Define the global Kwench portfolio and innovation roadmap across beverage categories, formats, occasions, and price points.
  • Translate consumer, category, and market signals into clear innovation briefs, and guide priority concepts through development, validation, and scale readiness.
  • Partner with Culinary, Insights, suppliers, and market teams to build a distinctive, relevant, and commercially viable pipeline.
  • Connect and codify market innovation, identifying what is transferable across the system while preventing fragmentation of the Kwench proposition.
• Commercial and Operating Model (15%)
  • Build scalable business and operating models that balance consumer appeal, restaurant economics, throughput, investment, and operational simplicity.
• Performance, Learning, and Cross-Functional Leadership (10%)
  • Define the performance and learning agenda for Kwench, using consumer, commercial, and operational evidence to improve the platform and guide future investment.
  • Lead a global cross-functional Kwench squad, setting clear priorities, decision rights, and accountability across functions and markets.
  • Build broader beverage capability across the KFC system through shared tools, market coaching, and the active transfer of learning.

Requirements

• Education/Certifications
  • A college degree is required, preferably in Business, Marketing, Strategy, Innovation, Hospitality, Food Science, or a related field. An advanced degree is preferred but not required.
• Experience
  • 10+ years of related experience in platform strategy, brand building, innovation, commercialization, or general management, preferably with a multinational QSR, consumer, retail, FMCG, or beverage business.
  • Experience working for a QSR drinks brand preferred.
  • Proven experience taking a consumer proposition or growth platform from strategy and early pilots through to a repeatable, multi-market business model.
  • Strong commercial judgment and the ability to connect consumer strategy, brand, product, operations, equipment, supply chain, and economics.
  • Experience working across markets with different capability levels, business models, and operating environments; franchise-system experience is strongly preferred.
  • Exceptional relational skills and executive presence, with the ability to influence all levels of leadership and align stakeholders without direct authority.
  • Strategic mindset with a bias toward action, strong problem-solving, and the ability to create clarity in ambiguous or fast-changing situations.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to turn complex information into clear choices, roadmaps, and executive recommendations.
  • Proven ability to manage a fast pace, high-volume workflows, and multiple stakeholder groups, priorities, and deliverables.
  • Must be able to meet deadlines, exercise sound judgment, and handle confidential information with discretion.
  • Highly proficient in Microsoft Word, Teams, and PowerPoint.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Opportunity to innovate within a global brand and make a significant impact.
• Collaborative, fast-paced work environment with a focus on professional growth and development.

Pay

Salary Range: $174,240 - $183,920 annually + bonus eligibility and stock-based compensation. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.