Director, Beverage Standards

Job Title: Director of Beverage Standards

Reports To: VP of Concepts and Standards

Department: Concept & Standards

Status: Exempt

Date: August 2025

Broad Functions: Lead the end-to-end beverage strategy for a multi-airport portfolio. Own category performance for spirits, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages. Standardize recipes, training, and operating practices to drive revenue growth, guest satisfaction, and margin expansion. Build high-impact supplier partnerships and ensure regulatory and airport compliance.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Build the annual beverage roadmap that aligns to brand standards and airport guest expectations.
2. Launch seasonal programs and LTOs that increase check average and attachment rates.
3. Use menu engineering, POS mix, and elasticity analysis to optimize pricing and mix.
4. Set national standards for specs, pours, glassware, garnishes, and service steps.
5. Establish KPI dashboards for sales, margin, waste, voids, comps, and guest metrics.
6. Partner with Operations and Training to deliver bar fundamentals, speed of service, and loss-prevention practices at scale.
7. Work with Learning and Development to deploy role-based training for bartenders and leaders, including certification requirements.
8. Leverage sommeliers, master mixologists, and supplier educators for continuous learning.
9. Negotiate national and regional supplier agreements, marketing funds, and support.
10. Coordinate with Supply Chain on assortments, allocations, and continuity planning.
11. Execute integrated campaigns with Marketing, including airport brand approvals.
12. Own beverage P&L levers. Track depletion, rebates, incentives, and compliance.
13. Drive COGS improvement through engineered specs, yield controls, and inventory accuracy.
14. Provide monthly performance readouts with action plans by airport, concept, and category.
15. Maintain compliance with state and local regulations, airport authorities, and concession rules.
16. Ensure all staff hold required responsible alcohol service certifications.
17. Support quality and safety audits, including ice, CO2, and draft system hygiene.

Skills and Qualifications:

1. 7 or more years of progressive leadership in multi-unit hospitality or airport F&B
2. Proven success scaling beverage programs across many locations with measurable financial impact
3. Strong vendor negotiation skills and experience with national agreements
4. Advanced fluency with POS data, menu engineering, and inventory controls
5. Excellent communication and cross-functional leadership skills
6. Sommelier or recognized mixology credential preferred
7. Experience in airport concessions or other high-compliance environments
8. Travel up to 40 to 60 percent for site launches, audits, and training
9. Ability to obtain and maintain airport badging and pass background screens

Benefits:

We offer full-time eligible employees affordable medical insurance, dental and vision benefits, along with a variety of voluntary insurance options. Our benefits package includes company-sponsored life insurance, a free employee assistance program, competitive paid time off, company holidays, and a 401k retirement plan with company match. Plus, enjoy access to discount programs for travel and entertainment and a location meal program. In addition, this position is bonus eligible.

EEOC Statement:

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability status, or veteran status.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the associate is regularly required to stand for long periods of time, use hands and fingers, communicate verbally, and hear. The associate is frequently required to reach with hands and arms, climb, balance, taste, and smell. The associate is also occasionally required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, and either lift or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus.