Director, International Menu & Product Development

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conduct local market evaluations to understand the individual needs of that market related to the menu and messaging support needs. Determine where and when regional programs could maximize profits.
• Lead local franchise partners to determine the best menu and limited-time offers for their market that support Denny’s brand identity and provide profitable sustainable sales.
• Provide guidance and partner with Denny’s marketing subject matter experts to determine the best menu layout and design.
• Support global menu requirements with a balance of local, regional, and US ingredient sourcing. Must match all A-level ingredients and find suitable alternatives for ingredients with subsequent levels of proprietary status. Must use Denny’s standard protocol for international ingredient testing.
• Maintain global recipe and photo database by country, to ensure all Denny’s recipes are protected worldwide and can be assessed by international partners in the event a recipe in one part of the world could be successful in another part.
• Help franchise partners source ingredients to support US programs where applicable and fill voids where necessary. Manage the supply commitment process for franchisee module participation in conjunction with Denny’s purchasing.
• Develop bi-yearly regional ideation sessions to support the efficiencies of regional programs as an alternative to an all-US calendar.
• Support concept ideation of then create recipes that meet the cultural expectations of respective countries.
• Refine recipes and ingredient specifications to meet the consumer preferences as established through sensory panels and marketing research with special consideration of the ability to successfully execute said recipe within Denny’s operational and manufacturing limitations.
• Conduct market visits to discover issues and find solutions before a recipe, ingredient, or program is implemented when applicable.
• Verify or refine recipes submitted by international franchisees through the “New Product Approval” process.
• Assist Product Innovation/Product Development team with other duties as assigned.

The typical pay range for this role is:

Please note that this range represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade within which the position falls. This job posting is not a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee as the actual pay will take into account a range of factors, including location and experience.

Denny's, Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military or veteran's status, criminal background, or any other characteristic protected by Federal, State, or local law.

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should contact View phone number on aiapply.co. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THIS NUMBER TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION.

Denny’s, Inc. participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration, and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. For more information on E-Verify, please contact the DHS at View phone number on aiapply.co or dhs.gov/e-verify. Please note that we do not use this information to pre-screen job applicants.