Director of Food & Beverage

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Director of Food & Beverage

Lexington, KY, US

2 days ago Requisition ID: 1043

DIRECTOR OF FOOD & BEVERAGE PROFILE

Reports to: General Manager, position is exempt

We are seeking an experienced Director of Food & Beverage to lead all food and beverage operations for this full-service hotel. This leader will oversee the restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner; and a full banquet and catering program supporting corporate meetings, social celebrations, weddings, and other signature events. The ideal candidate brings strong operational expertise, financial acumen, and a passion for creating consistently elevated guest experiences.

The Director of Food & Beverage is the senior leader and responsible for all food and beverage operations. Reporting directly to the Hotel General Manager, this role owns the restaurant, bar, banquets and events, catering, and in-room dining from end to end. The vision, standards, financial performance, and teams are all within this leader’s scope.

You set the strategy, build the leaders, and hold the entire operation to a single elevated standard, whether it is a Tuesday breakfast, a sold out Saturday night, or a full-hotel wedding weekend running on top of both.

This role calls for a hands-on leader who identifies what needs attention and takes action. You will be present in service where it matters most while building the financial discipline, tools, and systems that allow a successful hotel food and beverage operation to perform at its best.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Own all of F&B. Develop and execute the operating plan that delivers every outlet and event space, restaurant, bar, banquets, catering, and in-room dining, at a consistent elevated standard, every daypart, every day.
• Own the P&L, the budget, and the forecast. Build the annual F&B operating budget, deliver accurate monthly forecasts, set goals and KPIs by revenue center, lead inventory and cost controls, and manage labor and expense to deliver the financial result the operation is built to produce.
• Own banquets and catering performance. Lead/delegate banquet operations from BEO to breakdown, hold execution to the same standard as the dining room, and partner with the Sales team on menu architecture, pricing, and packages that maximize catering revenue and protect margin.
• Build and lead the leadership team. Hire, develop, and hold accountable the outlet and banquet leaders beneath you, building the bench strength and succession pipeline a growing operation demands.
• Set and protect the service standard. Define the sequence of service for every outlet and event type, train to it, and hold every floor to it through every daypart and every cover.
• Lead by example. Be present in service where the stakes are highest, mentoring and coaching the teams and giving them everything you know about food, beverage, and hospitality to build real technical skill.
• Own the beverage program. Set the beverage vision across every outlet, curate the wine list and the cocktail and spirits offering, drive banquet beverage strategy, and educate the teams so every member can speak to it with authority.
• Build the systems. Establish and maintain the staffing, scheduling, ordering, inventory, BEO, sidework, and shift-log discipline that lets a multi-outlet operation run cleanly every night, and own the tech stack behind it.
• Partner with the kitchen. Work with the Executive Chef on menu architecture and item performance across restaurant, banquet, and in-room dining to sharpen the offering and protect margin.
• Drive the guest and client experience. Act as the ambassador for F&B across the hotel, engage in every aspect of service so experiences exceed expectations, maximize every room, and keep the restaurant and the events operation at the top of their market and their review channels.
• Collaborate across the hotel. Work with the Hotel General Manager and the Sales, Lifestyle, and Rooms teams to plan and execute events and activations that reflect the hotel’s distinctive approach to hospitality, and represent Food & Beverage in strategic and capital planning.
• Master the tools. Demonstrate full command of the POS, inventory, and labor systems, including reporting, cost analysis, and routing, and ensure every team is trained to use them efficiently.
• Guard health and safety. Ensure compliance with local health and safety codes, hotel security policy, and Iowa state and local liquor law across every outlet and event.

WHO YOU ARE

You have led complete hotel F&B operations, restaurant, bar, and banquet, and you understand there is a level of expertise to this work that no manual fully captures. You are energized by a building running at full tilt: a packed dining room, a plated dinner for 150, and a clean handoff between the two. When the night turns, you step in, and your teams respect you for it.

Guests, clients, and industry peers seek you out; you are the person they call for a table, a wedding date, or a board dinner, and the one who makes them and their people feel known. You hold a clear picture of how a top operation runs and how every lever connects to it: staffing, scheduling, training, ordering, BEOs, banquet execution, side work, shift logs, pre-shifts, and the systems behind them. You carry serious beverage depth, real command of a P&L and a forecast, and you sweat the details that separate good service from exceptional service.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressive food and beverage leadership, with a track record in elevated, full-service hotel or restaurant operations.
• Minimum of two (2) years as a Director of Food & Beverage, or equivalent multi-outlet leadership carrying full P&L responsibility inclusive of banquets and catering.
• Demonstrated command of budgeting, forecasting, and cost control across multiple revenue centers.
• Proven banquet and catering operations experience, including BEO management and large-format execution.
• Demonstrated beverage depth; sommelier certification (or equivalent wine credential) strongly preferred. Craft cocktail experience strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Ability to work varied shifts, including mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an Iowa liquor license and Food Handler certification.
• Adaptable interpersonal skills to communicate with and address every level of the hotel.
• Professional proficiency in English across reading, writing, and verbal communication.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States. We participate in E-Verify.

HOW YOU WILL LEAD

• Build rapport quickly, reading the room and adapting how you communicate to a wide range of audiences and stakeholders.
• Approach discovery as a collaborator, valuing the input and experience of others to surface the deeper issues worth solving.
• Make decisions with integrity, holding confidence where it is owed and knowing the difference between transparency and discretion.
• Stay analytical without ever needing to be the smartest person in the room; seek the facts and hold a point of view without ego.
• Lead with business acumen, ensuring the actions you take support the hotel's operational goals and budget.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an equitable, inclusive workplace and a sense of belonging for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of any status protected by applicable law. Employment eligibility verification requirements apply as permitted by law.