Sr. Principal Food Excellence Consultant

Food Excellence Consultant

Chick-fil-A, Inc. Staff members play a vital role in achieving our strategic goals by developing their skills, fostering inclusive teamwork, and embracing innovation. All Staff are expected to contribute to a compelling future by inspiring and motivating those around them. Growth and development are essential at Chick-fil-A. We want Staff to seek new perspectives and adopt new methods to drive continuous improvement and adaptation to evolving business needs. Lastly, we ask Staff to seek wisdom, expect the best, accept responsibility, respond with courage, and think others first. Our Flexible Futures Model offers a healthy mix of working in person and virtually, strengthening key elements of the Chick-fil-A culture by fostering collaboration and community.

Overview

The Food Excellence Consultant is a key member of the Restaurant Excellence Consulting team, dedicated to supporting Operators in elevating food and service standards across restaurants. This role exists to strengthen quality, speed, and consistency, ensuring a food-safe, customer-centered experience that builds brand trust and drives operational performance. As a trusted expert, the Food Excellence Consultant partners with Operators to determine root causes of Food Safety, Food Quality, and Production Throughput opportunities and offers solutions and resources to help restaurant leadership close gaps in those opportunities.

Responsibilities

Diagnose

• Provide the lens of food safety to Restaurants to assess, identify, and resolve food safety risks.
• Partner with Operators to identify root causes of customer experience and food quality challenges using holistic assessment models.
• Analyze current space and equipment utilization to uncover optimization opportunities.
• Analyze food production processes and decision-making using data, video, and real time observations.
• Diagnose gaps between food safety/quality self-assessment tools and 3rd party audit findings.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement in restaurant and BTR (Beyond the Restaurant) for Food Safety and Quality.

Engage

• Consult with Operators on food production process optimization.
• Facilitate food tasting sessions and troubleshooting to address quality concerns.
• Collaborate with Operators and teams to understand their goals and opportunities, make supporting recommendations using available resources/data and facilitate associated goals setting.
• Partner with Operators during in-person visits for high-risk locations to support operational improvements.
• Educate Operators on the application of Lean Principles to optimize systems and processes.
• Collaborate with Restaurant Design, Facilities Management, Engineering and other Support Center partners to provide operational reality.
• Provide guidance and resources for building a culture of food excellence, including best practices for food safety and quality.

Recommend

• Advise on food production optimization to balance quality, speed, and cost.
• Recommend best practices for food production throughput and operational requirements.
• Deliver expert recommendations for optimizing food safety, quality, and production systems, both virtually and in person.
• This includes the scoping of projects of minor leasehold improvements to unlock key recommendations needed by the Operator and/or their restaurant.
• Provide actionable insights and best practices for improvement based on 3rd party audits and self-assessments.
• Offer resources and recommendations for continuous improvement, including operating requirements and best practices.
• Share troubleshooting resources and best practices for all food products, ensuring consistent excellence.
• Consult on leadership structure, accountability, and training to support sustained operational improvements.
• Represent Restaurant Excellence Consulting as a member of an Area Leadership Team, contributing to strategic planning and execution of customer experience initiatives for an Area representing $1-2 Billion in annual revenues and up to 250 CFA locations.

Required Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities)

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to diagnose operational challenges and identify root causes.
• Proven ability to consult, influence, and build relationships.
• Ability to present expert level content to large audiences.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, including the ability to educate and coach others.
• Ability to develop and implement action plans with measurable goals.
• Commitment to upholding food safety standards and fostering a culture of excellence.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities)

• Demonstrated expertise in food safety, food quality, and restaurant operations.
• Experience in optimizing food production systems and processes.
• Experience in leading training, accountability, and performance improvement initiatives.
• Ability to represent the Restaurant Excellence Consulting function within cross-functional teams and strategic planning groups.
• Knowledge of CFA restaurant operations. The new consultant will spend up to three months working as a team member in a restaurant.

Required Years of Experience

7

Preferred Years of Experience

10

Travel Requirements

60%

Required Level of Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Preferred Level of Education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Major/Concentration

Engineering, Food Science, Business (MBA)

Relocation Assistance Provided

No