Director Food & Beverage, Development & Openings Europe
Hilton
Watford, England, United KingdomPosted 9 days agoFull-time
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Shape the Future of Food & Beverage Across Europe
Hilton is seeking an experienced and commercially minded F&B Director to drive
the development and opening of world-class Food & Beverage concepts across
Europe, including the UK & Ireland.
This is a unique opportunity to influence how Hilton's newest hotels come to
life, leading the end-to-end F&B development journey from concept creation and
design through to opening, operational handover and post-opening review. Working
with hotel owners, developers, architects, operators and brand teams, you will
ensure every F&B venue delivers exceptional guest experiences, strong commercial
performance and operational excellence.
What You'll Do
Lead F&B Concept Development
You will build and develop innovative F&B concepts that deliver:
• Operational excellence
• Commercial success
• Outstanding guest experiences
You'll partner with owners, development teams and brand stakeholders to create
concepts that are achievable, commercially viable and aligned with Hilton's
standards and long-term vision.
Drive Design Excellence
You'll own the design sign-off process across both Front and Back of House
environments, ensuring:
• Efficient operational workflows
• Compliance with Hilton Development Design Standards
• Effective kitchen, bar and buffet installations
• Appropriate equipment specifications
• Space-efficient planning solutions
You will also lead owner and project meetings while managing external
consultants throughout the development cycle.
Deliver Commercially Successful Openings
Working closely with Operations & Technology, Regional F&B Directors and General
Managers, you will:
• Lead F&B pre-opening planning
• Drive value engineering decisions
• Manage snagging and operational handover processes
• Ensure asset quality and operational readiness
• Conduct post-opening reviews and continuous improvement initiatives
Your focus will be on ensuring every new venue opens successfully and performs
from day one.
Act as a Trusted F&B Expert
As a recognised subject matter expert, you will:
• Support masterplan, conversion and third-party projects
• Drive CAPEX review processes for F&D initiatives
• Develop tools, resources and best practices for hotel teams
• Champion sustainability throughout the project lifecycle
• Introduce innovative operational solutions and emerging industry trends
• Deliver presentations to senior leadership and regional stakeholders
• Coach, mentor and develop wider team members, including interns
You will play a key role in elevating Hilton's F&B capabilities across Europe
while helping shape the future of the function.
Key Partnerships
Success in this role requires collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders,
including:
• VP Architecture & Construction and European team
• Operations Leadership (CE & UK)
• Development teams across EMEA
• F&B Development & Operations Directors
• AD&C teams
• Pre-opening teams
• F&B Brand Services
• General Managers
• Owners, Asset Managers and Consultants
• Finance and HR teams
RESPONSIBILITIES
Specific Job Knowledge, Skill and Ability
The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be
able to perform the essential functions of the job:
• Demonstrates extensive operational experience in hotels/restaurants – both
front & back of house – 10 years.
• Excellent knowledge of F&B – including product, culinary, beverage, catering,
equipment, design, build & operational workflows.
• Demonstrates Strong Project Management capability.
• Shows Leadership outside of direct team via excellent Influencing and
Motivational skills.
• Verbal & Written Communication skills – up to executive level.
• Ability to Build Relationships across multiple functions & levels – both
internal & external.
• Able to work in Detail without losing sight of Strategic Priorities.
• Acts as Business Owner for the new hotels – thinking long-term and beyond
their own team.
• Shows willingness to be hands-on as necessary.
• Customer-centric – sees the customer first and last in everything.
• Critical thinking – has the ability to invent, critique and simplify.
• Strong IT skills, predominantly AutoCAD, Excel & PowerPoint.
• Capacity to Work Independently – shows Resilience and a “Can-Do” Attitude in
the face of setbacks.
• Flexibility to travel extensively.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required Qualifications
• University degree or Associates Diploma in Hospitality Management, or
extensive relevant experience in lieu thereof.
Preferred Qualifications
• A second language would be desirable.
Join an Award-Winning Workplace Culture
At Hilton, we don’t just deliver exceptional experiences for our guests—we build
an exceptional workplace for the Team Members who make it all possible. As a
global leader in hospitality, we’ve welcomed more than 3 billion guests
worldwide, all while staying true to our founding vision: to fill the earth with
the light and warmth of hospitality.
Our award-winning culture has earned us repeated recognition on the World’s Best
Workplaces list by Great Place to Work and Fortune. With our suite of
world-class brands [https://www.hilton.com/en/brands/],
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a company-wide commitment to providing the best stay for every guest, we’re
setting new standards for the future of travel.
Whether you’re starting your career or exploring something new, Hilton supports
your journey every step of the way. Come for the job, stay for the career—and
help us make every stay a little more magical.
Curious about life at Hilton? Explore our Careers Blog
[https://jobs.hilton.com/blogs] to see why we’re more than a great place to
stay—we’re a great place to work.
How We’ll Help You Thrive
At Hilton, the hospitality we’re known for doesn’t end with our guests. We
proudly invest in our Team Members’ wellbeing, supporting you through all of
life’s moments. When you join Hilton, our exceptional care extends to you with
unmatched perks and benefits, including*:
• Incredible travel perks – Enjoy 110 nights of deeply discounted travel, with
room rates as low as $40 USD/night at our world-class hotels through our Go
Hilton travel program
• Own a piece of Hilton – Through our employee stock purchase program (ESPP),
you can invest in Hilton shares at a 15% discount to help build your
financial future
• Paid parental leave – Because family matters. We offer paid leave for
eligible Team Members, including partners and adoptive parents
• Personalized caregiving support – Access dedicated caregiving concierge
services to help navigate caregiving for yourself and your loved ones
• Crisis concierge – In times of loss, our Crisis Concierge offers a single,
compassionate point of contact for both practical support and emotional care
• Mental health resources – Your wellbeing comes first. Through our Care for
All hub, we provide resources to help our Team Members to care for
themselves, care for members of their team, and care for their loved ones.
Eligible Team Members receive free counseling and support through our
best-in-class Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
*Benefits availability may vary depending on Team Member’s location as well as
terms and conditions of employment and are subject to the terms and conditions
of each specific program/plan.