Account Manager (Hospitality)

On Board Experiential • New York, NY

5d • $80,000 - $110,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

On Board Experiential (OBE) is a global marketing agency that brings brands to life through culture-shaping experiences. For over 30 years, OBE has partnered with iconic brands to build community, create cultural relevance, and drive measurable business impact. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London, OBE activates globally and is a founding member of The ADD Collective. OBE has been recognized as one of the best places to work in events. The company emphasizes the importance of its people, fostering a supportive environment with investments in recovery days, company offsites, happy hours, and team-building fitness challenges. OBE encourages open conversations, values lived experiences, unconventional ideas, and unique perspectives, promoting an environment where employees can be unapologetically themselves.

The Account Manager (Account Lead) is a key member of the Account Team, responsible for delivering exceptional service, strategic vision, and flawless execution of experiential programs for clients. This role involves cultivating and expanding client accounts, requiring a deep understanding of client business needs, industry trends, and specialized experiential environments. Specifically for this role, an Account Lead with a strong background in hospitality, restaurant management, and food & beverage programs is sought. The ideal candidate will possess operational command of both Front of House (FOH) guest experience and Back of House (BOH) kitchen/culinary logistics, with a focus on high-end dining execution. The position demands a proven ability to manage multi-partner culinary activations, including overseeing up to 30 individual restaurant or hospitality partners within a single event. The Account Manager provides end-to-end project management and financial/operational accountability, ensuring programs effectively promote client brands while upholding world-class hospitality standards.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in marketing, promotions, live events, or experiential marketing (agency experience strongly preferred).
• Minimum 2 years of experience as an Account Lead, acting as the primary point of client contact.
• Demonstrated experience in hospitality and dining operations, including direct experience managing both Front of House service and Back of House kitchen logistics.
• Proven track record of managing large-scale culinary activations, specifically coordinating multi-vendor footprints featuring up to 30 distinct restaurant, chef, or bar partners simultaneously.
• Experience managing live events, hospitality suites, food festivals, pop-up dining concepts, and high-volume experiential activations.
• BA/BS in marketing, hospitality management, business administration, communications, or a related field.
• An up-to-date, insider understanding of the contemporary restaurant and dining scene, including trending chefs, emerging culinary concepts, hospitality groups, and dining culture shifts.
• Deep operational command of dining room flow, guest service dynamics, kitchen equipment setups, health department regulations, ABC/liquor licensing rules, and culinary line management.
• Ability to organize, communicate with, and keep accountable up to 30 independent culinary partners under tight event timelines.
• Exceptional organizational skills with rigorous attention to detail regarding client deliverables, BEOs, kitchen load-in grids, budget lines, and run-of-shows.
• Superior ability to anticipate operational bottlenecks between front-of-house service and kitchen prep, troubleshooting real-time venue, equipment, or catering issues under pressure.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, multiple client streams, tight deadlines, and complex multi-restaurant logistics simultaneously.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to connect authentically with clients, venue owners, Executive Chefs, line cooks, and service staff while honoring diverse perspectives.
• Ability to build trust, respect, and high team morale through active coaching, direct communication, and inclusive leadership.
• A drive to constantly explore emerging culinary and beverage trends, track Zagat/Infatuation Hit List/Michelin/James Beard-level developments, and push creative boundaries in experiential dining.
• High energy and comfort working non-traditional hours, including evenings, weekends, and late nights as event schedules and restaurant operations dictate.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds and stay on your feet for extended periods during live activations, kitchen walk-throughs, and site builds.
• Willingness to work a hybrid office schedule (up to 4 days in-office) and travel up to 30% of the time for venue walk-throughs, menu tastings, and on-site event execution.

Responsibilities

• Partner with client and brand teams to understand business objectives and identify opportunities for innovative experiential solutions, leveraging F&B, culinary integration, and hospitality touchpoints.
• Direct vendor relationships and operational onboarding for complex, multi-vendor culinary activations, managing up to 30 individual restaurant, chef, or hospitality partners per event.
• Integrate Front of House service standards (guest flow, table service, VIP hospitality, bar pacing) with Back of House kitchen realities (staging areas, prep timelines, cold storage, equipment load-in, waste management, and chef coordination), with an emphasis on dining excellence.
• Guide and coordinate the development of Experiential tactical plans for live, hybrid, and culinary-focused activations in partnership with Strategy/Creative, Production, Tech, Digital, Social, and Culinary Operations teams.
• Serve as the primary Account Lead for venue buyouts, restaurant partnerships, bar program builds, menu development, staffing protocols, and temporary health/liquor permitting compliance across all participating culinary partners.
• Manage day-to-day project activities, providing clear direction and seamless execution across internal cross-functional teams, external vendors, master mixologists, Executive Chefs, FOH leads, and venue owners.
• Lead weekly client status meetings, deep dives, and post-event debriefs, directing the proper distribution of all project communications, timelines, run-of-shows (ROS), Banquet Event Orders (BEOs), and kitchen load-in schedules.
• Provide ongoing monitoring of expenses, vendor contracts, culinary talent fees, and actual costs for approved program budgets, obtaining client approvals, managing scope changes, and reconciling all project expenses.
• Provide timely performance feedback on all activations, catering partners, and internal team members to senior management, maintaining white-glove dining standards.

Benefits

• medical/dental/vision insurance
• employer-paid basic life and personal accident insurance
• Annual Profit Sharing/Bonus Plan based on the company’s performance and your individual performance
• 401(k)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• PTO
• STD/LTD insurance benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level