Director Food & Beverage, Operations

Virgin Hotels Central Services LLC•Miami, FL

42d

About The Position

The primary mission of the Director Food & Beverage, Operations (“DFBO”) is to assist the VP of Operations in overseeing all of the global Food & Beverage (“F&B”) Operations at Virgin Hotels Americas. The Director F&B, Operations will be responsible for working with the VP, Operations to administer the entire F&B operation, including restaurants, IRD, bars, pop-ups, banqueting and culinary, in a way that fits the cultural experience of Virgin Hotels while maximizing revenues and controlling costs. Particular attention will be paid to the service levels, including translating the Virgin Hotels Tone of Voice into a professional service environment, and the Food & Beverage financial performance of each hotel. At Virgin Hotels, we are focused on the guest experience, whether that is eating in one of our restaurants, ordering room service, or holding a special event at one of our hotels. The HOT DFBO will be responsible for overseeing these responsibilities through the property-level Directors of Food & Beverage and Executive Chefs. The DFBO will also work closely with the property-level Directors of Food & Beverage and Executive Chefs to ensure quality standards are met and reasonable forecast(s)/ budgets are developed and adhered to, so this individual must have strong financial acumen and skills. Teamwork and Communication skills are essential - Divas need not apply. The Virgin Hotels culture, starting with the big guy Sir Richard, is a roll up your sleeves kind of place and at the Virgin Hotels Home Office Team, we jump in wherever needed and work for the long-term success of the business. We are looking for someone who is full of creative ideas and has the ability to motivate a team, as well as possessing strong financial skills and a love of food and beverage. Most of all, we are looking for someone who shares our quirky sense of humor, our entrepreneurial approach and is always ready to join in the fun!

Requirements

Knowledge of and previous experience with financial planning and analysis (budgeting, forecasting, labor planning, margin management).
Strong systems experience (Financial, POS and recipe/inventory software and HMS)
Knowledge of food production and preparation techniques.
Familiarity with effective food service techniques and sales strategies.
Familiarity with the latest in food service equipment.
Exceptional leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration; ability to influence property teams and vendors.
Comfortable with 50% travel to support property audits, openings, and training.
Undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Culinary or Business Administration.
10+ years progressive F&B leadership in lifestyle, luxury, or upscale hospitality.
Multi-property corporate experience required.
Experience and practical knowledge of kitchen operations, production, and menu development.

Nice To Haves

Experience in union environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

Ensure that standards, policies and procedures in Food & Beverage areas are adhered to as per Virgin Hotels POS and Audit standards.
Ensures that the Food & Beverage activities are aligned with respective Home Office Team Strategy, and that the Hotel Action Plans have been implemented, to achieve optimal quality guest service and profitability.
Work closely with the VP, Operations with regards to day to day operational needs at both Home Office and the property-level.
Work closely with Marketing to guarantee effective promotion of all Food and Beverage outlets.
Communicate frequently with Food & Beverage and leaders, including both Front and Back of House teams to ensure alignment and on-going two-way communication.
Closely monitor budget performance to ensure profitability of front and back of the house.
Monitor and evaluate all reporting departments in order to ensure the proper planning for short and long-term strategies; monitors and evaluates performance of all outlets and banqueting, in order to facilitate ongoing improvement of operations and financial return.
Support the VP Operations and property teams in the development of the annual operating budgets. Monitor and ensure adherence to the budgets at the property-level through in depth control of monthly P&L results.
Develop and update Virgin Hotels POS, policies and manuals, and ensure compliance to these through regular audits and property checks.
Work with the VP, Ops, and the VP, Entertainment & Brand Partnerships, on identifying relevant liquor sponsorship opportunities and other F&B-related brand partnerships.
Define and enforce Virgin Hotels’ service standards for restaurants, IRD, bars, and event spaces to deliver exceptional guest experiences.
Implement across properties structured upselling strategies for food, beverage, and premium experiences to maximize revenue per guest.
Coordinate and develop training programs for service teams focused on guest engagement, product knowledge, and suggestive selling techniques.
Work closely with on property teams to monitor guest feedback and service audits; lead corrective action plans to maintain top-tier service scores.
Collaborate with Marketing to ensure promotions and special offerings are effectively communicated and executed by service teams.
Align staffing models and scheduling with forecasted demand to optimize labor productivity without compromising service quality.
Design profitable bar programs (cocktails, wine, beer, zero-proof), including pour size standards, recipe specs, and loss prevention.
Update and refresh curated beverage menus to attract inhouse and local clientele, turning bars into independent and profitable venues.
Monitor beverage cost percentages, vendor partnerships, and promotional calendars; ensure compliance with licensing.
Establish and maintain a centralized recipe library, allergen declarations, HACCP steps, plating guides, and accurate cost calculations.
Create and enforce SOPs for recipe creation, approval, roll-out, audits, and updates across properties.
Conduct regular chef reviews, tastings, and QA audits to ensure consistency and quality.
Implement and audit food safety programs (HACCP, local health codes, ServSafe), including temperature logs, cleaning schedules, pest control, allergen management, and traceability, ensuring regulatory adherence.
Train culinary and service teams on safe food handling, personal hygiene, cross-contamination prevention, and crisis response (e.g., product recalls).
Drive margin improvement via menu engineering (mix management, portion control, pricing, channel strategy).
Ensure accurate recipe costing (ingredients, yields, waste factors, labor), and maintain target food & beverage cost percentages.
Build seasonal and market-specific menu strategies balancing innovation, feasibility, and profitability.
Align staffing models and scheduling with forecasted demand to optimize labor productivity without compromising service quality.
Standardize banquet menus, pack lists, staffing guides, and production plans by event type and scale.
Ensure accurate BEO translation to culinary production and service execution; monitor food safety at scale (hot holding/cold chain).
Optimize pricing, upsell strategies, and add-ons to maximize event profitability.
Work with VP, Operations to coordinate with kitchen designers and consultants, as necessary, and review all aspects of planning and execution for renovation and new projects, including reviewing of layouts, materials and FF&E, as required.
Work directly with VP, Operations on financial analysis for new properties, outlet renovations and relaunching of existing venues to ensure ROI and concept integrity.
Understand practical considerations (cost, budgets, timing, and schedules), critical to the successful execution of these action plans and ensure the plans maximize revenue while staying true to the Virgin Hotels F&B concept.
Work with VP, Operations to design new F&B concepts and ensure each planning step is executed in the pre-opening phases of a hotel or re-launch of a venue.
Collaborate and partner with the property teams to ensure new hotels and new venues are opened successfully.
Implement inventory control SOPs: cycle counts, par levels, ordering discipline, receiving standards, variance analysis, waste tracking, park stock, and theft prevention both for Front and Back of the house.
Optimize supplier contracts, rebates, specs, and approved product lists; maintain compliance across properties.
Deploy and monitor systems (inventory/recipe/costing software) to support visibility and accuracy.
Lead by example through a “hands on” approach to motivate teammates to excel.
Ensure training and development is embraced by the F&B and Culinary property-level leadership to continually enhance skills and knowledge with the teammates. Work with the People Department on producing content, where necessary.
Build, mentor, and elevate Executive Chefs, F&B Directors, Bar Leaders, and rising talent through structured development plans.
Actively participate in and lead recruitment, talent retention and talent development for the property-level F&B leadership, in order to meet both current and future needs.
Work with People Department on succession plans and inter-company transfer options to ensure the ongoing growth, development and retention of talented teammates with the Virgin Hotels brand and to mitigate the risk in case teammates leave.
Work closely with with IT to optimize F&B technology: POS, inventory/recipe costing platforms, temperature monitoring, and procurement tools.
Create dashboards and cadence for reporting KPIs, audit results, corrective actions, and best-practice sharing across properties.