Director of New Business and Special Projects

Olive and Finch•Denver, CO

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of New Business & Special Projects is a senior leadership role responsible for helping Olive & Finch Collective translate growth opportunities into well-executed, operational businesses. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, this person will work across operations, development, design, construction and strategic initiatives to move priority projects from idea through launch and stabilization. The role is intentionally designed to evolve. Initially, the Director will spend meaningful time learning the business, strengthening current operations and helping fully operationalize new and recently opened locations. As the company's near-term openings stabilize, the position will increasingly shift toward new business development, concept development, pre-opening leadership and enterprise special projects. The Director will partner with the Founder on select strategic growth opportunities, brand and concept direction, major relationships and significant transactions. Day-to-day priorities, accountability and performance management will remain with the CEO.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive leadership experience in restaurant/hospitality development, multi-unit operations, real estate, construction/development or business expansion.
Strong operational judgment and fluency in restaurant workflows, FOH/BOH planning, equipment and pre-opening requirements.
Working knowledge of leases, management agreements, TSAs, joint ventures or other commercial structures relevant to hospitality growth.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional work across operations, finance, legal, HR, design, construction and external partners.
Strong project-management discipline with the ability to convert ambiguity into clear priorities, owners, milestones and decisions.
Comfort operating in a fast-growing environment where priorities evolve, paired with the judgment to distinguish productive flexibility from unclear ownership.
Collaborative, low-ego leadership style with strong communication skills and the ability to influence without creating unnecessary layers of management.

Responsibilities

Partner with the CEO to identify, evaluate and advance growth opportunities across street-side dining, office and workplace hospitality, stadium and entertainment venues, airports and other strategic channels.
Support the Founder and CEO on select high-value opportunities where founder vision, key relationships or strategic positioning are central to the opportunity.
Build business cases, operating assumptions and preliminary development plans to help leadership determine which opportunities merit investment and pursuit.
Participate in deal structuring, lease and management agreement discussions, TSAs and other commercial negotiations in coordination with leadership and outside advisors.
Help establish the processes, pipeline management and discipline that can ultimately support a more formal business-development function.
Lead or coordinate the translation of new concepts and business opportunities into workable operating models and physical footprints.
Partner with operations, culinary, architects, foodservice designers and vendors on FOH and BOH layouts, workflow, equipment and labor efficiency.
Bring strong restaurant-equipment and operational-design literacy to project decisions while leveraging outside specialists where appropriate.
Help ensure design choices support the brand, guest experience, operational efficiency, capital discipline and long-term maintainability.
Own or coordinate the development-to-operations handoff for assigned projects from signed deal through pre-opening, launch and stabilization.
Work across architects, general contractors, foodservice vendors, technology partners and internal hospitality teams to surface risks early and keep projects moving.
Establish clear readiness milestones, responsibilities and escalation paths for assigned openings.
Ensure new projects are operationally viable and sufficiently complete before handoff to operating teams.
Lead high-priority cross-functional projects assigned by the CEO that require senior ownership, ambiguity tolerance and coordination across departments.
Diagnose operational or organizational issues, create practical action plans and drive work through completion.
Build systems, standards and repeatable processes for emerging business lines and growth initiatives.
Flex across functions when required while maintaining clear project scope, ownership and accountability.