Manager, Culinary Innovation

National Pork Board•Des Moines, IA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The National Pork Board is seeking a relationship-focused Manager, Culinary Innovation to turn consumer insights and marketplace opportunities into scalable pork menu applications and product solutions. The role combines culinary creativity, customer engagement and commercial execution. The Manager develops pork concepts, manages select national and regional foodservice account relationships, and collaborates with operators, retailers, processors, distributors, chefs and internal teams to increase pork menu adoption and generate measurable demand. The position is based on-site at the National Pork Board headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. Regular domestic travel of approximately 15–25% is expected for customer meetings, processor collaboration, culinary demonstrations, research partnerships and industry events. The role requires working in professional kitchen, demonstration and office environments; standing for extended periods; safely operating culinary equipment; and lifting or carrying food products, supplies and demonstration materials as needed. The National Pork Board oversees Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and communicates with pork producers and the public. Applicants should be enthusiastic about supporting the organization’s mission to serve U.S. pork producers. The full-time starting salary range is $95,000–$120,000. Individual salary decisions consider business and local market factors, internal equity, and candidate skills, education and experience. The application deadline is November 27; qualified candidates may be contacted before the deadline.

Requirements

Completion of an accredited culinary school or culinary arts program.
At least five years of professional experience as a chef, sous chef, executive chef, corporate chef or in a similar culinary role.
Professional experience working with meat, including fabrication, preparation techniques and food safety.
Demonstrated experience in recipe development, culinary innovation, prototyping and customer presentations.
Ability to translate consumer and customer needs into commercially realistic menu applications and product solutions.
Strong project management, communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to work in professional kitchen, demonstration and office environments, stand for extended periods, safely operate culinary equipment, and lift or carry food products, supplies and demonstration materials as needed.
Ability and willingness to support the National Pork Board’s mission to serve U.S. pork producers.

Nice To Haves

Experience with pork, culinary product development, food or protein research and development, or commercial food manufacturing.
Familiarity with meat science, sensory evaluation, processing constraints, product specifications and commercial scale-up.
CEC, CCS or similar professional credentials.

Responsibilities

Develop, test and demonstrate pork recipes, preparation methods, differentiated cuts, convenient meal solutions and value-added products.
Manage select national and regional foodservice accounts and build relationships with culinary, procurement and leadership teams.
Create customer-specific concepts and account plans that support pork menu placements, expanded distribution and incremental volume.
Develop chain-ready menu concepts and distributor-ready applications that account for food cost, labor, consistency and scalability.
Advance innovation in ground pork, global cuisine, grilling, convenient meals, and traditional and underutilized pork cuts.
Partner with Retail Channel Marketing to create customer-specific solutions and scalable culinary resources for retailers and state pork associations.
Translate consumer insights and audience segmentation into relevant culinary concepts aligned with National Pork Board marketing initiatives.
Collaborate with packers, processors, meat scientists and food technologists to evaluate product specifications, sensory quality, supply availability and commercialization potential.
Lead culinary demonstrations, prototype evaluations, customer presentations and industry engagements.
Oversee the organization, food safety, inventory, equipment and overall readiness of the National Pork Board’s culinary facilities.
Plan and execute culinary experiences for priority customer, producer, Board and staff events.
Lead culinary projects and coordinate internal teams, external chefs, research partners, agencies and product development resources.