Director, Culinary Innovation

In this position you will develop, implement and execute the HSUS’ campaign to promote culinary and food service innovation by directing and leading a team of culinary professionals working with institutional food service providers and corporations on plant-based policies and/or animal welfare reforms. The campaign strategy will be executed through the development of the team’s culinary program to include leading plant-based menu concepts and recipe development, culinary training program development, and the internal development of the team’s culinary professionals.

Responsibilities:
* Leads, evaluates, and drives the culinary innovation strategy while mentoring the culinary team with culinary projects and services offered to companies such as plant-based menu ideation, plant-based standardized recipes, culinary presentations and trainings, plant-based cycle menus, plant-based procurement and point of sale guidance;
* Leads the culinary innovation team’s initiatives as they relate to the largest food companies and institutions in the food industry to align their supply chain with increased plant-based food options by, including but not limited to the development of in-depth plant-based menu proposals, recipe development, testing and standardization and culinary trainings;
* Manages the culinary innovation manager(s) and program manager(s) to ensure they achieve their goals, including providing staff with guidance and advice, training, performance management, leadership development and career development;
* Reviews and approves support materials related to plant-based initiatives for the culinary innovation team including promotional materials, training and curricula for foodservice professionals, presentations, web site text, guides and standard operating procedures;
* Creates and maintains spreadsheets to track the progress of culinary innovation team’s goals;
* Drafts grants and donor documents to support fundraising efforts for the farm animal protection team and meets with donors to share progress on the plant-based initiatives as needed;
* Oversees the management of the recipe database platform and other culinary/recipe systems, media relations and other specialized projects as they relate to the culinary innovation team;
* Serves as a media spokesperson to encourage interest and constant, relevant coverage of culinary and plant-based campaigns and their impact on the food industry;
* Collaborates with the vice president, senior director(s), and director(s) within farm animal protection on the team’s strategic plans and priorities;
* Performs other duties or responsibilities, as assigned.