Director of Brand Experience, Community Engagement, & Catering
Position Overview
We are seeking an energetic, outgoing, and highly connected Director of Brand, Community Engagement, & Cateringto serve as a key representative of our restaurant brand, strengthen our presence in the communities we serve, and drive catering and business development opportunities across our locations.
This role combines brand ambassadorship, community engagement, event coordination, local marketing, sponsorship development, strategic partnerships, and catering sales.
The successful candidate will be the face of our brand at community events, business functions, charitable activities, networking events, and local partnerships while developing relationships that generate restaurant traffic, catering business, and long-term brand loyalty.
Key Responsibilities
Brand Ambassador
- Serve as a primary public-facing representative of the restaurant brand.
- Represent the company professionally at community, business, charitable, sporting, and social events.
- Build awareness and excitement around our restaurants.
- Develop relationships with local business owners, community leaders, influencers, organizations, and media.
- Identify opportunities to increase brand visibility within each restaurant's local market.
- Communicate the personality, values, and culture of the brand consistently.
Community Engagement
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with the communities surrounding each restaurant location.
- Establish relationships with schools, nonprofits, charities, sports organizations, chambers of commerce, businesses, and community groups.
- Identify opportunities for the restaurants to participate in and support local initiatives.
- Represent the brand at community meetings, networking events, fundraisers, festivals, and local activities.
- Develop programs that encourage repeat visits and strengthen customer loyalty.
Catering & Business Development
- Develop and grow catering sales across the restaurant group.
- Identify and pursue new catering opportunities with businesses, corporations, schools, sports teams, nonprofits, churches, offices, venues, and community organizations.
- Build relationships with event planners, hotels, venues, businesses, and organizations that can generate recurring catering business.
- Generate catering leads through networking, community involvement, events, partnerships, and direct outreach.
- Follow up with catering prospects and develop long-term relationships with recurring accounts.
- Promote catering services through community events, local marketing, social media, and strategic partnerships.
- Work closely with restaurant management and catering teams to ensure a seamless customer experience.
- Track catering leads, bookings, repeat customers, and revenue generated through business development efforts.
Events & Promotions
- Plan, coordinate, and execute restaurant events, grand openings, fundraisers, customer appreciation events, community nights, promotional events, and special activations.
- Identify opportunities where catering can showcase the brand and generate new business.
- Develop creative event concepts designed to increase traffic, awareness, engagement, and catering opportunities.
- Coordinate with restaurant management, vendors, community partners, sponsors, and event participants.
- Create an annual and quarterly event calendar for each market.
- Measure event performance and identify opportunities to improve future events.
Sponsorships & Partnerships
- Identify and pursue strategic sponsorship opportunities that align with the restaurant brand.
- Develop relationships with local businesses, organizations, sports teams, events, charities, schools, and community groups.
- Negotiate sponsorship and partnership opportunities within approved company guidelines.
- Create mutually beneficial partnerships that increase brand awareness, customer traffic, and catering opportunities.
- Manage ongoing relationships with sponsors and community partners.
- Track sponsorship investments and evaluate their return and impact.
Local Marketing & Brand Growth
- Work closely with corporate marketing and restaurant leadership to develop local marketing initiatives.
- Identify opportunities for grassroots marketing within individual restaurant markets.
- Assist with social media content and promotion surrounding events, partnerships, catering, and community activities.
- Identify local influencers and community personalities who align with the brand.
- Generate creative ideas for promotions, collaborations, and customer engagement.
- Help ensure each restaurant becomes an active and recognizable part of its local community.
Ideal Candidate
We are looking for someone who is:
- Naturally outgoing, personable, and energetic.
- A strong communicator and relationship builder.
- Comfortable meeting and networking with people from all backgrounds.
- Highly organized and capable of managing multiple locations, events, partnerships, and catering opportunities.
- Creative and entrepreneurial in developing marketing and community initiatives.
- Well-connected within the local community or capable of quickly building a strong network.
- Comfortable representing a restaurant brand in public.
- Experienced in hospitality, restaurant marketing, catering, event planning, sales, public relations, community relations, or business development.
- Comfortable with social media and local marketing.
- Results-oriented with strong follow-up and organizational skills.
- Willing to attend evening and weekend events when necessary.
- Passionate about hospitality, food, community, and creating positive customer experiences.
Key Performance Indicators
Success in this position will be measured by:
- Growth in local brand awareness.
- Number and quality of community partnerships established.
- Number and success of events executed.
- Event attendance and customer engagement.
- Sponsorship and partnership opportunities secured.
- Catering leads and new catering accounts generated.
- Catering revenue and recurring catering business.
- New customers and revenue generated through community initiatives.
- Social media and local marketing engagement.
- Growth of each restaurant's presence within its community.
- Overall return on investment from events, sponsorships, partnerships, and community initiatives.
The Role
This person will not simply be responsible for "marketing."
They will be responsible for getting out into the community, building relationships, creating opportunities, generating catering business, developing partnerships, and making our restaurants a meaningful part of the communities we serve.
The ideal candidate is someone who can walk into a room, meet 20 people, remember their names, build genuine relationships, and identify opportunities that turn connections into customers, catering accounts, partnerships, and long-term business growth.
If you are a natural connector, community builder, event creator, business developer, and brand advocate who loves hospitality and people, this position is for you.
Pay: From $67,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
