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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Catering Service Director

💰 $ - $

CateringHospitalityFood ServiceManagementEvents

🎯 Role Definition

The Catering Service Director leads all aspects of a hospitality organization's catering and banquet function — from strategic planning and sales growth to operational execution and guest satisfaction. This senior hospitality leader owns the catering P&L, develops profitable menus and packages, builds and coaches high-performing teams, negotiates vendor and venue contracts, ensures rigorous food safety compliance (ServSafe/HACCP), and partners with sales, culinary, and facilities teams to deliver flawless events across corporate, social, and specialty segments. This role requires a balance of commercial acumen, operational discipline, and hands-on event leadership.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Catering Manager
  • Banquet Manager
  • Senior Sales Manager (Food & Beverage)

Advancement To:

  • Director of Food & Beverage
  • Vice President of Catering & Events
  • Regional Catering Director / Multi-Unit Operations Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Events Director
  • Conference Services Director
  • Corporate Account Director (Hospitality Sales)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own full P&L responsibility for the catering business unit, develop annual budgets and monthly forecasts, analyze variances, and implement corrective actions to meet revenue, margin and cost targets.
  • Develop strategic catering sales plans and revenue growth initiatives targeting corporate accounts, weddings, private events, philanthropy, and seasonal high-demand periods to increase market share and average event value.
  • Lead menu engineering and pricing strategy: collaborate with Executive Chef to create profitable, scalable menus, seasonal offerings, dietary-program options, and signature packages that balance guest expectations and food cost objectives.
  • Manage large-scale event operations end-to-end: generate and approve Banquet Event Orders (BEOs), coordinate timelines, staffing plans, floor plans, AV and vendor logistics to ensure on-time delivery and 5-star guest experiences.
  • Recruit, hire, train, and continuously develop a multidisciplinary catering team including banquet captains, sous chefs, event coordinators, servers and logistics staff; set performance standards and conduct regular coaching and performance reviews.
  • Implement robust food safety and sanitation programs (HACCP, ServSafe) and maintain documentation for inspections, audits, certifications and public health compliance.
  • Control food and beverage costs through menu portioning standards, vendor negotiation, inventory controls, waste reduction programs and reconciliation processes; achieve defined food cost percentage goals.
  • Negotiate and manage high-value vendor and subcontractor agreements (rental equipment, florist, AV, specialty staffing) to secure favorable terms, SLAs and cost efficiencies.
  • Drive cross-functional collaboration with sales, marketing and corporate accounts to create tailored proposals, win multi-year contracts, negotiate terms and upsell ancillary services to maximize revenue per event.
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) including revenue per event, average check, labor cost percentage, guest satisfaction (NPS), on-time delivery and order accuracy; produce weekly/monthly executive reporting.
  • Oversee procurement and inventory management: set par levels, approve vendor selection, implement centralized purchasing where appropriate, and deploy controls to minimize shrinkage.
  • Manage labor scheduling and productivity standards for peak and off-peak seasons, ensuring coverage while optimizing labor cost and minimizing overtime.
  • Partner with the culinary team to oversee recipe standardization, training on plating and presentation, and quality assurance checks during production and service.
  • Serve as the on-site senior leader for high-profile events: make real-time decisions, escalate and resolve issues, and maintain client communication to safeguard reputation and repeat business.
  • Develop contingency and risk management plans for weather, supply disruption, staffing shortages, and health or safety incidents; coordinate emergency responses and insurance claims as needed.
  • Implement and maintain catering technology platforms (Caterease, Total Party Planner, event CRM, POS integration) to streamline quoting, BEO generation, invoicing and reporting.
  • Lead marketing initiatives for the catering division including menu rollouts, seasonal campaigns, digital listings, RFP responses and partnership activation to generate leads and conversions.
  • Oversee capital requests for kitchen and event equipment, evaluate ROI on major purchases, and manage relationships with facilities and maintenance to ensure equipment reliability.
  • Design and maintain service standards, SOPs and training manuals for front of house and culinary teams to ensure consistency across all events and shifts.
  • Manage contract negotiations and long-term relationships with venue partners, convention centers and third-party caterers to expand footprint and secure exclusive rights when possible.
  • Conduct regular client debriefs and post-event audits to capture improvement opportunities, convert feedback into action plans and document lessons learned for operational excellence.
  • Maintain licensing, permits and insurance certificates necessary for mobile operations, off-site events, and special alcohol service (TIPS certification or equivalent).

Secondary Functions

  • Support the development and rollout of sustainability and waste-reduction programs (composting partnerships, locally-sourced procurement, single-use reduction) that align with corporate social responsibility goals.
  • Collaborate with HR and learning & development to build competency matrices, certification tracking, and leadership pipelines for the catering organization.
  • Assist finance with audit requests, month-end close support for catering revenue and cost centers, and special project financial modeling.
  • Pilot technology pilots and integrations (mobile checklists, digital BEO confirmations, contactless service) to improve operational efficiency and guest experience.
  • Contribute to corporate food policy and allergy/dietary accommodation guidelines to ensure consistency across all brands and venues.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives (Lean/Six Sigma, Kaizen events) to optimize layout, reduce touchpoints and shorten event setup/turnaround times.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • P&L management and financial forecasting for catering and events
  • Menu development and menu engineering with cost modeling
  • Food safety and sanitation compliance (ServSafe, HACCP knowledge)
  • Event management and BEO creation/approval processes
  • Vendor negotiation, contracting and supply chain management
  • Catering and banquet software proficiency (e.g., Caterease, Total Party Planner, Delphi, SocialTables)
  • Inventory control, purchasing and cost control systems
  • Labor modeling and schedule optimization for hospitality teams
  • CRM and sales pipeline management for corporate/group sales
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, financial modeling) and reporting tools
  • Knowledge of liquor licensing, alcohol service training (TIPS/Server Certification)
  • Familiarity with POS systems and integration best practices

Soft Skills

  • Strong commercial mindset with results-driven orientation
  • Excellent client-facing communication and negotiation skills
  • Leadership and people development: coaching, mentoring and conflict resolution
  • Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail under high pressure
  • Customer-centric service orientation and hospitality demeanor
  • Strategic planning and problem-solving in dynamic event environments
  • Adaptability and calm decision-making during live events
  • Collaboration and cross-functional influence with sales, culinary, facilities and finance partners

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Hospitality Management, Business, Culinary Arts, Hotel/Restaurant Management or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or Culinary Arts; MBA or advanced hospitality certifications a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Hospitality Management
  • Culinary Arts
  • Business Administration / Finance
  • Hotel & Restaurant Management
  • Food Science / Nutrition

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–12 years progressive experience in catering, banquet or large-scale events, with at least 3 years in a leadership/managerial role.

Preferred: 7+ years of full-service catering or hotel banquet leadership experience, demonstrable P&L ownership, proven track record of revenue growth, experience managing multi-site or high-volume event programs, and certifications in ServSafe/HACCP and alcohol service where applicable.

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