Director of New Business and Special Projects

POSITION TITLE: Director of New Business & Special Projects

REPORTING TO: Chief Executive Officer

CLASSIFICATION: Full-Time, Exempt

LOCATION: Corporate / Hybrid (Cross-Facility Operations)

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.

The first six months are designed as an operating and integration phase, not a permanent restaurant-operations assignment. Success during this period will include:

• Develop a strong working understanding of Olive & Finch Collective's brands, operating model, teams, systems and growth priorities.
• Provide senior-level operational support to street-side locations and DEN openings, with particular focus on identifying gaps, improving handoffs, solving recurring issues and helping new locations stabilize.
• Partner with operations leadership rather than replacing location-level or functional management; this role is not intended to function as routine shift coverage.
• Take ownership of a defined portfolio of special projects that can be advanced immediately while the broader business-development pipeline matures.
• Identify repeatable development and pre-opening processes that can be standardized for future growth.
• Build an initial roadmap, in partnership with the CEO, for how the role transitions toward a larger new business and development mandate.

• 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, food service 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…