Director, Menu and Calendar

Overview

The Director of Menu Strategy, Planning, and Integration owns the strategy and end-to-end commercial planning for national and test market calendars and the consumer menu experience, including menu merchandising, design, and the guest journey. This leader is seasoned in solving complex business challenges, motivating their teams to deliver results and translating insights and data into actionable strategies that drive transactions and ignite fans of the brand, and bring bold, culture-moving ideas to life.

Additionally, the role will be responsible for driving growth of the KFC US Beverage category, inclusive of developing a 3 year growth strategy, product innovation plans and new product launches, and leading the Beverage Franchisee Subcommittee and vendor relationships.

Diagnosis and Strategy:

• Set a bold, insight-backed vision for growth and strategically prioritize initiatives, grounded in consumer, category, and business performance data.
• Lead development of the Annual Growth Plan / Strategic Plan for Beverage Category to increase category mix and drive attachment and sales.
• Lead with business-planning expertise, aligning opportunity size, investment, and expected returns.
• Co-create a data-driven, consumer-led strategy in partnership with Consumer Insights and Analytics and Finance teams.
• Leverage consumer trends, insights, and diagnosis to define and continuously refine a consistent two-year plan.
• Inspire and influence cross-functional leaders, the LT, and franchise partners to align on vision, priorities, and executional tradeoffs.

Calendar Planning, Analysis, and Integration:

• Strategically lead direct reports and cross-functional stakeholders to plan and execute national and test product calendars in collaboration with Product Marketing, Digital Marketing, and cross-functional teams (Finance, Operations, FIT, and Supply Chain).
• Partner with the Franchise Marketing Subcommittee and FZ Calendar Squad to ensure alignment, readiness, and executional consistency.

Menu Strategy, Merchandising and Consumer Journey:

• Lead menu strategy, merchandising and price architecture across physical and digital menu channels, delivering profitable sales and transaction growth
• Lead direct reports end-to-end consumer menu experience, inclusive of menu merchandising, design and consumer journey

Beverage Category Product Marketing:

• Lead a bold vision to drive Beverage Category and Innovation initiatives that drives the overall brand and business goals
• Deliver Annual Growth Plan / Strategic Plan for Beverage Category and an 18-month rolling pipeline of Beverage Innovation
• Leverage consumer trends, insights, and diagnosis to define and refine a consistent 2-year plan.
• Coach high-performing team to deliver with excellence through critical stage gates:
• Discover: Accountable to direct and coach team responsible for product innovation and renovation, lead creation, improvement, and consumer validation of products based on market trends, menu gaps, and consumer needs. Coach and lead team on development of product concept writing, product naming, product positioning, product placement, pricing strategy, and packaging strategy.
• Design: Direct team with accountability for Cross-Functional Collaboration to build best in class program designs to build profitable and sales driving product launches and/or sustain plans. Own program design, test market design & sell in, calendar planning, program integration, merchandising strategy, channel management, execution & timelines.
• Deploy: Direct team with accountability for Cross-Functional Collaboration to ensure smooth product rollouts. Own program execution, window execution, performance tracking.

You will be required to attend the Plano, TX office 3 days a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Education:

• BA or BS Degree; MBA preferred

Experience:

• Minimum 10-15+ years of relevant experience including 3-5 years on well-establish CPG product or in
• QSR/Restaurant industry preferred.
• 6+ Years in a management/leadership role

Relevant experience on well-established CPG products or in QSR/Restaurant industry.

• Ability to resource and gather relevant information to build comprehensive situation analysis
• Provide thought leadership and original thinking for specific initiatives
• Provide clear framework and development of objectives/strategies/tactics
• Influence with sound rationale
• Develop work/action plan grounded in business opportunity

Marketing Planning:

• Develop creative strategy by identify Marketing objectives and tactics that build on consumer insights
• Deliver on overall business objectives/strategies
• Identify new innovations and reapplications
• Identify key selling points and reason to believe
• Develop concept idea with understanding and articulation of cultural and/or consumer insights
• Navigate concept results to identify most insightful and successful idea

Ability To Create A Creative Innovation Brief:

• Develop and understand key cultural and consumer insights to form foundation of brief
• Understand…