Restaurant Product Development Manager

Carnival; Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cruise company based in Southampton is looking for a Restaurant Product Development Manager for their Food & Beverage Development team. This role involves delivering the food strategy for Specialty Restaurants, optimizing dining products, and managing stakeholder engagement. The ideal candidate should have food development experience and be commercially focused. Join us for a fulfilling career with hybrid work options and benefits that support our team's well-being.

Benefits

Employee Discounted Cruising

Annual bonus

Minimum 25 days leave

Extensive learning opportunities

Health Cash Plan

Life Assurance

Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes

Defined Contribution Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Experience leading and managing menu change and concept creation.
• Experience in hospitality or cruise industry on a large scale.
• Demonstrated professionalism and reliability in all tasks.

Responsibilities

• Deliver the food strategy for Specialty Restaurants.
• Design and optimise food propositions focusing on revenue.
• Provide direct line management for specialty dining venues.
• Lead stakeholder engagement for menu changes and improvements.

Skills

IT skills in Word/Excel

Food development experience

Restaurant/food operations experience

Strong time management skills

Ability to collaborate effectively

Commercial focus

Job description

As Restaurant Product Development Manager (Specialty Dining), you’ll join our Food & Beverage Development team, reporting to the Senior Manager Food Development. You’ll work closely with colleagues across Product Development and Onboard Revenue, collaborating with the Guest Experience team and a wide range of stakeholders including Brand, PR, Performance, Digital, Technology, and Commercial Planning.

This Pivotal Role Will Involve

• Delivering the food strategy for Specialty Restaurants by leading all concept review projects (menu change and commercial revenue driving) to agreed processes and timelines.
• Designing and optimising food & dining product propositions across Specialty Restaurants, focusing on commercial revenue strategies, service-ware, technology to drive commercial revenue and guest satisfaction.
• Providing direct line management to ensure effective scheduling, optimisation and commercial reporting of speciality dining venues, along with setting brand standards and system configuration & optimisation.
• Leading structured stakeholder engagement from ideation through to implementation, for example, menu changes, continuous improvement and operational handovers.

This role is positioned at CUK08 level within our organisation and is available on a full-time, permanent basis. We offer hybrid work including up to two days from home.

What You'll Bring

• IT skills in Word/Excel and good knowledge of inhouse restaurant systems.
• Food development experience leading and managing menu change and/or concept creation from ideation to implementation.
• Experience in restaurant/food operations within the hospitality/cruise industry on a large scale, and in a commercial environment.

About You: The Ideal Candidate

• Strong time management and organisational skills.
• Be commercially focused.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and work as part of a team.
• Demonstrated professionalism in all interactions and tasks.
• Capacity to be punctual, meet deadlines, and maintain reliable attendance.

Culture Essentials Behaviours - At Carnival UK, we value

• Speaks up: Sharing concerns and ideas, encouraging others to do the same.
• Respects & protects: Building inclusive teams, safeguarding wellbeing and safety, and seeking sustainable solutions.
• Improves: Promoting collaboration, compliance, and continuous improvement.
• Empowers: Coaching others and creating an environment where people do their best work.

Application Guidance

Diversity is our strength, and we encourage applications from those with varied experiences, whether you meet every listed requirement or not. If you’re passionate about our guests’ experience and looking for an opportunity to grow, we’d love to hear from you.

Why Join Us?

Working with us means more than just a role in the guest experience sector. It’s about being part of a team that values well‑being and personal growth. Read our employee experience guide to learn more about life as a Carnival UK colleague.

Here’s What We Offer

• Employee Discounted Cruising plus Friends and Family offers
• Annual bonus
• Minimum 25 days leave, bank holiday allowance and holiday trading scheme
• Extensive learning and development opportunities
• Employee-led networks
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing programmes
• Company paid Health Cash Plan and health assessment
• In-house Occupational Health help and access to digital GP
• Life Assurance
• Parental and adoption leave
• Employee Shares Plan
• Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• Contributory Defined Contribution Pension scheme

Due to the popularity of our roles and our commitment to finding the best talent, we might close applications earlier than advertised. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to become part of a team dedicated to creating unforgettable holiday happiness. Apply today to start your journey with us.

Recruitment Journey

For more information on your recruitment journey, please visit https://bit.ly/CUKCandidateJourney.