Culinary Innovation Manager — Pork Menu Concepts

Pork; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Pork Board is seeking a talented and relationship-focused Manager, Culinary Innovation to turn consumer insights into scalable pork menu applications and product solutions. This role blends culinary creativity with customer engagement and commercial execution.

The Manager will develop innovative pork concepts, manage national and regional foodservice accounts, and collaborate with operators, retailers, processors, chefs and internal teams to drive pork menu adoption and measurable

Qualifications

• Completion of an accredited culinary school or culinary arts program.
• At least five years of professional chef experience.
• Experience with meat fabrication, prep techniques and food safety.
• Experience in recipe development, culinary innovation and client presentations.
• Ability to turn consumer needs into commercial menu concepts.
• Strong project management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience with pork product development or meat research preferred.
• CEC, CCS or similar credentials preferred.
• Travel up to 15-25% domestically.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test and demonstrate pork recipes, preparation methods, differentiated cuts, convenient meal solutions and value-added products.
• Manage select national and regional foodservice accounts, building relationships with culinary, procurement and leadership teams.
• Create customer-specific concepts and account plans that support pork menu placements, expanded distribution and incremental volume.
• Develop chain-ready menu concepts and distributor-ready applications that consider food cost, labor, consistency and scalability.
• Advance innovation in ground pork, global cuisine, grilling, convenient meals and traditional and underutilized pork cuts.
• Partner with Retail Channel Marketing to create customer-specific solutions and scalable culinary resources for retailers and state pork associations.
• Translate consumer insights and audience segmentation into relevant culinary concepts aligned with NPB marketing initiatives.
• Collaborate with packers, processors, meat scientists and food technologists to evaluate product specifications, sensory quality, supply availability and commercialization potential.
• Lead culinary demonstrations, prototype evaluations, customer presentations and industry engagements.
• Oversee the organization, food safety, inventory, equipment and overall readiness of NPB’s culinary facilities.
• Plan and execute culinary experiences for priority customer, producer, Board and staff events.
• Lead culinary projects and coordinate internal teams, external chefs, research partners, agencies and product development resources.

Skills

Culinary leadership

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Meat knowledge

Education

Culinary school degree

Job description

The National Pork Board is seeking a talented and relationship-focused Manager, Culinary Innovation to turn consumer insights into scalable pork menu applications and product solutions. This role blends culinary creativity with customer engagement and commercial execution.

The Manager will develop innovative pork concepts, manage national and regional foodservice accounts, and collaborate with operators, retailers, processors, chefs and internal teams to drive pork menu adoption and measurable