Director, Food & Beverage - Olympic & Paralympic Games

On Location; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; CAD 160,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

On Location is seeking a Senior Director of Catering Services to lead planning, contracts and mobilization for premier hospitality programs at LA28 Olympics and Paralympics. You will oversee multi-venue catering, manage service providers, and drive operational readiness with risk and safety compliance.

The role requires 10+ years in international sport events or premium hospitality, with domestic relocation to Los Angeles and strong leadership and procurement experience.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in large scale international sport events, premium hospitality or catering operations.
• Based in/relocation to Los Angeles, CA, with willingness to travel as needed.
• Experience delivering a major Food and Beverage Programme to high standards within fixed budgets and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement catering strategy and operations across multiple venues.
• Lead recruitment and staff training for designated venues and workforce.
• Manage venue teams, contractors and service providers to meet staffing plans and service levels.
• Oversee procurement, tendering, contracting, product specs, menus, and related legal documents.

Skills

Large scale events

Catering operations

Staffing planning

Contract management

Leadership

Budget management

Vendor coordination

Project management

Tools

Microsoft Office

Cloud-based programs

Job description

Who We Are:

On Location is a global leader in premium experiential hospitality, offering ticketing, curated guest experiences, live event production and travel management across sports, entertainment, fashion and culture. On Location provides unrivaled access for corporate clients and fans looking for official, immersive experiences at marquee events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games, FIFA World Cup 2026, Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and more. An official partner and/or service provider to over 150 iconic rights holders, such as the IOC (the Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games), FIFA, NFL, NCAA, UFC, WWE, and PGA of America, the company also owns and operates a number of its own unique experiences. On Location is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO owns iconic properties including UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization; WWE, the global leader in sports entertainment; and PBR, the world’s premier bull riding organization. Together, these properties reach 1 billion households across 210 countries and territories and organize more than 500 live events year-round, attracting more than three million fans. TKO also services and partners with major sports rights holders through IMG, an industry-leading global sports marketing agency; and On Location, a global leader in premium experiential hospitality.

The Role

The Director will be part of the On Location Event Production department. This role will be responsible for the project planning, contract management, mobilization, operational delivery, and demobilization of catering services for the Official On Location Hospitality Programmes for the LA28 Olympics and Paralympics. The Senior Manager, Catering Services reports to this role.

• During the planning phase, the Director will be responsible for managing multiple catering contracts across multiple venues, while assisting with development and implementation of the catering strategy and concept of operations across all competition venues, as well as focusing in on one or more of the specific and specialist planning elements for the overall project.
• During the Operational Phase, the role will evolve into an operational role and manage the Catering Operation team at competition venue level with the site venue management of the hospitality catering operations, catering service providers and On Location venue team.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

Strategy

• Support development and implementation of the catering strategy, concept of operations, service levels, and product specifications for the Official Hospitality Programmes.
• Conduct local and international market research to inform programme decisions.
• Lead recruitment for designated venues and support venue-team training and Catering Service Provider workforce training.
• Direct and monitor venue teams to ensure delivery against staffing plans, business objectives, and On Location standards.
• Support procurement, tendering, contracting, product specifications, menus, staffing ratios, scopes of work, and related legal documentation.
• Evaluate proposals and commercial terms, support negotiations, and provide recommendations to the Senior Leadership Procurement Committee.
• Manage supplier timelines, deliverables, risk obligations, and budgets from award through completion.
• Coordinate FOH/BOH space, infrastructure, utilities, equipment, licensing, permits, and stakeholder approvals.
• Develop venue SOPs, operational narratives, runsheets, policies, and procedures.
• Identify opportunities to improve hospitality product delivery and client experience.
• Track project milestones, workstreams, risks, and deliverables, ensuring Catering Service Provider compliance with health, safety, food safety, hygiene, and legal requirements.
• Support provider workshops and report project progress to the VP, Olympic and Paralympic Event Production and Venue Management.
• Resolve guest and client complaints and service issues; escalate unresolved or cross-venue risks to the VP.
• Ensure operational readiness, standby coverage, pre-event risk and safety checks, allergen controls, and timely issue closeout.
• Establish venue reporting systems and consolidate live-day readiness, operational service, KPI, consumption, reconciliation, issue-log, and risk-assessment reports.

REQUIREMENTS

In order to perform this job successfully, the candidate must be able to perform each essential duty above at the highest levels. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

You Have These

• Minimum 10 years of experience in large scale international sport events preferably in the field of premium hospitality, catering operations
• Presently resides (or wiling to relocate) to Los Angeles, CA.
• Good knowledge of international and localized food and beverage cultures relating to hospitality services at major sporting events
• Experience of working in both a stadium environment and temporary hospitality structure
• Ability to design and deliver a major Food and Beverage Programme to the highest of standards within fixed budgets and timelines
• Experience and understanding of front and back of house operations involved in delivering high quality hospitality guest experience
• An in-depth understanding and experience of international event catering procurement and contract management from tender design to execution
• Ability to coordinate operational teams composed of direct reports, multiple contractors and services suppliers in delivering high level hospitality programmes

We’d Love If You Also Have These

• Experience interacting with exacting, high profile clients and protocols for Games Family and Heads of State
• Experience in working in a multi-cultural organisation and with international stakeholders such as Government Organisations, Sporting Federations and Local Organising Committees
• Ability to work calmly under pressure and meet multiple deadlines. Meticulous attention to detail
• Flexible in a constantly evolving environment with good proactive problem-solving skills Strong project management and time management skills
• Good administration and IT skills including Microsoft Office and Cloud based Programmes Strong verbal and written communications skills
• Excellent team leader and developer of junior management team

COMPENSATION

Competitive salary, commensurate with job position and experience.

On Location is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or genetic information.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of the employee’s activities, duties, or responsibilities for this job. Duties, obligations, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the hourly rate shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience. The company strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Rate Minimum:

$112,500 annually (minimum will not fall below the applicable State/local minimum salary thresholds)

Hiring Rate Maximum:

$150,000 annually

TKO is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding non-discrimination in employment. TKO makes employment decisions based on merit and qualifications, without considering an employee’s or applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited under federal, state or local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the Company has facilities. TKO also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable state or local laws. For information about Privacy and Information Security for TKO employment candidates, please review our Privacy Policy. For information regarding Terms of Use for this and other TKO websites, please review our Terms of Use.