Director, International Menu & Product Development

Denny's; Spartanburg (SC); On-site; USD 142,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Denny’s in the United States seeks a senior regional program leader to guide menu strategy, regional offers, and messaging aligned with the brand.

You will coordinate with franchise partners, supply chain teams, and product development to balance local tastes with global standards, ensuring profitable, sustainable sales.

Responsibilities

• Conduct local market evaluations to understand menu and messaging needs.
• Lead local franchise partners to determine best menu and limited-time offers for their market that support Denny’s brand identity.
• Provide guidance with marketing experts to determine the best menu layout and design.
• Support global menu requirements with a balance of local, regional, and US ingredient sourcing.
• Maintain global recipe and photo database by country to protect recipes worldwide.
• Assist franchise partners source ingredients to support US programs where applicable.
• Manage the supply commitment process for franchisee module participation.
• Develop bi-yearly regional ideation sessions to support regional programs.
• Support concept ideation and create recipes meeting cultural expectations of respective countries.
• Refine recipes and ingredient specs to match consumer preferences and manufacturing limits.
• Conduct market visits to identify issues and propose solutions before implementing recipes.
• Verify or refine recipes submitted by international franchisees via New Product Approval.
• Assist Product Innovation/ Product Development team with other duties as assigned.

Job description

Duties and Responsibilities

Conduct local market evaluations to understand the individual needs of that market related to the menu and messaging support needs. Determine where and when regional programs could maximize profits. Lead local franchise partners to determine the best menu and limited-time offers for their market that support Denny’s brand identity and provide profitable sustainable sales. Provide guidance and partner with Denny’s marketing subject matter experts to determine the best menu layout and design. Support global menu requirements with a balance of local, regional, and US ingredient sourcing. Must match all A-level ingredients and find suitable alternatives for ingredients with subsequent levels of proprietary status. Must use Denny’s standard protocol for international ingredient testing. Maintain global recipe and photo database by country, to ensure all Denny’s recipes are protected worldwide and can be assessed by international partners in the event a recipe in one part of the world could be successful in another part. Help franchise partners source ingredients to support US programs where applicable and fill voids where necessary. Manage the supply commitment process for franchisee module participation in conjunction with Denny’s purchasing. Develop bi-yearly regional ideation sessions to support the efficiencies of regional programs as an alternative to an all-US calendar. Support concept ideation of then create recipes that meet the cultural expectations of respective countries. Refine recipes and ingredient specifications to meet the consumer preferences as established through sensory panels and marketing research with special consideration of the ability to successfully execute said recipe within Denny’s operational and manufacturing limitations. Conduct market visits to discover issues and find solutions before a recipe, ingredient, or program is implemented when applicable. Verify or refine recipes submitted by international franchisees through the "New Product Approval" process. Assist Product Innovation/Product Development team with other duties as assigned.

Salary Range

The typical pay range for this role is: Minimum:$142,000.00 - Maximum:$195,800.00 Please note that this range represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade within which the position falls. This job posting is not a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee as the actual pay will take into account a range of factors, including location and experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Denny's Corporation is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military or veteran's status, criminal background, or any other characteristic protected by Federal, State, or local law.

Accommodation

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should contact 864-597-8000. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THIS NUMBER TO CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION.

E-Verify

Denny’s Corporation participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration, and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. For more information on E-Verify, please contact the DHS at 888-897-7781 or dhs.gov/e-verify.

Career Opportunities

A career at Denny’s is open to everyone with a passion for great food, good service and good times. Whether you want to be a cook, a server or work behind the scenes, America’s diner is always open to take your application. Our many great management opportunities allow individuals with strong leadership quality, good communication and people skills, and with a desire to succeed through hard work a chance at a rewarding career! We employ valuable community members and we offer our neighborhood customers friendly, attentive service. At Denny's, we love to feed people.