Director of Business Development - Illinois

Whitsons Culinary Group; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Whitsons Culinary Group is seeking a results-driven Director of Business Development to accelerate growth in its Food Service Management division. You will own the full sales lifecycle, identify opportunities, develop proposals, negotiate contracts, and drive profitable growth by engaging C-suite executives and key decision-makers.

The role emphasizes strategic development, market expansion, and forming long-term partnerships across education, healthcare, and related outsourcedサービス sectors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, sales, marketing, hospitality or related field is required.

Responsibilities

• Drive new business by identifying and pursuing food service management contracts.
• Build strategic relationships with executives, school administrators, healthcare leaders, and procurement professionals.
• Lead complex, multi-year sales opportunities from proposals to contract negotiations.
• Collaborate across Operations, Finance, Culinary, Marketing and Leadership to develop solutions.
• Maintain a strong sales pipeline and achieve revenue targets.

Skills

Executive-level presentations

Negotiation skills

CRM discipline

Pipeline management

Relationship-building

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

MBA preferred

Tools

CRM platforms

Microsoft Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Outlook

Job description

Director of Business Development - Illinois

#17599

Requisition Number

17599

Location

Chicago

Job Description

DirectorofBusinessDevelopment–FoodServiceManagement

BuildRelationships.CreateOpportunities.DriveGrowth.

AtWhitsonsCulinaryGroup,we'reseekingadriven,strategic,andresults-orientedDirectorofBusinessDevelopmenttoaccelerategrowthwithinourFoodServiceManagementdivision.

Thisisn'tyourtypicalsalesrole.

We'relookingforaprovenbusinessdevelopmentprofessionalwhothrivesoncreatingnewopportunities,buildinginfluentialrelationships,andturningcomplexsalesopportunitiesintolong-termpartnerships.

Ifyou'repassionateaboutdrivingnewbusiness,engagingexecutive-leveldecisionmakers,andwinningmeaningfulcontracts,wewanttohearfromyou!

TheOpportunity

Inthisrole,you'llleadstrategicbusinessdevelopmentinitiatives,expandourmarketpresence,andsecurenewfoodservicemanagementpartnerships.

You'llownthefullsaleslifecycle,fromidentifyingopportunitiesandbuildingrelationshipstodevelopingproposals,negotiatingcontracts,anddrivingprofitablegrowth.

WhatYou'llDo

• DriveNewBusiness:Developandexecutestrategiestoidentify,pursue,andsecurenewfoodservicemanagementcontracts.
• BuildStrategicRelationships:EngageC-suiteexecutives,schooladministrators,healthcareleaders,procurementprofessionals,andotherkeydecision-makers.
• IdentifyOpportunitiesEarly:Leveragemarketintelligence,networking,andproactiveoutreachtouncoverpotentialcontracts,upcomingRFPs,andnewmarketopportunities.
• LeadtheSalesProcess:Managecomplex,multi-yearsalesopportunities,includingpresentations,proposals,competitivebidding,andcontractnegotiations.
• CollaborateAcrossTeams:PartnerwithOperations,Finance,Culinary,Marketing,andexecutiveleadershiptodevelopcustomized,financiallysoundsolutions.
• DeliverResults:Buildandmaintainastrongsalespipeline,achieverevenuetargets,anddrivesustainable,profitablegrowth.

WhatWe'reLookingFor

• 5+yearsofsuccessfulB2Bbusinessdevelopmentorcontractsalesexperiencewithinfoodservicemanagement.
• Provensuccessgeneratingnewbusinessandsecuringcomplex,multi-yearcontracts.
• Experienceinfoodservicemanagement,contractdining,K-12,highereducation,healthcare,seniorliving,orrelatedoutsourced-servicesindustries.
• StrongunderstandingofRFPprocesses,contractnegotiations,pricing,andfinancialmodels.
• Exceptionalrelationship-building,prospecting,presentation,andnegotiationskills.
• Abilitytomanagelongsalescycleswhileconsistentlydevelopingnewopportunities.
• StrongCRMandpipelinemanagementexperience.
• Bachelor'sdegreeinBusiness,Sales,Marketing,Hospitality,orarelatedfieldrequired;MBApreferred.
• Willingnesstotravelupto50%.

TheMindsetWe'reLookingFor

Youdon'twaitforopportunities.Youcreatethem.

You'recompetitive,curious,persistent,andconfidentbuildingrelationshipsfromthegroundup.Youknowhowtoidentifyopportunitiesbeforetheyreachtheformalbiddingprocess,understandcustomerchallenges,andpositionyourorganizationtowin.

Mostimportantly,you'remotivatedbyresultsandtakeprideinbuildingpartnershipsthatdeliverlastingvalue.

ReadytoMakeanImpact?

JoinWhitsonsCulinaryGroupandplayakeyroleinshapingthefutureofourFoodServiceManagementbusiness.

This role offers a salary range of $100,000 – $175,000 annually, based on skills, experience, and location. Employees also receive a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, and time off.

Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in business, Sales, Marketing, Hospitality or a related field is required.
• MBA preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of successful B2B business development or contract sales experience within food service management.
• Experience in food service management, contract dining, K-12, higher education, healthcare, behavioral health, senior living, residential services, hospitality, facilities management, or another outsourced-services industry strongly preferred. Demonstrated success developing and closing complex, multi-year contracts.
• Experience working with RFPs and formal procurement processes.
• Strong executive-level presentation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to understand financial models, pricing, margins, labor assumptions, food costs, and contract structures.
• Strong prospecting and relationship-development skills.
• Ability to manage a long and complex sales cycle while continuously building future pipeline.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong CRM discipline and accountability for pipeline activity.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Business Development & Revenue Growth – Drives revenue through long-range sales strategies, new business acquisition, strategic partnerships, and expansion across food service sectors.
• Customer & Account Management – Builds influential relationships with partners to drive retention, profitability, and long-term value.
• Data-Driven Category Strategy – Leverages syndicated data and market insights to inform fact-based selling, category growth strategies, and innovation opportunities.
• Executive Communication & Negotiation – Leads complex negotiations and communicates with clarity and confidence across senior internal and external stakeholders.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Familiarity with CRM platforms for pipeline management and reporting.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER DETAILS

Expected Hours of Work:
This is a full-time exempt position. Standard work hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., with flexibility required to meet the demands of a sales leadership role. Extended hours, evenings, or weekends may be necessary during peak business cycles or travel periods.

Travel Requirements:
Up to 50% travel is required to support regional operations, customer engagement, trade events, and leadership meetings.

Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the team member is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk, and hear; use hands and fingers to feel, handle, or operate objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus

Work Environment:
The work is performed primarily in a company or home-office setting. The noise level in the company work environment is moderate. The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work and duties that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duty does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, or a logical assignment to the position, and the Company reserves the right to add additional duties or modify existing duties.

Work Schedule

Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Salary Target

$100,000 – $175,000

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