Director of Concessions Planning

Unison Consulting, Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Unison Consulting, Inc. in Chicago seeks a Director of Concessions Planning to shape airport concession programs and the financial models that prove they work. You will design solutions for revenue-maximizing space, lease structures, and vendor selection while advising senior leaders.

Based on 7+ years in large-venue concessions planning, you will lead end-to-end studies, define methodologies, coordinate with clients, and deliver polished reports that drive airport outcomes.

Qualifications

• 7+ years planning, developing, and implementing F&B and retail concession programs in large venues.
• A bachelor's degree or higher.
• Deep experience in vendor solicitation, contract/lease negotiation, space planning, and revenue optimization.
• Strong financial modeling instincts to turn assumptions into pro formas and defend recommendations.
• Current knowledge of concession trends and consumer preferences in quick-serve, casual dining, and coffee.
• Excellent written and verbal communication to advise senior executives.

Responsibilities

• Build financial models behind concession programs: pro formas, break-even, cost-benefit, IRR, NPV, and ROI metrics.
• Design space plans, operator selection criteria, rent structures, and pricing policies.
• Own concession planning studies end to end: define the problem, set the methodology, coordinate execution with clients and practice leaders, and deliver polished final reports.
• Shape solicitations and agreements - RFPs, RFQs, Lease and License Agreements - and negotiate terms that work for the airport and its operators.
• Advise airport staff, senior leaders, and public stakeholders through presentations, outreach meetings, and written recommendations.
• Help grow the practice - track consumer and concession-industry trends, spot new opportunities, and strengthen competitive proposals.

Skills

Concessions planning

Financial modeling

Vendor solicitation

Contract & lease negotiation

Space planning

Revenue optimization

Presentation skills

Client advisory

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Unison Consulting, Inc., a Paslay Group company, has spent more than 37 years helping airports navigate their most complex challenges. From finance and economics to concessions and strategic planning, we've advised over 150 airports, including 18 of the 25 busiest within the U.S., and earned a reputation for bringing genuinely new thinking to an industry that rewards it. That reputation is built entirely by our people: curious, driven, and unafraid to challenge how things have always been done.

Shape What Millions Of Travelers Experience Before They Fly

Every coffee grabbed before a red-eye, every sit-down meal between connections, every last-minute gift bought at the gate is part of an airport's concessions program - and it's one of the biggest levers an airport has to grow non-aeronautical revenue while making the passenger experience better. As Director of Concessions Planning at Unison, you decide how that program comes together.

Working alongside our team supporting Chicago O'Hare and Midway, you'll design the concession programs that shape what travelers see, eat, and buy - and the financial models that prove those programs work. When an airport needs to know which mix of quick-serve, casual dining, and retail will maximize revenue and delight passengers, or how to structure a lease that protects the airport and attracts strong operators, your analysis and recommendations are what leadership acts on.

What You'll Do

• Build the financial models behind concession programs - pro formas, break-even scenarios, cost-benefit analyses, and IRR, NPV, and ROI metrics.
• Design space plans, operator selection criteria, rent structures, and pricing policies that maximize revenue and elevate the passenger experience.
• Own concession planning studies end to end: define the problem, set the methodology, coordinate execution with clients and practice leaders, and deliver polished final reports.
• Shape solicitations and agreements - RFPs, RFQs, Lease and License Agreements - and negotiate terms that work for the airport and its operators.
• Advise airport staff, senior leaders, and public stakeholders through presentations, outreach meetings, and written recommendations.
• Help grow the practice - track consumer and concession-industry trends, spot new opportunities, and strengthen competitive proposals.

What You Bring

• 7+ years planning, developing, and implementing F&B and retail concession programs in large commercial venues (airports, malls, sporting venues, theme parks, or similar).
• A bachelor's degree or higher.
• Real depth in the full lifecycle: vendor solicitation, contract and lease negotiation, infrastructure and space planning, and revenue optimization.
• Strong financial modeling instincts - you can turn assumptions into pro formas and a defensible recommendation.
• A current read on concession trends and consumer preferences, including quick-serve, casual dining, and coffee concepts.
• The communication and presentation skills to advise senior client executives and earn their trust, in writing and in the room.

Why Unison

We want you to realize your full potential - real impact on the work, real space for personal growth. We believe in empowering our people to be innovators, and it shows: our average employee tenure is close to 20 years. People come here and build careers.

Our principals and senior staff have held leadership roles at major airports, airlines, and the FAA, and they stay hands-on with every engagement. You'll work alongside them as a recognized expert, with the autonomy to own your analysis and shape how the work gets done. We're guided by principles we actually live by: Excellence, Passion, Loyalty to Clients, Stewardship, Family, Community, Sustainability, and Inclusion.

The Details

• Location: On-site at client offices in Chicago, IL, near O'Hare International Airport.
• Compensation: $125,000 – $150,000 annually, based on applicable airport knowledge.

Physical & Environmental Requirements

While performing this role, you must have ordinary ambulatory skills to move around the office and visit other locations. You should be able to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and manipulate light to medium weights (10-50 pounds). Good hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and visual acuity are required for keyboard work and reading technical documentation. You will frequently sit, reach with hands and arms, talk, and listen.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodations

Unison Consulting is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.

Unison Consulting will provide reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.