Manager, Culinary Innovation

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

Job summary

The National Pork Board seeks a 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, driving pork menu adoption across national and regional accounts.

The position is based in Des Moines, IA, with regular travel. Requirements include an accredited culinary school and at least five years as a chef, plus experience with meat fabrication, recipe

Qualifications

• Accredited culinary school completed.
• Minimum five years as a chef or similar culinary role.
• Experience with meat fabrication, preparation techniques and food safety.
• Proven ability to develop recipes and prototypes for customers.
• Ability to translate consumer and customer needs into menu applications and solutions.
• Strong project management, communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience with pork product development or related fields preferred.
• CEC, CCS or similar credentials preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test and demonstrate pork recipes, preparation methods and value-added products.
• Manage select national and regional foodservice accounts.
• Create customer-specific concepts and account plans for pork placements and distribution.
• Develop chain-ready concepts and distributor-ready applications.
• Advance innovation in ground pork, global cuisine and convenient meals.
• Partner with Retail Channel Marketing for customer-specific culinary resources.
• Translate consumer insights into relevant culinary concepts aligned with marketing initiatives.
• Collaborate with packers, meat scientists and technologists to evaluate specs and scale-up potential.
• Lead culinary demonstrations, prototypes and customer presentations.
• Oversee culinary facilities, food safety and inventory readiness.

Skills

Chef experience

Meat fabrication

Recipe development

Consumer insights

Cross-functional

Project management

Pork product dev

Culinary credentials

Education

Accredited culinary school

Job description

The National Pork Board is seeking a talented and relationship-focused Manager, Culinary Innovation to turn consumer insights and marketplace opportunities into scalable pork menu applications and product solutions.

This role combines culinary creativity, customer engagement and commercial execution. The Manager will develop innovative pork concepts, manage relationships with select national and regional foodservice accounts, and collaborate with operators, retailers, processors, distributors, chefs and internal teams to increase pork menu adoption and generate measurable demand.

Key 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.

Requirements

• Completion of an accredited culinary school or culinary arts program.
• At least five years of professional experience as a chef, sous chef, executive chef, corporate chef or in a similar culinary role.
• Professional experience working with meat, including fabrication, preparation techniques and food safety.
• Demonstrated experience in recipe development, culinary innovation, prototyping and customer presentations.
• Ability to translate consumer and customer needs into commercially realistic menu applications and product solutions.
• Strong project management, communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience with pork, culinary product development, food or protein research and development, or commercial food manufacturing is preferred.
• Familiarity with meat science, sensory evaluation, processing constraints, product specifications and commercial scale-up is a plus.
• CEC, CCS or similar professional credentials are preferred.

Location and Travel

This position is based on-site at the National Pork Board headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. Regular domestic travel of approximately 15–25% is expected for customer meetings, processor collaboration, culinary demonstrations, research partnerships and industry events.

The role requires the ability to work in professional kitchen, demonstration and office environments; stand for extended periods; safely operate culinary equipment; and lift or carry food products, supplies and demonstration materials as needed.

Full-time starting salary range is $95K-$120K. Please note: This starting range is based on a general market pay assessment. However, individual salary decisions take into account a variety of factors including but not limited to: business and local market considerations, internal equity, and overall candidate skills, education and experience.

Application deadline is November 27th. We may speak to qualified candidates prior to the deadline.

The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management. Applicants should be able to support the mission of the organization with enthusiasm to serve U.S. pork producers.

The National Pork Board, an equal opportunity employer, offers an exceptional benefits package and work environment.