Director of Business Development - Texas

Director of Business Development – Food Service Management

Build Relationships. Create Opportunities. Drive Growth.

At Whitsons Culinary Group, we're seeking a driven, strategic, and results-oriented Director of Business Development to accelerate growth within our Food Service Management division.

This isn't your typical sales role.

We're looking for a proven business development professional who thrives on creating new opportunities, building influential relationships, and turning complex sales opportunities into long-term partnerships.

If you're passionate about driving new business, engaging executive-level decisionmakers, and winning meaningful contracts, we want to hear from you!

The Opportunity

In this role, you'll lead strategic business development initiatives, expand our market presence, and secure new food service management partnerships.

You'll own the full sales lifecycle, from identifying opportunities and building relationships to developing proposals, negotiating contracts, and driving profitable growth.

What You'll Do

• Drive New Business: Develop and execute strategies to identify, pursue, and secure new food service management contracts.
• Build Strategic Relationships: Engage C-suite executives, school administrators, healthcare leaders, procurement professionals, and other key decision-makers.
• Identify Opportunities Early: Leverage market intelligence, networking, and proactive outreach to uncover potential contracts, upcoming RFPs, and new market opportunities.
• Lead the Sales Process: Manage complex, multi-year sales opportunities, including presentations, proposals, competitive bidding, and contract negotiations.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Partner with Operations, Finance, Culinary, Marketing, and executive leadership to develop customized, financially sound solutions.
• Deliver Results: Build and maintain a strong sales pipeline, achieve revenue targets, and drive sustainable, profitable growth.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of successful B2B business development or contract sales experience within food service management.
• Proven success generating new business and securing complex, multi-year contracts.
• Experience in food service management, contract dining, K-12, higher education, healthcare, senior living, or related outsourced-services industries.
• Strong understanding of RFP processes, contract negotiations, pricing, and financial models.
• Exceptional relationship-building, prospecting, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to manage long sales cycles while consistently developing new opportunities.
• Strong CRM and pipeline management experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, Hospitality, or a related field required; MBA preferred.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

The Mindset We're Looking For

You don't wait for opportunities. You create them.

You're competitive, curious, persistent, and confident building relationships from the ground up. You know how to identify opportunities before they reach the formal bidding process, understand customer challenges, and position your organization to win.

Most importantly, you're motivated by results and take pride in building partnerships that deliver lasting value.

Ready to Make an Impact?

Join Whitsons Culinary Group and play a key role in shaping the future of our Food Service Management business.

If you have the strategic mindset, relationship-building expertise, and proven track record to drive new business growth, we'd love to connect with you!

Apply today and help us build what's next!

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.

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.