Director of Food and Beverage Walmart AMP

About Us

At Walton Arts Center/Walmart AMP, we strive to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come, to stay and do their best work. We pride ourselves on bringing the best Arts and Entertainment to our audiences in Northwest Arkansas, and we know our organization runs on the hard work and dedication of our passionate and creative employees.

Our organizations’ dedication to promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion is clearly reflected in our values: Relevance; Inclusivity; Sustainability; Excellence. Diversity is a commitment at Walton Arts Center/Walmart AMP.  We are fully focused on equity and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin and all the other fascinating characteristics that make us unique.

Position Overview

The Director of Food & Beverage is responsible for oversight of the Food and Beverage operations at the 11,000 seat Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (Rogers, AR) and the 1,200 seat Walton Arts Center (Fayetteville, AR). Ideal candidate should have strong knowledge & years of experience in managing large venue’s multimillion-dollar food and beverage operations including concessions, catering, branded concepts, maximizing POS and retail merchandising. Provides leadership that fosters a team-oriented culture with focus on quality and variety of service to patrons, revenue growth year-over-year, positive vendor relationships and an employee experience that leads to high levels of retention. To ensure communication within the department is inclusive and focused on achieving the objectives of the F&B Department including; Financial forecasting and assessment to ensure future goals are set and responsibility for defining, enforcing and emulating customer service and product standards.

Principal Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

• Manage day-to-day $3 million F&B operations within budgeted guidelines and WAC/AMP policies and standards
• Establish an operational plan for all aspects of Food & Beverage for concerts and events (internal and external), including:
  • Management of F&B staff including but not limited to, hiring, training and development, scheduling, time keeping and any required corrective or disciplinary action
  • Oversight of F&B management team including a Manager at each venue, with additional structure to be determined in consultation with the new F&B Director once hired
  • Development of menus, portions and pricing
  • Oversee the venues’ day-to-day functions, including guest interactions, office administration duties, vendor communications, and labor costs
  • Oversee third-party concessionaires on property; help curate and approve their menus that provide an appealing variety and competitive pricing for patrons
  • Oversee inventory, purchasing goods and continually making necessary improvements to operations as menu items or offerings change to maximize sales
  • Maintain responsibility for retail sales, and profit goals while promoting the company goals of customer service and satisfaction, teamwork, reporting requirements and financial performance
• Preserve excellent levels of internal and external customer service for patrons, vendors, staff, and artists of the Walmart AMP.  Identify catering  clients’ and artists’ needs and respond proactively to all of their requests
• Identify and make recommendations on trends and expected consumption of both food and alcohol for the venue
• Lead the F&B team, third-party concessionaires, food and beverage vendors and third-party staffing companies by attracting, recruiting, training and appraising talented personnel in the areas of concessions, catering, and bar operations
• Oversee the development of work plans, venue setups, and assigns appropriate duties to F&B department employees
• Oversee operations of sponsor/donor lounges at both venues; supervise caterers and/or execute catering required in-house for such functions.  Schedule staff accordingly
• Establish targets, KPI’s, schedules, policies and procedures for the Food and Beverage Department
• Provide two-way communication with all other departments and nurture an environment with emphasis in motivation and teamwork
• Inspect retail food service locations to ensure equipment and building meet state, local health laws and internal regulations. Oversee and coordinate third party concessionaire compliance with all health and safety regulations for kitchen and concessions operations
• Report to management regarding sales results and productivity.  Analyze F&B department monthly P&L statements, executes corrective action plans as necessary
• Evaluate venue policies and procedures and recommend improvements to better reflect the needs of the Client and the venue and/or to improve the efficiency and safety of operations, in compliance with organization standard operating procedures
• Maintain current job descriptions within department
• Work with F&B sponsors to maximize exposure in the venues, while maintaining budgeted profit margins
• Analyze and communicate information concerning retail operations such as daily food sales vs goals, patron attendance, food, liquor and labor costs to determine event profitability
• Manage the POS systems and accounting software programs to ensure proper sales and costs accounting
• Approve invoices per company policy
• Ensure compliance to product ordering, receiving and inventory control, (all F&B areas) within company/department procedures
• Maintain current and accurate standard operating procedural manuals to include: service standards, cash handling procedures, menu item preparation, specifications, safety and security, purchasing, ordering, receiving, stocking, requisitioning and internal audit policies
• Respond to guest inquiries, complaints in a professional and urgent manner
• Perform related duties as assigned by General Manager
• Support/embrace company service philosophy and standards