Job Overview
Employment Type
Full-time
Work Schedule
Standard Hours
Benefits
competitive salary
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Paid Time Off
401(k) Plan
Career development opportunities
Employee Discounts
Job Description
Royal Caribbean Group is a globally recognized leader in the cruise industry, headquartered in Miami, Florida. Renowned for its innovation and commitment to excellence, the company operates some of the most celebrated cruise brands in the world, offering guests extraordinary vacation experiences. With a focus on quality, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement, Royal Caribbean Group fosters a dynamic and inclusive work environment where employees are encouraged to grow and thrive.
The company prides itself on combining career development opportunities with a sense of adventure, making it an ideal workplace for those passionate about the hospitality and cruise sectors. By joining Royal Caribbean Group, employees gain access to competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits packages, and unique career paths that span the globe.
The Manager Culinary Development & Operations role is a critical leadership position within Royal Caribbean Group’s Food & Beverage division. This full-time, on-site role located at Royal Caribbean Headquarters in Miami offers a competitive salary and the chance to lead enterprise-level culinary strategies for onboard dining experiences across the fleet. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Culinary Operations & Excellence, the Manager Culinary Development & Operations is entrusted with driving culinary innovation, operational excellence, and standardization to ensure all dining offerings meet the brand’s high standards and delight guests.
This role encompasses developing new culinary concepts and scaling them across the fleet in alignment with brand positioning and guest expectations. The incumbent plays a pivotal role in menu ideation, product testing, and validation, overseeing the entire lifecycle from concept to execution. In addition, the Manager leads cross-functional collaborations with departments such as Operations, Product Development, Procurement, Finance, and Marketing, ensuring that culinary initiatives align with overall business objectives.
A major focus of the position is continuous improvement, involving the strategic evaluation of existing menus and food offerings to identify opportunities to enhance guest satisfaction and optimize cost efficiency. The role demands strong financial accountability, including managing margins, reducing waste, and ensuring consistent product quality fleet-wide. Furthermore, the Manager is responsible for maintaining precise documentation, including recipe development, costing analyses, and culinary photography, to support effective tracking and evaluation of all projects.
Leadership and talent development are central to this position. The Manager Culinary Development & Operations leads and coaches a team of culinary professionals, fostering a collaborative culture rooted in accountability, innovation, and operational excellence. By building a strong bench of talent and succession pathways, the role helps ensure the long-term sustainability of culinary leadership within the company.
Additional responsibilities include overseeing culinary standards for special menus, events, and VIP programs, supporting galley design and equipment decisions, and representing the brand at culinary industry events. The position involves up to 25% travel to support fleet implementation and key initiatives.
Royal Caribbean Group commits to providing equal employment opportunities and upholding a respectful and inclusive workplace. This role offers a unique blend of strategic influence, creativity, and operational management within a prestigious global hospitality leader, making it an exciting opportunity for seasoned culinary professionals seeking to make a significant impact within the cruise industry.
The company prides itself on combining career development opportunities with a sense of adventure, making it an ideal workplace for those passionate about the hospitality and cruise sectors. By joining Royal Caribbean Group, employees gain access to competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits packages, and unique career paths that span the globe.
The Manager Culinary Development & Operations role is a critical leadership position within Royal Caribbean Group’s Food & Beverage division. This full-time, on-site role located at Royal Caribbean Headquarters in Miami offers a competitive salary and the chance to lead enterprise-level culinary strategies for onboard dining experiences across the fleet. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Culinary Operations & Excellence, the Manager Culinary Development & Operations is entrusted with driving culinary innovation, operational excellence, and standardization to ensure all dining offerings meet the brand’s high standards and delight guests.
This role encompasses developing new culinary concepts and scaling them across the fleet in alignment with brand positioning and guest expectations. The incumbent plays a pivotal role in menu ideation, product testing, and validation, overseeing the entire lifecycle from concept to execution. In addition, the Manager leads cross-functional collaborations with departments such as Operations, Product Development, Procurement, Finance, and Marketing, ensuring that culinary initiatives align with overall business objectives.
A major focus of the position is continuous improvement, involving the strategic evaluation of existing menus and food offerings to identify opportunities to enhance guest satisfaction and optimize cost efficiency. The role demands strong financial accountability, including managing margins, reducing waste, and ensuring consistent product quality fleet-wide. Furthermore, the Manager is responsible for maintaining precise documentation, including recipe development, costing analyses, and culinary photography, to support effective tracking and evaluation of all projects.
Leadership and talent development are central to this position. The Manager Culinary Development & Operations leads and coaches a team of culinary professionals, fostering a collaborative culture rooted in accountability, innovation, and operational excellence. By building a strong bench of talent and succession pathways, the role helps ensure the long-term sustainability of culinary leadership within the company.
Additional responsibilities include overseeing culinary standards for special menus, events, and VIP programs, supporting galley design and equipment decisions, and representing the brand at culinary industry events. The position involves up to 25% travel to support fleet implementation and key initiatives.
Royal Caribbean Group commits to providing equal employment opportunities and upholding a respectful and inclusive workplace. This role offers a unique blend of strategic influence, creativity, and operational management within a prestigious global hospitality leader, making it an exciting opportunity for seasoned culinary professionals seeking to make a significant impact within the cruise industry.
Job Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts or related field preferred
- equivalent experience considered
- 5-7 years of progressive culinary leadership experience in high-volume premium hospitality environments such as cruise line resort hotel or comparable
- Demonstrated multi-unit or enterprise-level experience preferred
- Proven experience leading teams driving cross-functional initiatives and balancing innovation with operational execution
- Strong business acumen with experience influencing cost margin and operational performance
- Ability to travel up to 25 percent as required
Job Qualifications
- 5-7 years of progressive culinary leadership experience in high-volume premium hospitality environments such as cruise line resort hotel or comparable
- Demonstrated multi-unit or enterprise-level experience preferred
- Proven experience leading teams driving cross-functional initiatives and balancing innovation with operational execution
- Strong business acumen with experience influencing cost margin and operational performance
- Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts or related field preferred
- equivalent experience considered
- Cruise line experience preferred
- Strategic and systems oriented thinking
- People leadership and talent development
- Strong financial and operational acumen
- Executive-level communication and influence
- Data-informed decision making
- Ability to manage multiple enterprise initiatives concurrently
Job Duties
- Lead the development and evolution of culinary concepts including island complimentary charters and for pay restaurants along with island menus and recipes aligned with brand positioning guest experience goals and operational feasibility from inception to food tastings and approvals
- Own culinary input for new builds revitalizations and enterprise initiatives such as Supper Club Aqua-Dome and future brand initiatives
- Guide product ideation prototyping testing validation and scale-up for limited-time introductions and full fleet launches
- Provide final culinary recommendations on product readiness performance and scalability
- Oversee food and beverage initiatives for both on and off premises events including food preparation and plating for marketing charity or run of shows or attending approved food innovation and equipment shows
- Lead fleet-wide culinary implementation efforts partnering with shipboard and shoreside leadership to ensure consistent execution of new concepts menus and processes
- Establish and govern culinary development standards SOPs and gold-standard benchmarks
- Oversee recipe documentation costing integrity and technical specifications to ensure consistency and compliance across the fleet
- Serve as culinary subject matter expert for gold standard evaluations identifying non-conformities and partnering with Procurement and Operations on corrective actions
- Drive culinary decisions that support targeted profitability and influence enterprise food costs across the fleet
- Partner with team to assess margin waste yield cost of sales and labor implications of menu and concept changes
- Include waste reduction initiatives data accuracy and continuous improvement programs that improve efficiency and reduce losses for all new and continuous improvement projects
- Develop menu strategies to mitigate slow-moving inventory and improve overall product performance
- Lead coach and develop culinary development team members setting clear performance expectations and development plans
- Build bench strength and succession pathways for future culinary leaders for shoreside team
- Foster a culture of accountability collaboration innovation and operational excellence within the culinary development function
- Partner closely with Product Development Food and Beverage Operations Procurement Supply Chain Marketing and Design to deliver integrated culinary solutions
- Represent Culinary Development in enterprise reviews leadership forums and brand initiatives
- Communicate culinary strategy outcomes and risks clearly to senior leadership translating technical details into business and guest impact
- Ensure culinary standards meet or exceed USPH food safety and regulatory requirements
- Uphold brand integrity through disciplined execution training and audit readiness across the fleet
- Oversee culinary training content and SOP development to support consistent onboard execution
- Provide oversight for special menus groups charters and VIP culinary programs
- Oversee crew food program standards and continuous improvement initiatives
- Maintain accurate and complete documentation of product reviews recipe development iterations costing analyses and photography
- Support galley design and equipment decisions related to culinary functionality and workflow
- Represent the brand at approved food equipment and industry events and lead culinary demonstrations and activations as required
- Travel up to 25 percent to support fleet implementation testing and key initiatives
- Perform other duties as required
Job Criteria
Experience
Expert Level (7+ years)
Job Location
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