The International Culinary Innovation Manager leads product development and execution of strategic culinary initiatives to strengthen our current business performance and guide future market launches with a focus on Baskin Robbins and other brands as needed. This position will be based in Dubai to support the existing business and future new market growth.
This position will lead and contribute to the development of key Culinary objectives to deliver products that achieve success criteria for consumer, operations & financial goals of the company. This position will play an important part in bringing the International 80/20 strategy to life, including the consumer driven localization of core menu for international markets (80%) and strategic innovation to develop new product platforms (20% when necessary), ensuring International innovation bridges gaps by satisfying consumer needs unmet by existing regional offerings. Additionally, this role will be responsible for developing Baskin-Robbin’s annual flavors of the month and peak season flavors by working with Insights and Brand Experience to create ice cream flavors on the bench and to lead production runs at the local ice cream manufacturer in Dubai.
This individual must be able to navigate and solve for new and complex issues and be able to gain alignment from both internal and franchisee stakeholders as well as communicate effectively with senior and executive leadership. They must excel at converting consumer F&B trends into relevant product opportunities that will drive franchisee profitability. This role will also spend time assisting in Commercialization activities as needed in order to transition menu items from Concept to Consumer

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 4 years Bachelor’s degree in Food Science, Culinary or related degree
• Minimum 5 years Culinary and commercialization experience required
• Restaurant industry relevant experience preferred
• International experience preferred

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS or ABILITIES

• Global Mindset
• Willing and eager to taste and consume a variety of food, including but not limited to seafood, various proteins (beef, poultry, pork), dairy, fruits, nuts, and vegetables
• Ability to objectively taste and articulate constructive feedback on food items sampled
• Team player - good at supporting teams to reach the greater goal
• Experience in recipe creation and have a solid understanding of food safety, supply chain logistics and operations
• Excel at creation of MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents that will be shared with Senior Leadership
• Excellent oral and written communication skills & presentation capabilities
• Ability to change presentation style to suit the audience from both an internal and cultural perspective
• Ability to set goals, determine priorities, plan, organize & follow through on assigned responsibilities
• Ability to make recommendations & decisions in a timely manner
• Ability to work independently & as a member of a team
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
• Accuracy & attention to detail an absolute must
• Highly creative with an ability to be flexible & open to new ideas
• Proven ability to multi-task with little direct supervision
• Demonstrate effective time & project management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills & an understanding of the importance of embracing & fitting into company culture to achieve success with the ability to earn the trust of people devoted to the Inspire way of doing things; empowering people to accept intelligent change as a subtle but effective agent of change

Flexibility to work within an open concept office environment & within established guidelines
Inspire Brands is a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 32,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, and SONIC restaurants worldwide.
We’re made up of some of the world’s most iconic restaurant brands, but we’re much more than just a restaurant company. We’re a team of hundreds of thousands who individually and collectively are changing the way people eat, drink, and gather around the table. We know that food is much more than a staple—it’s an experience. At Inspire, that’s our purpose: to ignite and nourish flavorful experiences

• New Market Launch: Lead and execute in-country consumer testing. Localize products and collaborate with cross functional team to assist with menu strategy, commercialization and procurement
• Core Menu Localization: Work with commercialization, supply chain and regional business teams for core menu item development, localization and optimization requirements
• Annual FOM (Baskin) Innovation: Create and commercialize annual flavors of the month and peak season flavors that will be featured on the annual International Marketing Roadmap that incorporates Consumer Insights and addresses business need states
• Product Innovation and CPG Support: Support new cake and novelty development for Baskin shops as well as retail CPG products as needed; product improvements and new development
• Relationship Management: Both internal and external relationships in order to facilitate alignment and keep engagement high
• Assists with ad hoc projects, presentations, and reports to support the Director, International Brand Experience and Vice President, International Marketing