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Posted May 15, 2025
PURPLE

Senior Account Director (Food & Beverage)

PURPLE
New York, NY, USA ⚠ [Archived] No Longer Accepting Applicants
Compensation: $110,000 to $125,000 Annually

Application Deadline: 23 May 2025

Department: Lifestyle

Location: PURPLE New York

Compensation: $110,000 - $125,000 / year

Description

We seek a Senior Account Director with an insatiable passion for food, mixology, and the magic of hospitality to lead high-profile restaurant, bar, and beverage accounts. You’ll blend PR strategy with creative genius to launch Michelin-starred concepts, curate immersive dining experiences, and turn chefs into household names. If you live for the buzz of a packed restaurant opening and dream in press headlines, this is your stage.

Key Responsibilities

Culinary Storytelling & Campaign Leadership

  • Design bold PR strategies for celebrity chefs, luxury hotel F&B programs, and emerging drink brands.
  • Brainstorm experiential campaigns—think pop-ups in unexpected locales, chef-artist collaborations, or viral cocktail competitions.
  • Craft narratives that transcend food: Position clients as cultural icons (e.g., linking Francis Mallmann’s fire feasts to sustainability trends).

Media Mastery

  • Secure coverage in top-tier food, lifestyle, and business outlets (NY Times Food, Eater, Food & Wine, Bloomberg Pursuits).
  • Cultivate relationships with critics, editors, and influencers who shape dining trends.
  • Leverage global agency networks to amplify stories across APAC, EMEA, and Americas markets.

Client Partnership

  • Serve as a trusted advisor to restaurant groups, chefs, hotel groups, and beverage innovators.
  • Navigate high-stakes moments: restaurant openings, crisis comms (e.g., supply chain scandals), and brand reinventions.

Team Mentorship & Growth

  • Lead a team of account managers and creatives, fostering a culture of curiosity and precision.
  • Collaborate with in-house content creators, social media strategists, and event producers to deliver 360° campaigns.

New Business Innovation

  • Identify and pitch prospects in emerging spaces: non-alcoholic spirits, farm-to-table tech, and Web3 dining experiences.
  • Develop proposals that showcase creative flair and ROI-driven results.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

  • 8–10+ years in PR/communications, with 5+ years focused on restaurants, beverages, or luxury hospitality (agency experience mandatory).
  • Portfolio of campaigns that generated national headlines, awards, or viral buzz.
  • Rolodex of top food critics, editors (e.g., Pete Wells, Helen Rosner), and influencer-chefs.
  • Deep understanding of culinary trends (e.g., regenerative dining, zero-proof mixology) and the media landscape.
  • Passion for creative risk-taking: You’ve pitched a client’s tasting menu as performance art or turned a bar into a NFT gallery.
  • Bachelor’s degree in PR, Journalism, Culinary Arts, or related field.