Global F&B Concept Development Lead

Job Description

What you'll bring to the team

At Merlin, we bring joy, create connections and make memories for millions of guests every year across our world-famous attractions. Behind the scenes, we are constantly evolving how those experiences come to life, including how guests eat, drink and connect with our brands.

That is where you come in.

We are looking for a Global F&B Concept Development Lead to shape and deliver innovative, scalable dining experiences across our attractions, hotels and resorts worldwide. This is a global role focused on turning insight, creativity and strategy into concepts that drive guest satisfaction, increase spend and deliver strong commercial returns.

Working closely with our F&B, Brand, Marketing and Operations teams, you will lead the development of concepts from idea through to execution. In simple terms, you will create experiences that guests love, ensure they are operationally viable and build the commercial frameworks that make them successful at scale.

This role sits at the intersection of strategy and delivery. One day you might be building a business case for a new global dining concept, the next you could be working with culinary and operations teams to bring it to life in market.

What you will be doing

• Leading the development of globally scalable F&B concepts across attractions, hotels and resorts
• Translating strategy, insight and trends into commercially viable dining experiences
• Creating end to end concept frameworks, including design, operational and commercial outputs
• Building robust business cases, including CAPEX planning, ROI and ROIC evaluation
• Linking concept decisions directly to P&L performance, revenue growth and margin improvement
• Conducting market research, guest insight analysis and competitor benchmarking
• Partnering with culinary, marketing, digital, retail and operations teams to ensure seamless delivery
• Leading feasibility studies, pilot programmes and continuous improvement of concepts
• Providing guidance on CAPEX and OPEX to maximise return across global location

This is a permanent, full-time role based in London.

Qualifications & Experience

You will likely have experience in F&B concept development, hospitality strategy or experiential dining within a global or complex organisation.

You should also bring:

• Strong commercial acumen with experience managing P&L and driving ROIC
• Proven ability to translate insight and data into scalable, profitable concepts
• Experience developing business cases and leading capital investment decisions
• Confidence influencing senior stakeholders and working cross functionally
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and drive decisions
• A deep understanding of global F&B trends and evolving guest expectations
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills across diverse teams and markets

Benefits

• 40% off LEGO online
• 25% discount in our retail shops and restaurants
• Private Medical Insurance (Single cover)
• Merlin Magic Pass - giving you free tickets to all our attractions worldwide for you, your family, and friends every year
• Enjoy the ride pass – giving you and 5 others a Merlin annual pass (Gold edition)
• X2 volunteer days a year
• Discounted rates at Merlin hotels all over the world
• Employee pricing up to 55% off cinema tickets

If you have any questions or if you require any assistance, because of a disability or medical condition, please contact us by email at recruitment@merlinentertainments.biz and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Pay Range

Competitive