Senior Account Director (Food & Beverage)

Application Deadline: 23 May 2025

Department: Lifestyle

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: PURPLE New York

Reporting To: Stevie King

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

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

Media Mastery

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

Client Partnership

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

Team Mentorship & Growth

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

New Business Innovation

1. Identify and pitch prospects in emerging spaces: non-alcoholic spirits, farm-to-table tech, and Web3 dining experiences.
2. 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.