Account Manager (Hospitality)

Job description

**About On Board Experiential (OBE)** OBE is a global marketing agency that brings brands to life through culture-shaping experiences. For more than 30 years, we've partnered with iconic brands — including Nike, the NFL, JPMorganChase, Meta, Sephora, Starbucks, and Converse — to build community, create cultural relevance, and drive measurable business impact. With offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London, we activate globally. OBE is also a founding member of The ADD Collective, extending our reach and resources while staying true to our core capabilities. We've been recognized by Event Marketer as one of the best places to work in events — and we couldn't agree more. The most important part of our business is our people. They are hardworking, imaginative, and make genuinely remarkable things happen. But behind every great activation is a human who deserves rest, connection, and a life outside of work. That's why we invest in recovery days, company offsites, happy hours, and the kind of friendly-but-competitive fitness challenges that bond teams for life. We show up for each other — in open conversations that heal, inspire, and bring us closer. We want to hear about your lived experiences, your unconventional ideas, and the perspectives only you can bring. Being unapologetically yourself isn't just welcome here. It's part of the job. **Summary of Position** The Account Manager (Account Lead) is an integral part of the Account Team, delivering an exceptional level of service, strategic vision, and flawless execution of experiential programs on behalf of our clients. Responsible for cultivating and expanding client accounts, this position requires a comprehensive understanding of our clients’ business needs, industry trends, and specialized experiential environments. For this role, we are seeking an Account Lead with a strong background in hospitality, restaurant management, and food & beverage programs. You will bring deep operational command of both Front of House guest experience and Back of House kitchen/culinary logistics, with a heavy emphasis on high-end dining execution. This position requires a proven track record of managing multi-partner culinary activations, including the capability to oversee up to 30 individual restaurant or hospitality partners within a single event. Providing end-to-end project management and accountability for financial and operational performance, the Account Manager ensures that programs successfully promote client brands while delivering world-class hospitality standards. **Essential Job Functions** - **Strategic Client Partnership:** Partner with client and brand teams to understand business objectives, identifying opportunities to offer innovative experiential solutions. Specifically leveraging F&B, culinary integration, and hospitality-driven touchpoints to drive measurable results. - **Large-Scale Hospitality Partner Management:** Direct vendor relationships and operational onboarding for complex, multi-vendor culinary activations, managing up to 30 individual restaurant, chef, or hospitality partners per event. - **FOH & BOH Operations Integration:** Bridge Front of House service standards (guest flow, table service, VIP hospitality, bar pacing) with Back of House kitchen realities (staging areas, prep timelines, cold storage, equipment load-in, waste management, and chef coordination) with a primary emphasis on dining excellence. - **Experiential & F&B Program Planning:** Guide and coordinate the development of Experiential tactical plans for live, hybrid, and culinary-focused activations in partnership with Strategy/Creative, Production, Tech, Digital, Social, and Culinary Operations teams. - **Regulatory & Permitting Oversight:** Serve as the primary Account Lead for venue buyouts, restaurant partnerships, bar program builds, menu development, staffing protocols, and temporary health/liquor permitting compliance across all participating culinary partners. - **Day-to-Day Account Skills:** Manage day-to-day project activities, providing clear direction and seamless execution across internal cross-functional teams, external vendors, master mixologists, Executive Chefs, FOH leads, and venue owners. - **Communication & Meeting Facilitation:** Lead weekly client status meetings, deep dives, and post-event debriefs. Direct the proper distribution of all project communications, timelines, run-of-shows (ROS), Banquet Event Orders (BEOs), and kitchen load-in schedules throughout the engagement. - **Financial Management & Budgeting:** Provide ongoing monitoring of expenses, vendor contracts, culinary talent fees, and actual costs for approved program budgets. Obtain client approvals, manage scope changes, and reconcile all project expenses in partnership with the Program Producer. - **Performance Feedback & Quality Control:** Provide timely performance feedback on all activations, catering partners, and internal team members to senior management, maintaining white-glove dining standards across all touchpoints. **Desired Skills and Experiences** **Education & Experience** - **3+ years of experience** in marketing, promotions, live events, or experiential marketing (agency experience strongly preferred). - **Minimum 2 years of experience as an Account Lead**, acting as the primary point of client contact. - **Demonstrated experience in hospitality and dining operations**, including direct experience managing both Front of House service and Back of House kitchen logistics. - **Proven track record of managing large-scale culinary activations**, specifically coordinating multi-vendor footprints featuring up to 30 distinct restaurant, chef, or bar partners simultaneously. - Experience managing live events, hospitality suites, food festivals, pop-up dining concepts, and high-volume experiential activations. - BA/BS in marketing, hospitality management, business administration, communications, or a related field. **Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities** - **Current Food & Dining Scene Acumen:** An up-to-date, insider understanding of the contemporary restaurant and dining scene, including trending chefs, emerging culinary concepts, hospitality groups, and dining culture shifts. - **Comprehensive FOH & BOH Mastery:** Deep operational command of dining room flow, guest service dynamics, kitchen equipment setups, health department regulations, ABC/liquor licensing rules, and culinary line management. - **Complex Partner Management:** Ability to organize, communicate with, and keep accountable up to 30 independent culinary partners under tight event timelines. - **Detail-Oriented & Organized:** Exceptional organizational skills with rigorous attention to detail regarding client deliverables, BEOs, kitchen load-in grids, budget lines, and run-of-shows. - **Agile Problem Solving:** Superior ability to anticipate operational bottlenecks between front-of-house service and kitchen prep, troubleshooting real-time venue, equipment, or catering issues under pressure. - **Multi-Tasking Master:** Ability to manage competing priorities, multiple client streams, tight deadlines, and complex multi-restaurant logistics simultaneously. - **Authentic Communication:** Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to connect authentically with clients, venue owners, Executive Chefs, line cooks, and service staff while honoring diverse perspectives. - **Team Builder & Coach:** Ability to build trust, respect, and high team morale through active coaching, direct communication, and inclusive leadership. **Other Qualities and Requirements** - **Natural Curiosity:** A drive to constantly explore emerging culinary and beverage trends, track Zagat/Infatuation Hit List/Michelin/James Beard-level developments, and push creative boundaries in experiential dining. - **Schedule Flexibility:** High energy and comfort working non-traditional hours, including evenings, weekends, and late nights as event schedules and restaurant operations dictate. - **Physical Capability:** Ability to lift up to 25 pounds and stay on your feet for extended periods during live activations, kitchen walk-throughs, and site builds. - **Travel & Office Hybrid:** Willingness to work a hybrid office schedule (up to 4 days in-office) and travel up to 30% of the time for venue walk-throughs, menu tastings, and on-site event execution. **Compensation Range:**$80,000 - $110,000 annually. This is the pay range OBE believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on the level of experience, relevant skills, professional certifications, market pay, and demand for the role. OBE reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time. For this role, Benefits include medical/dental/vision insurance, employer-paid basic life and personal accident insurance. Also included: Annual Profit Sharing/Bonus Plan based on the company’s performance and your individual performance, 401(k), Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, PTO, STD/LTD insurance benefits. **On Board Experiential is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age, or any other federally protected class.**