Catering Service Director - FIFA World Cup 26™

Who We Are:

On Location is a premium experience provider, offering world class hospitality, ticketing, curated guest experiences, live event production, and travel management across sports, entertainment, and fashion. From unrivaled access for corporate clients to guests looking for fully immersive experiences at marquee events, On Location is the premier and official service provider to over 150 iconic rights holders, such as the IOC (Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026, LA 2028), NFL, NCAA, UFC and PGA of America, and numerous musical artists and festivals. The company also owns and operates a number of unique and exclusive experiences, transforming the most dynamic live events into a lifetime of memories. On Location is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.

Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and engaging storytellers, brands, live events, and experiences. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation through entertainment agency WME; sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG; live event experiences and hospitality through On Location; full-service marketing through global cultural marketing agency 160over90; and sports data and technology through IMG ARENA and OpenBet. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE.

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced and visionary Catering Service Director to lead the design and execution of hospitality food & beverage service experience for the FIFA World Cup 2026™. This role will be responsible for setting the standards for food and beverage service at all 16 venues, ensuring that every guest enjoys an exceptional and culturally immersive experience. The Catering Service Director will oversee the development of service styles and levels that enhance food and beverage experiences across all hospitality environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Guest Service Experience Design: Define and implement a unique, world-class service style across all venues, ensuring that the food and beverage experience meets FIFA’s standards and reflects the cultural diversity of host cities and participating nations.

• Service Level Standards: Establish, monitor, and refine service standards across all tiers (VVIP, Affiliate, public venues). Create tailored service experiences to maximize guest engagement and elevate each hospitality experience.

• Stakeholder Coordination: Work closely with catering vendors, event organizers, and hospitality teams to ensure smooth service delivery across diverse environments. Provide guidance on service style, staff training, and operational best practices.

• Training and Quality Control: Lead comprehensive training sessions for staff on service protocols and hospitality values. Conduct on-site evaluations to ensure consistency, efficiency, and alignment with established standards.

• Operational Management: Oversee service logistics, including staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation, to ensure efficient service flow and responsiveness at each venue. Collaborate with operations teams to tailor service approaches to venue-specific needs.

• Guest Engagement Strategy: Develop strategies to enhance the guest journey through personalized service touches, ensuring memorable and exceptional food and beverage interactions throughout the event.

• Budget Management: Manage service budgets, balancing high-quality guest experience with operational cost-effectiveness. Track financial performance to optimize resource allocation and ensure budget adherence.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, Event Planning, or a related field.

• Experience: 10+ years in hospitality or event service management, with a focus on guest experience design for large-scale events. Demonstrated success in delivering premium service experiences is essential.

• Skills: Strong leadership, organization, and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple venues and teams. Skilled in problem-solving, guest service training, and stakeholder collaboration.

• Knowledge: Extensive knowledge of service trends, hospitality best practices, and cultural service expectations. Familiarity with FIFA26 host cities and a network within the local hospitality industry is a plus.

• Flexibility: Ability to work extended hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Willingness to travel frequently to support operations across all tournament venues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience in a senior hospitality role for major sports or entertainment events.

• Expertise in training and managing large, diverse teams in high-paced environments.

• Proficiency in event management software and tools for planning and execution.

How we work:  

Endeavor is at the center of sports, media, entertainment, and fashion and is a largely relationship-based business. To foster an environment of collaboration, develop our future talent, and build on relationships across leadership, peers, and teams, we work from the office 4 days per week. We see immeasurable value internally and throughout the core of the businesses we support.  

Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.  

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Endeavor unites and brings people together in our love of sport, culture, and entertainment. We understand this can only be accomplished when we lead with a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do. As a global company that drives culture, we strive to reflect the world’s diverse voices.  

Endeavor is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.

Per local requirements and in the interest of transparency, the range shown below reflects the prevalent current hiring range for this position. Hiring pay rates are based on a number of factors, including location and may vary depending on job-related qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience.  Endeavor strives to provide locally competitive rewards packages, which include base rate along with, as applicable, short- and long-term incentives, growth and developmental opportunities, and robust benefits, such as health care, retirement, vacation and other paid time off, and additional offerings.

Hiring Range Minimum:

$97,500 annually

Hiring Range Maximum:

$130,000 annually