Beverage Director | Nightlife | Relocate from anywhere | Aspen & Montauk
Beverage Director — up to 150K+ housing paid for + Needed in Aspen ASAP for the winter season.
Department: Food & Beverage
Reports To: Director of Operations / Ownership
Employment Type: Full-Time
Position Overview
The Beverage Director leads the direction, profitability, development and execution of the beverage program across the property and all of its outlets. This role owns beverage operations end to end — purchasing, inventory, cost controls, menu development, staff training, vendor relationships, and compliance with company standards and SOPs. The ideal candidate is highly organized, financially accountable and hands-on, with a strong command of beverage cost management and day-to-day operational execution. A defining responsibility is accurate, timely financial and inventory reporting, including MarginEdge, inventory, invoices, recipes and beverage cost reporting.
Beverage Program Leadership
- Oversee all beverage operations across applicable outlets — restaurants, bars, events, brand activations and other beverage revenue centers.
- Develop and maintain beverage menus that align with the brand, the guest experience and financial objectives, in partnership with ownership.
- Ensure consistency in beverage quality, presentation, recipes and service standards.
- Train and develop bartenders, barbacks and other relevant team members.
- Establish and maintain beverage standards, recipes, specifications and preparation procedures.
- Monitor beverage quality, portion control, waste and product utilization using a waste-control system.
- Work on the floor with Operations, Culinary, Events and Management to ensure seamless service.
- Keep all beverage operations, bars, storage areas and service practices fully compliant with Department of Health (DOH) regulations.
- Maintain proper sanitation, cleanliness, handling, storage, labeling and temperature-control standards.
- Ensure all beverage staff follow required health and safety procedures.
- Address and correct any DOH-related deficiencies immediately, and communicate concerns to Operations.
- Maintain all required DOH documentation, certifications and inspection records.
- Oversee repair and maintenance of bar equipment.
Financial Management & Cost Control
- Own beverage COGS and profitability in line with company SOPs and policies.
- Review beverage sales, costs, purchasing, inventory and variances weekly, reporting to ownership.
- Identify opportunities to reduce waste, improve margins and increase profitability.
- Ensure beverage pricing accurately reflects product costs and target margins.
- Monitor purchasing so orders align with forecasted business levels.
- Review and resolve inventory discrepancies and variances.
- Maintain beverage items and updates in the POS.
- Ensure beverage is accounted for correctly on event BEOs and open-bar parties.
MarginEdge & Financial Reporting
The Beverage Director is directly responsible for ensuring MarginEdge is accurate, current and properly maintained for all beverage operations — and for the accuracy of that data, rather than relying on another team member to catch or correct discrepancies.
- Ensure MarginEdge is fully and accurately set up for the beverage program before each season.
- Enter all beverage recipes accurately.
- Map all beverage items to the correct revenue centers, categories and accounting codes.
- Review recipes and mapping regularly for accuracy.
- Correct any discrepancies immediately as they surface through inventory, invoices or reporting.
Beverage Invoice Submission
- Upload all beverage-related invoices into MarginEdge by end of day every Monday — reviewed for accuracy and properly coded and mapped. This includes beverage purchases, credit memos or credits, and any other beverage purchasing documentation.
Weekly Beverage Inventory (not to be delegated)
- Personally complete the physical beverage inventory, ensure counts are accurate and complete, reconcile significant discrepancies, upload into MarginEdge, and submit the required inventory reporting to Accounting and Ownership per the Inventory SOP — all by end of day every Monday.
Month-End Inventory
A full month-end beverage inventory is required on the first Monday of every month, prior to service. The Beverage Director completes the full physical inventory, ensures accuracy, finishes before service, uploads into MarginEdge, completes the month-end reporting form, submits it to Accounting and Ownership by end of day Monday, and reviews and explains any significant variances.
Purchasing & Vendor Management
- Manage all beverage purchasing and ordering.
- Maintain strong vendor and distributor relationships.
- Negotiate pricing and find cost-saving opportunities.
- Obtain necessary vendor payment documents and information.
- Check statements weekly for missing invoices.
- Place orders based on business levels, inventory and upcoming events; avoid over-ordering.
- Ensure deliveries are properly received, checked and documented, and review invoices against orders and deliveries.
Inventory Management
- Maintain accurate par levels for all beverage products.
- Conduct regular physical inventory counts.
- Monitor high-cost and high-volume items closely.
- Track usage, waste, breakage, comps and spillage.
- Investigate unexplained variances.
- Maintain appropriate levels of wine, spirits, beer, mixers and other products.
- Ensure proper storage, organization, rotation and labeling.
Menu Development
- Develop and maintain beverage menus with Operations and Culinary.
- Create and maintain accurate recipes and specs for all cocktails and beverage offerings.
- Ensure pricing is accurate and aligned with target beverage costs.
- Review menus regularly against sales, seasonality, availability and profitability.
- Introduce new offerings and seasonal programming when appropriate.
Staff Training & Development
- Train all beverage staff on recipes, service standards, POS procedures, responsible alcohol service and product knowledge.
- Run regular training and refreshers.
- Ensure staff understand proper portioning and specs.
- Hold the team accountable to SOPs; provide coaching and feedback.
- Maintain a professional, organized, service-focused beverage team.
Compliance & Standards
- Ensure compliance with all federal, state and local alcohol regulations.
- Keep beverage permits and licenses current, in coordination with management.
- Enforce responsible alcohol service.
- Ensure proper storage and handling of alcohol.
- Maintain cleanliness, organization and safety throughout all beverage areas.
Recurring Accountability (considered essential functions of the role)
- Beverage invoices uploaded to MarginEdge — end of day Monday
- Weekly beverage inventory completed — end of day Monday
- Weekly inventory uploaded to MarginEdge — end of day Monday
- Weekly inventory report submitted per SOP — end of day Monday
- Month-end physical inventory — first Monday of each month, prior to service
- Month-end inventory uploaded to MarginEdge — first Monday
- Month-end report submitted to Accounting & Ownership — end of day Monday
The Beverage Director is ultimately responsible for a beverage department that is operationally sound, financially accurate, properly staffed and fully compliant with all company SOPs and reporting requirements.