service areas

Talent Acquisition & Recruiting

Hospitality Executive Search & Restaurant Talent Acquisition

Success in hospitality comes down to one thing: people.

Empowered Hospitality is a hospitality recruiting expert built by former restaurant and hospitality operators who understand what it takes to build strong teams. Our firsthand industry experience and deep talent networks allow us to help hospitality businesses find the leadership and talent they need to thrive.

Whether you’re hiring a key leader, a critical manager, dozens of hourly employees, or even an entire opening team, we can help. Our strong networks, efficient processes and tried-and-true approaches make our team an excellent partner. And since we’re non-exclusive, use flexible fee structures, and guarantee our work, there’s no risk to working with us.

We partner with restaurants, hospitality groups, and hospitality brands to deliver executive search, management recruiting, high-volume hiring for openings and expansions, and long-term talent strategy. Our team has successfully helped our clients hire thousands of candidates across the industry—and we’re ready to help you, too.

We commonly support hospitality businesses with

Executive Search & Leadership Recruitment

Hiring the right leaders is one of the most important decisions a restaurant can make. The wrong hires cost time, money, and momentum — and the right ones accelerates growth. 

Our executive search and recruiting team’s mission is to help you secure high-impact leaders with confidence. Every search is customized to your organization’s structure, culture, and goals. 

We help you: 

  • Define leadership competencies and success profiles
  • Conduct salary benchmarking and hospitality compensation analysis
  • Develop targeted search strategies
  • Access passive candidates within our industry network
  • Conduct structured screening and reference evaluation
  • Manage offer negotiation and closing strategy
  • Support onboarding and transition planning 

 

Recruiting Management & High-Volume Hiring Support

Scaling quickly? Opening multiple locations? Managing high-volume hiring?

As an HR firm, we’ve been uniquely positioned to build a recruiting team that integrates seamlessly into our clients’ teams, and designed it for restaurant and hospitality groups looking for structured, scalable hiring support beyond executive search.

Our high-volume recruiting approach drives your cost per hire down dramatically compared to standard contingent search and offers flexible access to experienced hospitality recruiters without the need to hire someone in house. And because we’re an HR firm, we not only help you find and hire the right candidates, but often assist with onboarding, training, performance management and a host of other areas to help your new team succeed. 

Our team’s support includes: 

  • High-volume candidate sourcing and screening
  • Full-cycle recruiting management
  • Interview coordination and hiring workflow oversight
  • Fractional talent acquisition leadership
  • Hiring process design and optimization
  • Employer branding and job posting strategy 

 

Talent Acquisition Strategy for Growing Restaurant Brands

Sustainable growth requires more than filling open roles — it requires a structured, data-driven hiring strategy. 

We partner with restaurant and hospitality brands to evaluate, strengthen, and scale their current recruitment efforts. Whether you’re experiencing hiring bottlenecks, inconsistent candidate quality, or rapid expansion, we provide strategic perspective to improve performance. 

Our hospitality recruiting strategy team is well-positioned to provide: 

  • Recruiting process reviews and improvement recommendations
  • Evaluation of current sourcing channels and job post effectiveness
  • Time-to-fill and candidate quality feedback
  • Compensation benchmarking and market positioning reviews
  • Hiring workflow design, optimization and training
  • Succession planning and leadership pipeline development
  • Fractional recruiting support

 

Employer Branding & Hiring Positioning for Restaurants

In competitive hiring markets, strong employer branding helps hospitality businesses attract the most qualified candidates and reduce time-to-fill for critical roles.

Our team works with restaurants and hospitality brands to strengthen their position in the market — from updating job descriptions and messaging to enhancing the interview experience and highlighting differentiators that enhance the employer reputation.

Our hands-on support for employer branding and hiring positioning includes:

  • Developing employer branding strategies for restaurant and hospitality teams
  • Refining job descriptions and role positioning for competitive markets
  • Strengthening job postings and candidate messaging
  • Improving the candidate experience throughout the hiring process
  • Aligning recruiting messaging with company culture and values
  • Advising leadership teams on employer reputation and hiring visibility
  • Helping organizations attract high-quality hospitality talent

Hospitality Roles We Recruit For

As a team of specialized hospitality experts, we support hiring across restaurant operations, culinary leadership, and corporate roles. Our team has successfully matched high-performing professionals with highly selective positions including: 

Culinary & Kitchen Leadership 

  • Executive Chef
  • Chef de Cuisine
  • Sous Chef
  • Pastry Chef
  • Corporate Chef
  • Kitchen Manager 

Restaurant Operations Leadership 

  • Director of Operations
  • General Manager
  • Assistant General Manager
  • Multi-Unit Manager
  • Regional Operations Manager
  • Front of House Manager 

Corporate & Strategic Hospitality Roles 

  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief HR Officer
  • VP of Operations
  • VP of Human Resources
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Talent Acquisition Manager
  • Finance & Accounting Leadership
  • Marketing Director 

Food & Beverage & Specialty Roles 

  • Food & Beverage Director
  • Beverage Director
  • Sommelier
  • Catering Director
  • Event Operations Manager 

Simply put, our team knows the market because we’ve been on both sides of the table – recruiter and hiring manager – and work in the market every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer fractional talent acquisition services for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides fractional talent acquisition support for restaurant and hospitality brands that need experienced recruiting leadership without hiring a full-time internal team. Our services include hiring strategy development, process oversight, high-volume recruiting management, and recruitment performance analysis.

Can you support high-volume restaurant hiring?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides structured high-volume recruiting support for new openings, multi-unit expansion, and seasonal hiring surges. Our team manages sourcing, screening, interview coordination, and hiring workflow optimization to reduce time-to-fill while maintaining candidate quality.

Do you provide salary benchmarking for hospitality roles?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality conducts salary benchmarking and compensation analysis for key hospitality roles, including Executive Chef, General Manager, Director of Operations, and multi-unit leadership positions. Our insights help ensure your compensation packages remain competitive and aligned with current hiring trends.

Can you audit our current recruitment process?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality offers recruitment audits and talent acquisition strategy services to evaluate your current hiring efforts. We assess sourcing channels, time-to-fill, candidate quality, compensation alignment, and overall workflow to identify gaps and recommend measurable improvements.

Do you offer retained and contingency search options?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality tailors engagement models to your needs. Whether you require retained executive search, contingency recruitment, hourly recruiting support, or fractional talent acquisition, we adapt our approach to fit your hiring goals and growth stage.

What types of restaurant roles do you recruit for?

Empowered Hospitality recruits for a wide range of restaurant and hospitality roles, including Executive Chef, Sous Chef, General Manager, Director of Operations, multi-unit leadership, corporate hospitality positions, and executive-level roles. Our services support both operational and strategic hiring needs.

What does hospitality talent acquisition include?

Hospitality talent acquisition includes executive search, leadership recruitment, management hiring, sourcing strategy development, candidate screening, and structured hiring process support. Empowered Hospitality tailors these services specifically to restaurant and hospitality businesses.

How is restaurant executive search different from general recruiting?

Restaurant executive search requires hospitality-specific expertise, strong industry networks, and an understanding of operational demands. Empowered Hospitality focuses on identifying candidates who align with culture, leadership style, and performance expectations unique to hospitality environments.

Do you recruit for multi-unit restaurant groups?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality supports multi-unit and multi-state restaurant groups with executive search, leadership hiring, and talent acquisition strategy development tailored to complex operations.

Can you help fill hard-to-fill management roles?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality specializes in sourcing and placing candidates for hard-to-fill hospitality leadership positions through targeted outreach and our established industry network.

Hiring the right leaders is one of the most important decisions a restaurant can make. The wrong hires cost time, money, and momentum — and the right ones accelerates growth. 

Our executive search and recruiting team’s mission is to help you secure high-impact leaders with confidence. Every search is customized to your organization’s structure, culture, and goals. 

We help you: 

  • Define leadership competencies and success profiles
  • Conduct salary benchmarking and hospitality compensation analysis
  • Develop targeted search strategies
  • Access passive candidates within our industry network
  • Conduct structured screening and reference evaluation
  • Manage offer negotiation and closing strategy
  • Support onboarding and transition planning 

 

Scaling quickly? Opening multiple locations? Managing high-volume hiring?

As an HR firm, we’ve been uniquely positioned to build a recruiting team that integrates seamlessly into our clients’ teams, and designed it for restaurant and hospitality groups looking for structured, scalable hiring support beyond executive search.

Our high-volume recruiting approach drives your cost per hire down dramatically compared to standard contingent search and offers flexible access to experienced hospitality recruiters without the need to hire someone in house. And because we’re an HR firm, we not only help you find and hire the right candidates, but often assist with onboarding, training, performance management and a host of other areas to help your new team succeed. 

Our team’s support includes: 

  • High-volume candidate sourcing and screening
  • Full-cycle recruiting management
  • Interview coordination and hiring workflow oversight
  • Fractional talent acquisition leadership
  • Hiring process design and optimization
  • Employer branding and job posting strategy 

 

Sustainable growth requires more than filling open roles — it requires a structured, data-driven hiring strategy. 

We partner with restaurant and hospitality brands to evaluate, strengthen, and scale their current recruitment efforts. Whether you’re experiencing hiring bottlenecks, inconsistent candidate quality, or rapid expansion, we provide strategic perspective to improve performance. 

Our hospitality recruiting strategy team is well-positioned to provide: 

  • Recruiting process reviews and improvement recommendations
  • Evaluation of current sourcing channels and job post effectiveness
  • Time-to-fill and candidate quality feedback
  • Compensation benchmarking and market positioning reviews
  • Hiring workflow design, optimization and training
  • Succession planning and leadership pipeline development
  • Fractional recruiting support

 

In competitive hiring markets, strong employer branding helps hospitality businesses attract the most qualified candidates and reduce time-to-fill for critical roles.

Our team works with restaurants and hospitality brands to strengthen their position in the market — from updating job descriptions and messaging to enhancing the interview experience and highlighting differentiators that enhance the employer reputation.

Our hands-on support for employer branding and hiring positioning includes:

  • Developing employer branding strategies for restaurant and hospitality teams
  • Refining job descriptions and role positioning for competitive markets
  • Strengthening job postings and candidate messaging
  • Improving the candidate experience throughout the hiring process
  • Aligning recruiting messaging with company culture and values
  • Advising leadership teams on employer reputation and hiring visibility
  • Helping organizations attract high-quality hospitality talent

As a team of specialized hospitality experts, we support hiring across restaurant operations, culinary leadership, and corporate roles. Our team has successfully matched high-performing professionals with highly selective positions including: 

Culinary & Kitchen Leadership 

  • Executive Chef
  • Chef de Cuisine
  • Sous Chef
  • Pastry Chef
  • Corporate Chef
  • Kitchen Manager 

Restaurant Operations Leadership 

  • Director of Operations
  • General Manager
  • Assistant General Manager
  • Multi-Unit Manager
  • Regional Operations Manager
  • Front of House Manager 

Corporate & Strategic Hospitality Roles 

  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief HR Officer
  • VP of Operations
  • VP of Human Resources
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Talent Acquisition Manager
  • Finance & Accounting Leadership
  • Marketing Director 

Food & Beverage & Specialty Roles 

  • Food & Beverage Director
  • Beverage Director
  • Sommelier
  • Catering Director
  • Event Operations Manager 

Simply put, our team knows the market because we’ve been on both sides of the table – recruiter and hiring manager – and work in the market every day.

Do you offer fractional talent acquisition services for restaurants?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides fractional talent acquisition support for restaurant and hospitality brands that need experienced recruiting leadership without hiring a full-time internal team. Our services include hiring strategy development, process oversight, high-volume recruiting management, and recruitment performance analysis.

Can you support high-volume restaurant hiring?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality provides structured high-volume recruiting support for new openings, multi-unit expansion, and seasonal hiring surges. Our team manages sourcing, screening, interview coordination, and hiring workflow optimization to reduce time-to-fill while maintaining candidate quality.

Do you provide salary benchmarking for hospitality roles?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality conducts salary benchmarking and compensation analysis for key hospitality roles, including Executive Chef, General Manager, Director of Operations, and multi-unit leadership positions. Our insights help ensure your compensation packages remain competitive and aligned with current hiring trends.

Can you audit our current recruitment process?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality offers recruitment audits and talent acquisition strategy services to evaluate your current hiring efforts. We assess sourcing channels, time-to-fill, candidate quality, compensation alignment, and overall workflow to identify gaps and recommend measurable improvements.

Do you offer retained and contingency search options?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality tailors engagement models to your needs. Whether you require retained executive search, contingency recruitment, hourly recruiting support, or fractional talent acquisition, we adapt our approach to fit your hiring goals and growth stage.

What types of restaurant roles do you recruit for?

Empowered Hospitality recruits for a wide range of restaurant and hospitality roles, including Executive Chef, Sous Chef, General Manager, Director of Operations, multi-unit leadership, corporate hospitality positions, and executive-level roles. Our services support both operational and strategic hiring needs.

What does hospitality talent acquisition include?

Hospitality talent acquisition includes executive search, leadership recruitment, management hiring, sourcing strategy development, candidate screening, and structured hiring process support. Empowered Hospitality tailors these services specifically to restaurant and hospitality businesses.

How is restaurant executive search different from general recruiting?

Restaurant executive search requires hospitality-specific expertise, strong industry networks, and an understanding of operational demands. Empowered Hospitality focuses on identifying candidates who align with culture, leadership style, and performance expectations unique to hospitality environments.

Do you recruit for multi-unit restaurant groups?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality supports multi-unit and multi-state restaurant groups with executive search, leadership hiring, and talent acquisition strategy development tailored to complex operations.

Can you help fill hard-to-fill management roles?

Yes. Empowered Hospitality specializes in sourcing and placing candidates for hard-to-fill hospitality leadership positions through targeted outreach and our established industry network.

Success Stories

I have loved working with EH....Beyond this, they have found great candidates for our open positions and placed multiple managers for our business. Great people that I was struggling to find myself.

— Lee Weiss, U.S. Head of Operations, Farmer J

From recruiting and policy-building to on and off-boarding and PEO implementation, E|H helped us elevate to the next level and did a great job integrating with our team.

— Jaclyn Pascocello, Chief Operating Officer, Spacious

Working with Empowered Hospitality as our HR partner has been incredibly valuable for our team. They support us across day-to-day needs, provide meaningful support in our recruiting efforts, and have been instrumental in building practical tolls that have helped us sale more seamlessly.

— Joli Ridenour, Community Manager, The Buttery

Let’s Build a Smarter People Strategy

If you’re looking for outsourced hospitality HR support, restaurant executive search, payroll support, fractional HR leadership, hourly recruiting help, or anything in between, we’re ready to help. Let’s talk about your people!