Catering Specialist Jobs
Catering Specialist jobs are open across hospitality, corporate dining, event venues, healthcare foodservice, and higher education, from entry-level coordinator to senior catering manager, with specializations in event planning, menu development, and client account management. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Job Title: Catering & Event Sales Specialist
Department: Sales
Reports To: Director of Sales
Position Type: Full-Time / Salaried / Exempt
Position Overview
The Catering & Event Sales Specialist is responsible for guiding clients from initial inquiry through signed contracts by delivering a personalized sales experience focused on hospitality, trust, and relationship building. This role combines consultative selling, creativity, and operational awareness to help clients confidently choose The JDK Group for meaningful celebrations and events. The ideal candidate can understand client vision, priorities, and budget while translating ideas into polished, realistic, and valuable proposals.
This role owns the pre-booking client journey by preparing proposals, preliminary layouts, rental recommendations, and initial logistics before transitioning the event to the sales production team after booking. The role also manages an active book of business, works toward booking and revenue goals, builds venue and vendor relationships, and contributes to company growth through networking and hospitality-driven sales.
Key Responsibilities
Client Relationships & Business Development
- Serve as the first impression of The JDK Group with professionalism, warmth, and hospitality
- Build genuine relationships and understand client priorities, vision, budget, and guest experience goals to create a sales process that feels organized, exciting, and trustworthy
- Develop and maintain relationships with venues, planners, corporate clients, nonprofit organizations, and vendor partners to support referrals, repeat business, and future sales opportunities
Inquiry Management & Conversion
- Respond to and manage inquiries across CRM, email, website, referral, and venue partner channels
- Qualify leads based on event scope, timing, budget, guest count, and overall fit for The JDK Group
- Lead discovery calls, client meetings, presentations, and site visits throughout the sales process
- Manage active opportunities with consistent follow-up and pipeline organization, maintaining CRM records to support individual and company revenue goals.
Proposal & Event Vision
- Translate client conversations into detailed, customized proposals that reflect the client's vision through thoughtful layouts, rental recommendations, and event enhancements that confidently guide clients toward booking decisions
- Revise proposals strategically based on feedback while protecting profitability
Sales to Production Handoff
- Prepare a complete and organized handoff once the event is booked
- Clearly communicate client priorities, personalities, expectations, and important nuances
- Ensure rentals, preliminary logistics, and sold promises are accurately documented
Pipeline & Performance
- Track inquiries, proposals, tours, bookings, close ratio, and revenue performance, and participate in pipeline meetings and sales strategy discussions
- Maintain professional responsiveness and communication standards throughout the sales process
- Contribute ideas that improve conversion, efficiency, and client experience
- Continuously develop sales, hospitality, communication, and relationship-building skills while staying current on industry and market trends
- Perform additional responsibilities and operational support as needed based on business demands.
Qualifications
- 3+ years of experience in sales, preferably in weddings, catering, hospitality, corporate, nonprofit, or event management
- Proven ability to build relationships, manage client communication, and close business
- Strong communication, organization, time management, and follow-through skills
- Confident and polished in leading client meetings, presentations, tours, and venue walkthroughs in both virtual and in-person settings
- Comfortable using CRM systems, Google Workspace, Canva, Caterease, Goodshuffle, and AI-assisted productivity tools
- Working knowledge of catering logistics, rentals, and event flow strongly preferred
Physical & Work Environment Requirements
- Ability to stand, walk, and move through office, venue, and event environments for extended periods
- Ability to lift and carry items up to 25 lbs as needed during site visits or onsite event support
- Ability to travel locally between venues, client meetings, networking events, and company locations
- Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and extended hours during peak seasons or as business needs require
What Success Looks Like
- Achieves annual booked revenue goals while maintaining strong inquiry-to-close conversion performance.
- Maintains a healthy, well-managed pipeline with consistent follow-up across all active opportunities
- Produces proposals and contracts that are accurate, compelling, and protect margin
- Transitions booked events to sale production with organized documentation that supports a successful planning phase
- Grows JDK’s venue, vendor, and referral network through professional representation in the community
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Find Catering Specialist JobsCatering Specialist Job Market
Who's Hiring
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in catering specialist jobs.
- Two or more years of catering, banquet, or foodservice coordination experience
- ServSafe Manager certification or equivalent food safety credential
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate events for 100 or more guests
- Proficiency with catering management or event software such as Caterease or Total Party Planner
- Strong client communication and upselling skills for menu consultations
- Associate or bachelor's degree in hospitality management, culinary arts, or a related field
Tips for Your Catering Specialist Job Search
Tailor your resume to catering contexts
List the event types you've staffed, such as corporate luncheons, galas, or large-scale conferences, alongside headcounts. Hiring managers scan for volume and variety, so naming specific formats tells them more than generic foodservice experience.
Highlight certifications that set you apart
If you hold a ServSafe Manager certification or a food handler's permit, place it near the top of your resume rather than at the bottom. Many catering specialist postings screen on food safety credentials before reviewing experience.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists catering specialist openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Target postings that match your venue specialty
Filter openings by industry, whether hotel banquet operations, corporate campus dining, or off-premise catering companies. Roles in each setting expect different skills, and your application reads stronger when your examples map directly to that environment.
Prepare a client-scenario answer for interviews
Interviewers for catering roles frequently ask how you've handled last-minute menu changes or guest count shifts. Walk through one real example with a clear problem, your action, and the outcome to show operational calm under pressure.
Negotiate on total package, not just base pay
Catering specialist offers often include gratuity splits, meal allowances, and event bonuses that vary significantly by employer. Before accepting, clarify how gratuities are distributed and whether peak-season event stipends are guaranteed or discretionary.
Catering Specialist Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most catering specialists?
The companies hiring the most catering specialists right now include Aramark, honeygrow, and The JDK, with the largest share of openings in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Hotels, university dining programs, and corporate foodservice contractors tend to post the highest volume of roles year-round.
How many catering specialist jobs are remote?
About 33% of catering specialist openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on nature of most roles in the field. The sub-areas most likely to offer remote flexibility include catering sales coordination, menu planning for corporate accounts, and client proposal writing, where in-person presence is not required for every task.
How do you become a catering specialist?
Start by building hands-on experience in foodservice, banquet operations, or event coordination, even in an entry-level role such as a server or catering assistant. Earn a food safety certification like ServSafe, then work toward coordinating smaller events independently. A degree in hospitality or culinary arts strengthens your candidacy, and familiarity with catering management software accelerates your move into specialist-level roles.
Can you get hired as a catering specialist with little experience?
Yes, you can break into catering specialist roles with limited direct experience by emphasizing transferable skills from foodservice, event staffing, or customer-facing work. Volunteer coordination for community events or part-time banquet serving builds a portfolio of real event experience. Getting ServSafe certified before you apply signals food safety competence and removes a common screening barrier even when your resume is light.
What does the catering specialist interview process look like?
Most catering specialist interviews include a phone or video screen focused on your event coordination background, followed by an in-person interview with a catering manager or director of events. Expect scenario-based questions about handling last-minute changes, managing vendor relationships, and upselling menu packages to clients. Some employers conduct a working interview or ask you to shadow an event before extending an offer.
Where can I find and apply to catering specialist jobs?
You can find and apply to catering specialist jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from employers across the United States. Search for roles that match your experience level and specialization, then apply directly to each listing that fits. The process is straightforward and puts your application in front of employers without any additional steps between you and the posting.
See All 7 Catering Specialist Jobs
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