Business Development Associate

CookUnity

• $90K *
Food & Beverages
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 2+ years in recruitment, sales, culinary partnerships, or client-facing roles
  • Proven track record in managing candidate pipelines and achieving acquisition targets
  • Deep appreciation for culinary artistry and a passion for supporting chefs' growth
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills tailored to various audiences
  • Highly organized with a proactive mindset and follow-through
  • Familiarity with CRM/project management tools like Monday and Notion
  • Knowledge of U.S. food industry trends and upcoming chefs, with Spanish skills as a plus

Responsibilities

  • Plan and execute recruitment efforts across U.S. and Canadian markets to secure chefs
  • Develop creative outreach strategies on platforms like LinkedIn and industry events
  • Conduct interviews and assess chef candidates through tastings
  • Manage a chef pipeline using internal tools, sharing progress updates
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams for smooth recruiting to production transitions
  • Represent CookUnity professionally in chef meetings, conveying platform value
  • Gather insights on market trends to enhance recruitment strategies
  • Support the design of recruitment campaigns and culinary showcases for scaling chef acquisition

Benefits

  • Health insurance coverage
  • 401k plan
  • Unlimited PTO
  • 5-year sabbatical with paid time off
  • Paid family leave
  • Compassionate leave of 3-5 days as needed
  • Monthly CookUnity meal credits
  • Wellness perks and fitness subsidies
  • Personalized Spanish coach
Full Job Description
About CookUnity

Food has lost its soul to modern convenience. And with it, has lost the power to nourish, inspire, and connect us. So in 2018, CookUnity was founded as the first-of-its-kind platform that connects the world with the source of truly great food: chefs. Today, CookUnity delivers 35 million meals a year from the industry's best chefs to homes all over the country. Fresh. Ready-to-eat. And crafted with the passion that nourishes body and soul.

Unwilling to stop there, CookUnity is expanding beyond delivery to become an ever-innovating marketplace focused on our singular mission: empower Chefs to nourish the world.

If that mission has you hungry in more ways than one, you've found the right job posting.

About the Team:

We are a dynamic group dedicated to onboarding talented chefs and their recipes into the CookUnity platform. From training chefs on our tools to refining recipes that meet company standards, portfolio and supply chain needs, we ensure a seamless integration into our ecosystem. Our work bridges the gap between culinary creativity and operational excellence, bringing exceptional dishes to life!
The role:

We're seeking a strategic and resourceful Business Development/ Platform Creator Acquisition Associate to help scale the most important part of our platform: our community of talented chefs. This role will be instrumental in identifying, vetting, and securing top culinary talent in key markets, and will help build the future of how chefs grow their brands and reach new audiences through CookUnity.

As a core member of the Chef/Creator Acquisition team, you'll work directly with the Senior Manager of Acquisition & Development to develop and execute recruitment strategies, refine our outreach and evaluation processes, and ensure a seamless and inspiring chef experience from first contact to onboarding.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with a strong background in sales, talent acquisition, culinary partnerships, or hospitality leadership-who thrives in a fast-moving, startup environment and loves connecting with chefs.

This is a remote position based within one of the following locations, where our facilities are located: New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, or Maryland-with up to 25% travel across the U.S.
Responsibilities:
  • Plan and execute recruitment efforts across CookUnity's eight U.S. and Canadian markets (with future markets in development), identifying and securing high-potential independent chefs and creators who align with CookUnity's values and culinary standards
  • Develop and execute creative outreach strategies across platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed, industry events, and chef referrals
  • Conduct in-depth interviews and coordinate tours & tasting evaluations to assess culinary style, production readiness, and market fit
  • Build and manage a dynamic chef pipeline using Monday, Notion, and other internal tools, providing weekly updates on progress and market opportunities
  • Partner cross-functionally with our culinary, onboarding, portfolio, and local operations teams to ensure a smooth transition from recruitment to active production
  • Represent CookUnity in chef-facing meetings with professionalism, warmth, and deep knowledge of the platform's value proposition
  • Surface insights on market trends, industry leaders, and weekly progress on store supply targets to continuously improve our recruitment strategy
  • Support the design and rollout of recruitment campaigns, culinary showcases, and strategic initiatives to grow chef acquisition at scale
Qualifications:
  • 2+ years of experience in recruitment, sales, culinary partnerships, hospitality operations, or chef-facing/client- facing roles
  • Proven success in building and managing pipelines, closing top-tier candidates, and driving acquisition goals
  • Deep appreciation for culinary artistry and a desire to help chefs scale their business in new and impactful ways
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for different audiences
  • Highly organized and self-motivated, with a proactive mindset and strong follow-through
  • Familiarity with CRM/project management tools (e.g., Monday, Notion, Google Workspace); tech-savvy and quick to learn new systems
  • Knowledge of the food industry, major culinary hubs, and up-and-coming chefs across the U.S.
  • Spanish language skills are a plus

Learn More About CookUnity

We believe great leadership starts with alignment on vision, values, and ways of working. To give you deeper insight into who we are and what we're looking for, we invite you to explore: CookUnity's Leadership Principles - The values and behaviors that guide how we operate, collaborate, and scale.

We hope this provides valuable insight into our culture and product vision. If this excites you, we'd love to connect!
Benefits

Health Insurance coverage

401k Plan

Unlimited PTO

5- year Sabbatical: After 5 years with CookUnity, you get a 4-week paid sabbatical

Paid Family leave

Compassionate Leave: 3-5 days each time the need arises

A generous amount of CookUnity credits to enjoy our amazing meals, added to your account, monthly

Wellness perks: access to fitness subsidies to build a healthy lifestyle

Personalized Spanish coach

Awesome opportunity to join a company that is looking to change how we eat and how chefs work!

Compensation
All final pay rates will be determined by candidates experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Pay Range for this position

$90,000-$90,000 USD

If you're interested in this role, please submit your application and if we think you might be a fit, we'll get in touch with you. Thank you for your time!

CookUnity is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to creating a community of inclusion and an environment free from discrimination or harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or physical or mental disability.

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