Sr. Director, Brand Strategy, Menu and Planning

The Sr. Director, Brand Strategy, Menu & Planning is a critical leader within Pizza Hut U.S., responsible for shaping the brand strategy, owning the U.S. marketing calendar, and driving the end-to-end menu and innovation pipeline to deliver against business goals.

This role sits at the center of the business—connecting consumer insights, brand strategy, menu innovation, and integrated planning to drive sales, profitability, and brand relevance. As a key partner to the CMO and cross-functional leadership, this leader ensures strategies are not only compelling, but executable across the system and impactful for both company and franchise restaurants.
 

Key Responsibilities:

Brand Strategy & Business Ownership

• Define and evolve Pizza Hut U.S. brand and customer strategy, ensuring alignment with growth, traffic, and profitability goals
   
• Operate with a General Manager mindset, balancing brand ambition with financial and operational realities
   
• Translate strategy into clear priorities and actionable plans across the organization
   

Marketing Calendar & Commercial Performance

• Own and lead the U.S. marketing calendar, including promotions, LTOs, pricing strategies, and key campaign windows
   
• Ensure calendar strategies deliver against sales, traffic, and profit targets for both company and franchise system
   
• Lead cross-functional teams to execute high-impact marketing windows with operational excellence
   

Menu Strategy & Innovation

• Own the end-to-end menu strategy and innovation pipeline, including new product development, line extensions, and portfolio optimization
   
• Partner closely with Operations and Finance to ensure feasibility, scalability, and financial impact of innovation
   
• Drive a disciplined approach to testing, learning, and scaling successful initiatives
   

Consumer Insights & Data-Driven Decision Making

• Lead Consumer Insights to translate data, research, and trends into actionable strategies
   
• Leverage analytics to inform product, pricing, and marketing decisions
   
• Champion a data-driven culture across Marketing and cross-functional teams
   

Financial & Franchisee Alignment

• Partner with Finance to evaluate initiatives through sales impact, margin, and ROI
   
• Incorporate Franchisee P&L and system economics into all major decisions
   
• Build strong relationships with Franchise partners to ensure alignment, adoption, and successful execution
   

Integrated Planning & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Drive alignment across Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Development to ensure seamless execution
   
• Serve as a key connector between CORE and the field, ensuring strategies are grounded in restaurant realities
   
• Influence senior leadership through clear storytelling, insights, and recommendations
   

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and develop a high-performing team across Insights, Planning, and Innovation (~10–12 team members; 3–4 direct reports)
   
• Build organizational capability and bench strength
   
• Foster a culture aligned to Pizza Hut’s Smart, Heart, and Courage values
   

Key Qualifications:

• You will be required to attend the Plano, TX office 3 days a week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
• 10–12+ years of experience in Marketing, Strategy, or related field (QSR, retail, or consumer brands preferred)
   
• Proven experience leading brand strategy, marketing calendar planning, and product innovation
   
• Strong financial and commercial acumen; ability to connect strategy to business outcomes
   
• Experience working in a franchise or multi-unit environment strongly preferred
   
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills across senior stakeholders
   
• Highly analytical with strong problem-solving capabilities
   
• Ability to lead through ambiguity and drive clarity in a fast-paced, matrixed environment

Key Leadership Traits:

• Strategic thinker with strong execution discipline
   
• Operates with a bias for action and ownership mindset
   
• Influences and aligns cross-functional stakeholders effectively
   
• Balances creativity with commercial rigor
   
• Resilient, adaptable, and thrives in dynamic environments

Salary Range: $232,000 - $259,445 annually + bonus eligibility and stock-based compensation. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors. 
 

Who We Are

Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut - a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. - now operates more than 18,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. Pizza Hut is leading the way in providing customers with great experiences, innovating with technology and new products, as well as delivering exceptional service.

Our People & Culture

We're looking for people who LOVE pizza and thrive in a fun, past paced, and customer-centric environment. At our corporate campuses, Pizza Hut has created the perfect place for you to grow your career. Every day, you’ll work to support our franchisees and teams across the U.S., continuously challenging yourself to feed more possibilities. In return, we’ll provide professional development and career growth opportunities so that you can become your best and achieve your goals. And we’ll sweeten the deal by immersing you in our world-class recognition culture and providing a robust array of benefits, some highlights include:

• Hybrid work schedule and year-round half day Fridays 
• Onsite childcare through Bright Horizons 
• Onsite dining center
• Onsite gym with fitness classes and personal trainer sessions 
• 4 weeks of vacation per year plus holidays and time off for volunteering 
• Tuition reimbursement and education benefits 
• Generous parental leave for all new parents and adoption assistance program 
• 401(k) with a 6% matching contribution from Yum! 
• Comprehensive medical & dental including prescription drug benefits and 100% preventive care

Giving Back

As a global company, Pizza Hut aims to make the world better by acting responsibly with respect to food, planet and people. Whether it’s donating food through the Harvest Program or supporting literacy with the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program – the company, our franchisees and our team members are committed to improving the communities we serve.

Pizza Hut is an equal opportunity workplace and committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability and genetic information (including family medical history).