Venue Manager | Small Batch Roasting Co.

PAX Hospitality; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Small Batch Roasting Co. is seeking a Venue Manager to run our CBD venue, leading the team on the floor through service and owning the operation.

You will recruit, train and roster staff, maintaining high standards of service and hospitality while closely collaborating with the Head Barista to sustain exceptional coffee quality. You will build a strong venue culture, manage labour and costs, establish clear procedures, and ensure food safety and WHS compliance.

Qualifications

• Strong experience managing a high-quality cafe or hospitality venue.
• Confident people, leadership and team management skills.
• Strong operational discipline and systems/processes.
• Genuine understanding of excellent hospitality.
• Commercial awareness and cost management.
• Clear written and verbal communication; calm under pressure.
• Experience recruiting, training and developing a team.
• Food safety and WHS knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day venue operations and stay on the floor during service.
• Recruit, train, roster and manage the venue team.
• Set and maintain high standards of service, presentation and hospitality.
• Collaborate with Head Barista to uphold coffee standards.
• Build a team culture aligned with Small Batch values.
• Establish opening/closing procedures and monitor performance.
• Manage labour, stock, costs and compliance requirements.
• Respond to issues quickly and maintain a clean, well-presented venue.

Skills

Cafe management

Team leadership

Operations planning

Food safety & WHS

Communication

Recruitment & training

Job description

Venue Manager | Small Batch Roasting Co.

Small Batch exists to cultivate knowledge, craft products and connect community.

We work closely with exceptional coffee producers, select distinctive coffees, and approach roasting and production with care, curiosity and intent. Through our direct-trade sourcing, we buy green coffee directly from the farmers who grow it — full traceability, fair value, and their names on the bag.

The new venue at 132 Little Lonsdale Street is the first time we are putting that whole story front and centre: the quality of the coffee, the depth of the craft, the people behind the products, and the way we think about sourcing, production and hospitality. We are now looking for a Venue Manager to run it.

This venue needs to make a statement. This is a hands-on role responsible for leading the team, holding standards, managing the floor, and building the systems and discipline required to run a busy CBD venue well — consistently, and not only when you are on shift.

Reporting to the General Manager, you will work closely with the Head Barista. You own the venue, the team and the operation, including how the team is recruited, trained and developed overall. The Head Barista owns coffee quality, coffee service and coffee knowledge across the team. The two of you set the standard together.

The Role

You will lead the day-to-day operation of the venue, including:

Leading the venue day to day and being present on the floor through service

Recruiting, training, rostering and managing the venue team

Setting and maintaining high standards of service, presentation and hospitality

Working closely with the Head Barista to maintain exceptional coffee standards

Building a team culture that reflects the Small Batch mission and values

Ensuring the team can communicate the Small Batch story clearly, with the Head Barista leading coffee knowledge and training

Managing labour, stock, ordering, wastage and other key operating costs

Establishing clear opening, closing and daily operating procedures

Monitoring venue performance and addressing issues quickly

Maintaining a clean, organised and well-presented venue

Ensuring food safety, workplace safety and other compliance requirements are met where applicable

Working with the broader Small Batch team to bring launches, products, events and other activities into the venue

This role carries full management responsibility for the venue team and will require you to remain actively involved in service.

About You

You are a hands-on operator who leads from the floor rather than from behind a desk.

You hold a standard without losing the room, you solve problems as they appear, and you build the structure that keeps a venue steady when it gets busy. You understand that consistency comes from systems and expectations, not from good intentions — and that the details customers notice are the ones the team has been trained to care about.

Experience in specialty coffee is valuable, although it is not essential. Experience running a high-quality cafe, restaurant or comparable hospitality venue is what matters most, alongside a genuine interest in craft and how products are made.

You will likely bring:

Strong experience managing a high-quality cafe or hospitality venue

Confident people, leadership and team management skills

Strong operational discipline and a practical approach to systems and procedures

A genuine understanding of excellent hospitality

Commercial awareness and confidence managing labour, stock and costs

Clear written and verbal communication, and good judgment under pressure

Experience recruiting, training and developing a team

Working knowledge of food safety and WHS in a hospitality setting

Comfort working in a hands-on, physical environment

An interest in coffee, craft and quality

How we work

Small Batch is held in the highest regard — by the industry, by our customers, and by the farmers we work with. This is a chance to open and run the venue that shows people what Small Batch has been doing for years, with a product worth representing and a team that cares as much about it as you do.

Our values guide the way we make decisions and work together.

Thoughtful — We act with intention, considering the material, the process, the people and the consequence of each decision.

Ownership — We take responsibility for the work, the problem and the outcome, even when the path is unclear.

Driven — We bring persistence, energy and restlessness to the work, continually looking for ways to improve.

Warmth — We bring generosity, respect and humanity to the way we make, serve, lead and connect.

This is an opportunity to play a central role in a small, ambitious business working with some of the best coffees and coffee producers in the world.