Assistant Cafe Leader - CrossIron Mills

Push Operations; Calgary; On-site; CAD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Push Operations in Calgary is seeking an Assistant Cafe Leader for our CrossIron Mills location opening November 2026. You will join the management team, lead from the front, and help build a strong culture of hospitality while overseeing daily operations, staffing, and guest experience.

During the approximately two-month training, you will rotate among existing cafés in Central Calgary, then transition to CrossIron Mills; the role is full-time with competitive salary and benefits based on

Qualifications

• Passion for coffee and quality, sourcing, and craft.
• Positive, hospitality-driven with guest focus.
• Minimum 1 year of management experience in coffee or restaurants.
• Strong communicator who can coach and develop staff.
• Must be available full-time, including weekends and holidays, with flexible mornings/evenings.

Responsibilities

• Drive coffee quality and maintain equipment and dialing as needed.
• Lead and supervise cafe operations, ensuring smooth service.
• Train and onboard staff in collaboration with Cafe Leader and Training dept.
• Schedule coverage and launch new initiatives with the team.
• Uphold cleanliness, aesthetic standards, and customer service excellence.

Skills

Management experience

People leadership

Customer service

Hospitality

Communication

Training

Coffee knowledge

Team coaching

Job description

We’re a Calgary-based, owner-operator coffee company with nine cafés in addition to our roasterie and HQ at the Simmons building in Calgary’s historic East Village. We’re passionate about coffee and creating welcoming, memorable experiences for our customers.

We’re a dynamic, growing company, and we’re looking for a special individual to join our management team as Assistant Cafe Leader (our name for Assistant Manager) at the new CrossIron Mills location, opening November 2026. The position is available as on immediately; is full time, and comes with a competitive professional level salary and benefits package, based on level of experience.

During the training period, and until construction of the new café is complete, the selected candidate will train at one of our existing café locations in Central Calgary. The specific training location may vary based on operational needs. They will receive hands‑on training directly from a Café Leader and Assistant Café Leader, under the supervision of the Director and Manager of Café Operations, as well as the Director of Coffee Culture and Assistant Trainer.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

As an Assistant Cafe Leader, you’re not just running a café—you’re building a team, shaping a culture, and creating memorable experiences for every guest who walks through the door.

You’ll lead from the front, balancing people, operational and financial support while overseering Coffee Culture and Quality, all while nurturing a strong sense of hospitality to guests.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• 2. Driving Coffee Quality
• 3. Running Exceptional Operations

PRE-REQUISITES:

• Have a true passion for coffee: you care deeply about quality, sourcing, and craft
• A positive and hospitality-driven individual who enjoys connecting with guests and creating a welcoming atmosphere.
• Nurture a fun environment - we make coffee and treats!
• Preferably bring at least 1 year of management experience in coffee or restaurants
• Are a strong communicator and coach who enjoys developing people
• Love building positive, high-performing teams
• Are energized by a fast-paced, ever-evolving environment
• Are motivated by business performance and growth
• Are available full-time, including weekends and holidays
• Flexible availability for mornings and evenings, aligned with café hours (estimated 9:00 AM–10:00 PM).
• Live in or near CrossIron Mills / Rocky View County, or have reliable transportation to the area
• Are able to commute to our existing cafés in Central Calgary during the approximately 2 month training period, before the CrossIron Mills café opens

If this sounds like you and you’re excited to apply, please review the role responsibilities below and submit a resume and cover letter detailing why you would be great for the role. The letter should include how you meet the prerequisites, what coffee culture means to you and why you are the best candidate for the role.

Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

OPERATIONS

The ACL is the primary person responsible for the following items:

• Supply Management – ensure stock inventory levels are right and orders are placed at the right times. Track and manage waste costs, implement waste reduction initiatives
• Maintenance – report issues through the tool, escalates to CL when needed, follow up with Technician, fill out monthly maintenance checklist.
• Cleanliness Management - ensure and supervise the cleanliness and sanitation, as well as the organization and tidiness of the cafe, through checklists assignment and completion
• Shift Leadership - assign roles on the floor, manage breaks, rotations.
• Product QC – uphold QC standards on coffee, food and drink. Report quality issues to CL - for training or QC follow up.
• Feedback - provide feedback to the Director of Coffee Culture on QC, provide feedback to the Head Roaster on the coffees.
• Expectation of collaborative and open communication with the Cafe Leader, other coffee and cafe leaders and Training department

COFFEE QUALITY

The ACL is the go-to expert on day to day coffee quality. It is their responsibility to ensure the equipment is functioning properly and track maintenance related issues early on. They work closely with both the CL and the training department to ensure the cafe is serving the best quality coffee possible.

• Dial drip weekly and communicate settings
• Dial Tone (if applicable)
• Ensure Tone inventory management and freezing schedules are maintained (if applicable)
• Dial new batches and new coffees (including machine temp changes)
• Reevaluate shot parameters weekly
• Ensure Espresso dialing sheets are maintained
• Measure and report back weekly (water, coffee TDS, brewing temps, Fetco water volume, espresso machine flow rate) using provided form
• Monthly grinder cleaning
• Coffee date rotation (both retail and cafe use)

ASSIST THE CL

The ACL assists the CL daily and assumes full responsibility for the following tasks on days where the CL is not present:

• Schedules – first line of defense for schedule coverage
• Launches – ensure new product launches and initiatives are carried out smoothly, staff are trained and aware
• Aesthetic Standards – carry out the cafe look and feel standards (organization, “outside/inside customer view”, music, apparel)
• Emergency Response – deal with real-time emergencies as per the manual

LEADERSHIP

• Coaching – continually work with the CL and the team to improve individual performance. The ACL is the coach and mentor of the baristas through training, delegation and verbal feedback.
• Onboard – Assist with new hire onboarding and training along with the Cafe Leader.
• Staff morale – foster a growing work environment through positive reinforcement and verbal recognition; participate in nominating deserving staff for recognition; monitor the morale and report and work to the CL about any issue or recognition needed.

KNOWLEDGE

• Expert level knowledge of coffee (our producers, our coffees, tasting notes, coffee terminology, varieties, processing methods, harvest periods, green freezing)
• Will be given extra training at the Director of Coffee Culture’s discretion.

SERVICE

• Deal with in‑café customer complaints
• Lead by example – demonstrate exemplary customer service and quality.

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Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Prohibits Discrimination and Harassment of Any Kind: We are committed to equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex, age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by Alberta laws or regulations. We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. We encourage applicants of all ages.

Work Remotely: No

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent