Café Manager - Full Time - Guildford Spectrum

Freedom Leisure; England; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charitable leisure trust in the United Kingdom is seeking an experienced Café Manager to oversee operations at their iconic centre. The role involves managing staff, achieving sales targets, and ensuring compliance with food safety standards. Applicants should possess strong people management skills and a Level 2 food hygiene certification. The position offers competitive benefits and opportunities for personal development in a supportive environment.

Benefits

Staff discount scheme

Incremental holidays

Employee Assistance Programme

Company pension

Fully funded training

Qualifications

• Experience in a catering environment, supervising staff daily.
• Experience in managing or contributing to an income target.
• Good understanding of stock management and supplier relationships.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily Café operations with a focus on sales.
• Ensure high standards of food safety and cleanliness.
• Lead and motivate a team, maintaining a positive workplace.

Skills

Strong people management skills

Customer service experience

IT skills for reports and data

Education

Level 2 food hygiene

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Café Manager to join our friendly and professional team. Working at this iconic centre, you will be responsible for managing our Café. You will be a sales minded person, who is motivated by meeting monthly targets. You will have an in-depth knowledge on food safety, be flexible in your approach to work and have excellent customer service skills. You will also be responsible for directly managing staff, rotas, expenditure, wastage, stock and cleanliness from working within the outlet. Ideally coming from a similar role or industry you will have a good understanding of people management and be a role model for expected behaviours. You’ll have the opportunity to learn and develop personally alongside experienced industry professionals as well as completing valuable training. Alongside your daily duties we’ll need you to maintain the highest standards of health and safety and you’ll have a working knowledge of safe working practices to ensure we are protecting our guests and ourselves at all times.

Key Qualifications

• Strong people management skills
• Level 2 food hygiene
• Experience of working in a catering environment, supervising staff on a day to day basis
• Experience of problem solving, customer service and staff management
• Experience of identifying staff training and development requirements and implementing development opportunities
• Experience of managing or contributing to an income target
• Experience of stock management (ordering/rotation) and building relationships with key suppliers
• Knowledge of licensing laws and food hygiene regulations
• Awareness of cost effective methods of working
• An ability to lead and motivate a staff team
• Good IT skills including the ability to produce and interpret reports and data

Team orientated approach, able to work across organisation boundaries, demonstrate interest and be supportive of the work of staff and colleagues.

At Freedom Leisure, we’re all about positive vibes, great people, and making a real impact. Yes, we run leisure and cultural facilities, gyms, and swimming pools— but at the heart of it all, it’s our people who make the difference. As one of the UK’s leading charitable leisure trusts, we’re proud of our mission of Improving Lives Through Leisure. We’re here to help communities live healthier, happier lives by making our centres welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to everyone— because everyone deserves to feel good. We’re all about delivering amazing customer service with a smile–every single day. We create spaces where people feel at home, supported, and inspired. If you’re passionate about helping others and love creating great experiences, you’ll feel right at home with us. You don’t need to be an expert to get started – we’ll give you all the training and support you need. With over 130 centres across England and Wales, there’s loads of room to grow. Many of our team have built amazing careers doing what they love, helping customers day-to-day and making people feel good. We’re proud to be a workplace where everyone is welcome, valued, and supported to thrive–because when our team reflects the communities we serve, we all grow stronger together.

Hours: 37 hours a week, Monday to Sunday (Rota basis). We want you to love coming to work, feeling healthy, happy and valued. That's why we've developed a benefits package with you in mind, so what can we offer you?

Benefits

• My Staff Shop, our very own staff benefit scheme, gives employees access to a great range of benefits. Get discounts on cinema tickets, travel bookings, high street e-vouchers, gift cards, days out, leisure activities and your day to day spending.
• Discounted Staff membership (including family members)
• Incremental holidays
• Employee Assistance Programme - 24/7 confidential, independent and professional counselling.
• Company pension
• Various insurance and saving schemes
• Financial advice
• Cycle-to-work and Car Leasing tax‑efficient schemes (salaried staff only, depending on earnings)
• All this as well as fully funded training and career progression opportunities in a team working environment