Clubhouse Social Café Manager

Brentford FC Community Trust; Brentford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Department: Core

Reports to: Head of Business Services

Closing Date: 30th April 2025

First Interviews: 8th May 2025

Brentford FC Community Sports Trust

With community work spanning three decades, Brentford FC Community Sports Trust has established itself as a pioneering organisation for the local community. It uses the power of sport to educate, motivate and inspire people from all walks of life.

Working in partnership with Brentford FC, the Trust offers a portfolio of programmes in education, health, sports participation and community engagement. The Trust has won the ‘Football League Community Club of the Year’ award four times and now employs more than 150 members of staff.

The Role

The Clubhouse Social Café Manager will lead on the implementation of the café (Due to open in October 2024) and will manage the Food and Beverage Operations in line with food, and health and safety regulations. You will be involved in the initial set-up of the facility.

You will be responsible for managing the day to day running of the café, providing a diverse of community and health wellbeing projects in collaboration with Trust Senior Manager - Health and Wellbeing. They will also manage and mentor staff and trainees to deliver an effective and inclusive service to customers.

About You

We are looking for a passionate, inspiring catering/hospitality specialist to lead on training, mentoring and the hospitality operation of our new Clubhouse Café at Gunnersbury Park. The café is part of the new Community Sports hub at the site and will also double as a social and community space linking into community projects for all ages. Projects will include mental and physical health with the space acting as a central meeting/training hub. In this capacity you will work closely with the Trust's Health and Wellbeing Senior Manager.

We are partnering with the homeless charity Change Please to create a West London training hub. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing and training the café team. Our founder partners in the project are The University of West London (UWL) and the Premier League and Professional Footballers Association Fund. We are linking with the University to offer a range of immersive opportunities for their catering and business students and our Café Manager will link with them on a number of working projects.

The other aspect is the promotion and training in the importance of food, health and performance and the Manager will work with our Trust team to create innovative content and inspiring outreach programmes. Whilst we expect the Manager to have an active interest in food and nutrition, we plan to put some catering support and training in place to support the position.

We are looking for a highly motivated individual who has appropriate experience to lead the food and beverage side of the operation. They will be involved in the initial set-up of the facility (Due to open in Summer 2025) and the establishment of appropriate operation and health and safety procedures.

We have developed a sustainable business plan, however you will have the opportunity of contributing to the ongoing development plan. We have the benefit of understanding who our customers are, when they are, and even when they will arrive! This will need to be balanced with the social and community programme, and whilst it will be a challenge, it will also make for an enriched role in dealing with a range of people and organisations.

The Trust is a progressive, driven organisation with many facets. The Clubhouse will become one of our key hubs, also working with our stadium hub. This is a unique opportunity to combine sport and physical activity with nutrition and social projects. If you are up for the challenge of becoming part of our growing team, we would like to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead on the implementation of the café, including the setup, adherence to food and health safety and regulations, and staffing.
• Development and procurement of suppliers for café to ensure efficient service delivery.
• Contribute to and delivery of project-based business plans as directed by the CEO and Head of Social, Education and Health Hub.
• Organise and manage the preparation and presentation of food whilst ensuring agreed standards are maintained at all times, and that any special dietary needs are catered for.
• Adhere to HACCP and all other food safety regulations and COSHH regulations, ensuring the statutory requirements are met and all necessary records are maintained.
• Deal with customer feedback in a courteous, efficient and timely manner, monitoring and evaluating this feedback, making appropriate recommendations and taking action for service improvements.
• Work safely with kitchen equipment and ensure that all other health and safety procedures are followed.
• Maintain a clean, healthy and safe working environment in accordance with guidelines.
• Mentor staff, trainees and work experience students in the effective operation of the facility.
• Deliver appropriate training to Clubhouse Café Staff, to foster a culture of excellent customer service.
• Stay informed about safeguarding policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Level 1,2 and 3 Food Safety Awards
• Level 2 Health and Safety in the Workplace Award
• Awareness of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and chemical safety
• Experience of kitchen equipment
• Experience as a manager of operations and staff in a food and beverage business.
• Experience as a manager responsible for compliance, particularly health & safety and licensing, as well as finances in a food and beverage business.
• Experience in project management and meeting deadlines.
• Experience of supervising and training small groups of staff
• A working knowledge of budgets and gross profit margins
• Good team player

Brentford FCCST is an organisation which values and is passionate about diversity and inclusivity. We welcome and encourage applications from qualified candidates, including those from underrepresented groups – such as those from ethnically diverse backgrounds, women, those from the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.

Should you require any workplace accommodations (also known as ‘reasonable adjustments), you will have the opportunity to let us know at the appropriate points in the hiring process.

Please note that where appropriate for the role, you will be required to complete additional background checks such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and police checks for any time you have lived or worked outside of the UK in the last 10 years.

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.