Commercial Assistant Manager

National Trust; Haywards Heath; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension up to 10% of basic

Free entry to National Trust places

Season ticket loan

Flexible working

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

The National Trust is seeking a Commercial Assistant Manager for its Food and Beverage team at Nymans Garden, Handcross, Haywards Heath. This permanent, full-time role supports the F&B Manager in delivering high service standards and strong financial performance.

You will lead a team, recruit and train staff, and ensure compliance with health and safety, food safety, and National Trust policies while driving visitor satisfaction and income.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of outstanding customer service in a similar environment.
• Strong leadership with ability to set objectives and give feedback.
• Experience with budgets to increase income and control costs.
• People person with friendly attitude and strong communication skills.
• Awareness of health and safety compliance.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Food and Beverage Manager in running the operation and upholding high standards.
• Maintain consistently high service levels in the team, outlets, and food/beverage offering.
• Support recruitment and training to develop the team.
• Ensure compliance with legislation and National Trust policies.
• Drive sales and profitability by controlling resources and delivering excellent customer service.
• Support induction and ongoing professional development for staff.

Skills

Customer service

People leadership

Budget management

Communication

Health and safety

Job description

Summary

• INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY***

Are you looking to develop your career in Food & Beverage? The National Trust is renowned for its food and hospitality. We run 185 cafes all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we'd love you to join us.

We have an opening for a Food and Beverage Assistant Manager. Because we are in a rural area, please think about how you’d be able to get here for work, before applying for the job.

Benefits:

We want to help you look after the things that matter to you, such as saving for your future, getting a discount on your weekly shop, or encouraging you to find a work-life balance. Please read our package, below, to see what benefits we offer you.

Hours:

37.5 hours per week

Salary:

£27,612 per annum

Duration:

Permanent

What It's Like To Work Here

To find out more about what it’s like to work in a food and beverage team for the National Trust, click here to watch our video.

What You'll Be Doing

As Commercial Assistant Manager, you’ll be working closely with the Food and Beverage Manager. You’ll be helping to look after the entire operation, keeping consistently high standards in the team, in the outlets, and in the food and drink we prepare and serve. You’ll always have an eye on ways to improve service and standards for our visitors.

You’ll support the team to help build a great place to work. This could include helping with recruiting and training new people or developing the team. You’ll make sure that the team follow all relevant legislation and National Trust policies.

You’ll be setting and achieving financial targets to increase income and profits. This could be by driving sales through controlling resources and achieving the best possible customer service.

We’ll give you an induction that fits the job, and training in allergens and food safety, plus any mentoring needed to help you in your role. You can sign up for further professional training and development if you wish.

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role.

Who We're Looking For

We’d love to hear from you if you’re:

• used to achieving outstanding customer service in a similar environment
• a good leader of people, skilled in setting personal objectives and giving feedback
• experienced with budgets to increase income and control costs (including managing stock and waste)
• a people person, with a friendly attitude and great communication skills
• aware of health and safety compliance.

The package

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Rental deposit loan scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
• Flexible working whenever possible
• Employee assistance programme
• Free parking at most Trust places

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.

National Trust place

Nymans Garden, Handcross, Haywards Heath, RH17 6EB

Documents

Commercial Assistant Manager - B (1).pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

• Internal Applicants only*

Closing Date: 8th November 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here.

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.