Food & Beverage Manager

Interaction Recruitment; South Godstone; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Interaction Recruitment is seeking a Senior Food & Beverage Manager to lead a high-volume, multi-outlet operation across café, restaurant, grab-and-go and event catering. You will own the day-to-day and drive profitability while maintaining exceptional standards.

The role requires hands-on leadership, strong commercial acumen and experience managing large teams in fast-paced environments. Flexibility for seasonal peaks and weekends is expected.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Food & Beverage Manager or in a senior F&B leadership position.
• Experience within high-volume hospitality, leisure or visitor attractions desirable.
• Strong commercial and financial management skills.
• Experience with stock control and purchasing.
• Experience with forecasting and labour planning.
• Proven ability to recruit, lead and develop teams.
• Strong understanding of food safety and operational standards.
• Level 3 Food Safety qualification, or equivalent, desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee cafe, restaurant, grab-and-go, seasonal catering and event catering operations.
• Ensure consistent quality, speed and customer service across all outlets.
• Lead and develop a strong F&B team and management structure.
• Drive profitability by improving margins, reducing waste and optimizing purchasing.
• Plan for peak periods and adjust staffing to demand.
• Monitor stock, purchasing and vendor performance.

Skills

Leadership

Commercial awareness

Stock control

Forecasting & labour planning

Team development

Education

Level 3 Food Safety

Job description

Food & Beverage Manager

Lead and develop a high-volume, multi-outlet F&B operation

We are looking for an experienced and commercially focused Food & Beverage Manager to take ownership of a busy, multi-outlet operation serving a large and varied customer base.

This is a senior, hands-on position with responsibility for the day-to-day running, performance and continued development of the entire food and beverage operation. The role covers everything from café and restaurant service through to grab-and-go outlets and seasonal or event catering.

You will be responsible for maintaining excellent standards while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, profitability and the overall customer experience.

This position would suit an experienced hospitality operator who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment and is ready to take genuine ownership of an F&B department.

The Role:

Manage a high-performing F&B operation

Take overall responsibility for food and beverage services, ensuring consistent standards of quality, speed and customer service across:

• Café and restaurant operations
• Grab-and-go outlets
• Seasonal catering
• Event and function catering

You will ensure the operation performs effectively throughout both busy and quieter periods, adjusting staffing, service and resources according to demand.

Improve commercial performance

You will have clear responsibility for the financial and commercial performance of the F&B operation, with particular attention to:

• Increasing spend per head
• Improving gross margins
• Controlling food and operating costs
• Maximising labour efficiency and productivity
• Reducing waste
• Improving stock management and purchasing

You will be expected to identify areas for improvement and put practical strategies in place to increase profitability and overall performance.

Lead by example and develop the team

This is a hands-on management role. You will be visible and involved during busy trading periods, setting standards and supporting your team when required.

Alongside this, you will be responsible for:

• Developing supervisors and team leaders
• Building a strong management structure
• Increasing the capability and confidence of the wider team
• Improving staff engagement and retention
• Creating a team structure that allows the operation to run effectively without relying on you for every decision

Develop the F&B offering

Use sales information, customer feedback and operational insight to continually improve the offer.

This could include:

• Reviewing menus and pricing
• Improving customer flow and service speed
• Identifying opportunities for new products or services
• Introducing ideas that improve the customer experience while delivering a commercial return

You will have an important role in ensuring the F&B operation continues to evolve and make a meaningful contribution to the wider customer experience.

Seasonal and event planning

Forward planning will be an important part of the role, particularly around busy trading periods, holidays and events.

You will ensure:

• Staffing levels are appropriate for anticipated demand
• Stock and purchasing are planned effectively
• Service models are suitable for expected volumes
• The operation is fully prepared for peak periods
• Feedback and lessons from previous periods are used to improve future performance

About You

We are looking for an experienced F&B professional with a background in high-volume hospitality, leisure, visitor attractions or a similar customer-focused environment.

The successful candidate will ideally be someone who:

• Is a confident, hands-on leader who enjoys being involved in the operation
• Has experience managing multiple outlets or a high-volume F&B environment
• Has strong commercial awareness and understands how to improve profitability
• Can demonstrate a history of improving operational performance
• Has experience managing and developing large teams, including seasonal employees
• Is comfortable working with sales, labour and operational data
• Can remain calm, organised and decisive during busy periods
• Has the ability to balance customer service with commercial objectives

The Working Environment

The operation is highly seasonal and can be significantly influenced by customer demand, school holidays, weekends, events and weather conditions.

As a result, the role can be fast-paced and demanding, particularly during peak periods. It is also an opportunity for an experienced manager to have a visible impact on the performance and development of the department.

In return, the role offers:

• A varied position with significant responsibility
• A predominantly daytime-focused operation
• The opportunity to work in a busy, customer-focused environment
• Genuine autonomy to develop and improve the F&B operation
• The opportunity to make a direct commercial impact
• Potential to progress into wider operational leadership

Experience & Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Food & Beverage Manager or in a senior F&B leadership position
• Experience within high-volume hospitality, leisure or visitor attractions is desirable
• Strong commercial and financial management skills
• Experience with stock control and purchasing
• Experience with forecasting and labour planning
• Proven ability to recruit, lead and develop teams
• Strong understanding of food safety and operational standards
• Level 3 Food Safety qualification, or equivalent, would be desirable

Additional Information

This is a full-time position and will require flexibility to work weekends, bank holidays and during key seasonal and peak trading periods.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable working in a busy environment where customer demand can fluctuate significantly and where strong organisation, leadership and commercial decision-making are essential.

Working Hours & Flexibility

This is a full-time role working 5 days out of 7, including alternate weekends. Bank holidays are considered normal working days, with this reflected in the 28-day annual leave allowance.

For most of the year, the standard working hours are 9:00am–5:00pm, including a 30-minute unpaid break. During the school summer holidays, these hours extend to 9:00am–6:00pmto support increased visitor numbers and operational demand.

There will also be an expectation to cover approximately one 6:00pm finish per weekto support after-school play sessions.

Throughout the year, there are a small number of evening events, including:

• Two fireworks evenings in October
• Four camping weekends during July and August
• A small number of adult-only evening events

You would not be expected to work every event, but F&B management cover will need to be provided across all events. These events are not generally late-running, with most finishing around 8:00pm–9:00pm, and the latest finishes expected to be around 11:00pmfor adult evenings.