General Manager

Gather + Gather; Greater London; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Company of Cooks is seeking a General Manager to lead operations at the Royal College of Physicians, London. You will oversee hospitality, events, kitchen and reception, while building strong client relationships and ensuring outstanding service delivery.

Ideal candidates will have a strong events background with experience in senior management roles within venues. The role offers a salary of £65,000 per year plus a 10% bonus and a Monday-Friday pattern with occasional weekends.

Qualifications

• Significant events planning and delivery experience for conferences, meetings and hospitality functions.
• Experience leading multi-department teams in a venue setting.
• Strong financial and operational management skills.
• Excellent communication and client relationship abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operations of the venue, including hospitality, events, kitchen and reception services.
• Act as primary client contact, ensuring exceptional service delivery.
• Plan and execute conferences, events and functions with attention to detail.
• Provide leadership to Reception, Event Managers, Head Chef and Kitchen Team.
• Maintain high standards of presentation, service and guest experience.
• Manage venue catering for up to 400 guests per day and ensure smooth operations.
• Own budgets, forecasting, cost control and revenue growth.
• Ensure health & safety and food safety compliance.
• Produce and analyse operational reports to drive performance.

Skills

Events management

Leadership

IT literacy

Client relationship building

Tools

Microsoft Office

Venue management systems

Job description

We are Company of Cooks, and we believe brilliant food and drink start with brilliant people. For over 25 years, we’ve been part of some of the UK’s most loved cultural destinations, from historic palaces and botanical gardens to buzzing galleries and performance spaces, running the cafés, restaurants, bars and events that bring these incredible places to life.

Our values - Craft, Creativity and Community - guide everything we do. They shape how we work together, how we support our partners, and how we make each guest feel welcome. If you care about food, people and doing things properly, you’ll feel right at home here.

Wherever we are, we do more than serve. We bring places to life through food, service and creativity and we’re looking for a General Manager to join our team at Royal College of Physicians.

Location: Iconic London Venue

Salary: £65,000 per annum + 10% bonus

Shift Pattern: Predominantly Monday-Friday with occasional weekends

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee the day-to-day operations of the venue, including hospitality, events, kitchen, and reception services.
• Act as the primary client contact, building strong relationships and ensuring exceptional service delivery at all times.
• Drive the successful planning and execution of conferences, events, meetings, and hospitality functions, ensuring flawless delivery and exceptional attention to detail.
• Provide leadership and management to the Reception Team, Event Managers, Head Chef, and Kitchen Team, creating a high-performing and engaged culture.
• Ensure operational excellence across all areas of the venue, maintaining the highest standards of presentation, service, and guest experience.
• Manage a high-volume venue catering for up to 400 guests per day, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.
• Take ownership of financial performance, including budgets, forecasting, cost control, and revenue growth.
• Ensure compliance with all Health & Safety, food safety, and company policies and procedures.
• Produce and analyse operational reports, using IT systems and management information to drive performance and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with the Operations Manager to achieve business objectives and deliver outstanding client satisfaction.

Ideal Candidate

• A strong and demonstrable events background is essential, with significant experience in the planning and delivery of high-quality conferences, events, meetings, and hospitality functions.
• Proven experience as a General Manager, Events Manager, Hotel Manager, or in a senior Conference & Events leadership role.
• Strong background within the events, hospitality, hotel, or conference venue sector.
• Experienced in managing multiple departments, including events, kitchen, hospitality, and reception teams.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail, particularly within a fast-paced events environment.
• Commercially aware, with strong financial and operational management skills.
• Confident using Microsoft Office and venue management systems, with strong overall IT literacy.
• An excellent communicator and natural relationship-builder, able to develop trusted relationships with clients, guests, and teams.

About Us

As part of Compass you'll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK's biggest businesses.

Job Reference: com/0608/47664001/52825227/SU #CompanyofCooks

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive - because diversity is our strength!

gth!