General Manager - Goodwood

Compass Group UK; Chichester; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 99,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Wellbeing support

Meals on duty

Pension scheme

Life Assurance

Employee assistance programme

23 days leave + bank holidays

Job summary

Levy UK & Ireland in Goodwood, Chichester, seeks a General Manager to lead a large hospitality operation, delivering exceptional food, beverage and guest experiences while aligning with the client’s brand and standards.

You will manage a senior team, drive innovation, and partner with client and internal teams to achieve operational excellence, profitability, and client satisfaction for events and daily operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ senior F&B management experience.
• Strong operational leadership across large teams and multiple outlets.
• Venue experience in stadiums, arenas, or entertainment venues preferred.
• Comfortable working directly with clients and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning: align with client and Operations Director to set priorities and measurable actions.
• Market & Innovation: monitor trends and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Operational Excellence: own day-to-day operation, ensuring high standards of food, service and guest experience.
• Guest & Client Focus: build a hospitality culture and meet client/guest expectations.
• Health & Safety: lead safety culture and ensure venue compliance.
• People Leadership: recruit and develop permanent management team; plan staffing for events.
• Casual Workforce: recruit and deploy large numbers of casual staff for events.
• Team Culture & Development: drive communication, training, performance, recognition and succession.
• Financial Accountability: manage profitability, budgets, forecasts, and KPIs; drive cost control.
• Commercial Growth: collaborate with culinary, marketing, procurement to enhance products and spend per transaction.

Skills

Senior leadership

Operational leadership

Venue experience

Client management

People leadership

Food & hospitality

Change management

P&L accountability

Communication

Adaptability

Job description

General Manager - Goodwood, Chichester, PO18 | Full-Time / Permanent

£75000 + excellent benefits including healthcare, wellbeing support, 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, life assurance, meals on duty, and more.

We're looking for...

The role is a senior leadership position responsible for delivering an exceptional food, beverage and guest experience, while ensuring the operation reflects the client’s brand, standards and ambitions. The General Manager will lead and develop a large hospitality team, drive innovation and continuous improvement, and work closely with the client and internal teams to deliver operational excellence.

We are Levy

We are a visionary venue partner. We design and deliver bespoke guest experiences that prioritise people and the planet.

Trusted by some of the world?s most iconic stadiums, entertainment venues, and major events ? from Wimbledon and Twickenham to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Edgbaston, the SEC and ExCeL London ? we bring experiences to life with passion and precision.

Our mission is to succeed the right way. From pioneering tech and seamless operations to show-stopping menus and exceptional service, we use insight and innovation to understand guests, improve the customer journey, reduce environmental impact, and support local communities.

We are a passionate, diverse team of venue specialists dedicated to making the planet better for future generations.

General Manager - The Role

• Strategic Planning: Work closely with the client and Operations Director to agree strategy, set priorities and deliver clear, measurable action plans.
• Market & Innovation: Stay ahead of competitor activity and industry trends while identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement.
• Operational Excellence: Take ownership of the day-to-day operation, ensuring consistently high standards of food quality, service, presentation and guest experience.
• Guest & Client Focus: Build a strong hospitality culture, listen to client and guest feedback, and ensure their needs and expectations are consistently met.
• Health & Safety: Lead and maintain a strong health and safety culture, ensuring full compliance across the venue.
• People Leadership: Recruit, lead and develop the permanent management team while ensuring the right staffing levels are in place for different events and operating hours.
• Casual Workforce: Develop robust recruitment and deployment processes to provide large numbers of casual staff when required for events.
• Team Culture & Development: Create an engaged, motivated team through effective communication, training, performance management, recognition and succession planning.
• Financial Accountability: Take responsibility for the venue’s profitability, budgets, forecasts, P&L and operating costs, using data and KPIs to identify areas for improvement and growth.
• Commercial Growth: Work with culinary, marketing, procurement and suppliers to improve products, control costs, introduce new ideas and increase spend per transaction.

What we're looking for

• Experienced senior leader: At least 5 years’ senior F&B management experience, ideally across multiple sites.
• Strong operational leadership: Able to confidently manage large teams and a varied portfolio of outlets and business functions.
• Venue experience: Ideally experienced in stadiums, arenas or entertainment venues, with Greenfield catering experience being an advantage.
• Client management: Comfortable working directly with clients and building strong relationships with senior stakeholders and partners.
• People-focused: Passionate about recruiting, developing, motivating and retaining high-performing teams.
• Food & hospitality passion: Genuine enthusiasm for food, service and creating an exceptional hospitality experience.
• Change & project management: Experienced in delivering projects, implementing change and driving continuous improvement.
• Commercially focused: Previous P&L accountability, strong financial understanding and the ability to deliver profitable results.
• Confident communicator: Charismatic, energetic and able to influence and communicate effectively with people at all levels.
• Resilient & adaptable: A calm problem-solver who can switch between leading and supporting the team, remain flexible under pressure, and work evenings and weekends when required.

What you?ll get in return

• Competitive salary with bonus and full company benefits
• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, your birthday off, and a holiday purchase scheme
• Healthcare & wellbeing: Aviva Digicare, Medicash (dental, optical, therapy treatments)
• Mental health support: 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Family benefits: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave. 2 days? additional leave after returning from maternity leave, day off for your baby?s first birthday, enhanced family leave
• Perks & discounts: Shopping, entertainment, and travel discounts, 20% off Nuffield Health and 10% off PureGym memberships
• Financial wellbeing: Pension scheme, Life Assurance, preferred rates on salary finance products
• Development opportunities: Professional subscriptions, ongoing training and structured career pathways
• Meals on duty included

Why Join Us?

Levy UK & Ireland is part of Compass Group, the world?s largest catering company, and a vibrant leader in hospitality.

We believe in celebrating individuality and building inclusive teams where everyone feels they belong. Our diverse team fuels creativity, innovation, and excellence.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join us in creating a supportive, empowering workplace where everyone can thrive.

Together, we create unforgettable experiences ? and shape the future of hospitality.

• Medicash - Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children)
• Aviva Digicare - Free annual healthcare check
• Exclusive Benefits & Wellbeing site (Perks at Work)
• Entertainment discounts - up to 55% off cinema tickets
• Health & Wellbeing discounts - Discounts for Nuffield Health (20%) and Pure Gym (10%)
• Travel discounts - Discounts with holiday companies such as TUI and Expedia
• Shopping discounts - Save up to 15% at high street and online stores by purchasing Shopping Cards
• Meals on duty
• Vodaphone discounts
• Pension scheme and Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 23 days + BH's and additional day off for your birthday
• 2 days additional leave, following return from Maternity leave during first year back
• Competitive and supportive family benefits
• Day off for baby's first birthday
• Holiday purchase scheme
• On-going training & development and career pathways
• Professional subscriptions paid
• Financial wellbeing programme and preferred rates on salary finance products

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/0409/96850002/52831424/SU #Levy UK

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!