Group Head of Wine

The Signet Group; Newbury; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The Signet Collection is seeking a Group Head of Wine to lead wine strategy and service across our boutique hotels. You will be the go-to wine expert, mentoring teams, and shaping our wine lists, events, and partnerships.

You will spend time in our hotels, delivering engaging wine briefings, sourcing exciting wines, and driving revenue while maintaining exceptional guest experiences. Strong leadership and market knowledge are essential.

Qualifications

• Brings proven wine and beverage management experience.
• Has strong hospitality and guest-facing skills.
• Able to train and develop teams in wine service and sales.
• Qualified Sommelier up to Level 3 requirement.
• Excellent communication and public speaking abilities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the wine leader for the Signet Collection across all hotels.
• Spend time in hotels delivering briefings and participating in service.
• Source and manage wine selections, build supplier relationships, and negotiate terms.
• Oversee pricing, stock levels, and purchasing related to wine and events.
• Organise and monitor WSET training for teams and wine education.

Skills

Wine management

Beverage management

Hospitality knowledge

Sommelier Level 3

Training & coaching

Supplier relationships

Event planning

Job description

Group Head of Wine at The Signet Collection - AKA King of the Grapes

We have a confession to make…We like wine. Quite a lot.

We like discovering it, talking about it, selling it, drinking it, learning about it and, most importantly, making sure our guests have a brilliant time because of it. So we're looking for someone who feels the same. Someone who knows their Chardonnay from their Chablis, their Rioja from their Ribera, and — perhaps most importantly — knows that wine is at its best when it's shared with people.

Where is this role?

This role is based out of The Mitre by Hampton Court, West London. Although regular travel around our hotels and to suppliers will also be required. The Mitre is a refined, relaxed boutique hotel on the banks of the River Thames next to Hampton Court Palace.Easily commutable by train or car-this as a great place to work and become part of the Signet family.

What will you actually be doing?

• You’ll have a wonderfully broad brief spanning wine, people, purchasing, operations, training, events, partnerships and commercial performance.
• Be our wine guru. You’ll become the go-to person for all things wine across the collection.
• You’ll support our teams with wine knowledge, service and selling, making sure our guests receive confident, engaging and genuinely enjoyable advice.
• You’ll spend time in our hotels, joining teams during service , delivering brilliant briefings and getting stuck in on the floor. Because the best way to understand hospitality is to actually be in it.
• You’ll support the selection of wines across our hotels, working with suppliers to source exciting products and build strong relationships.
• You’ll negotiate pricing and supplier contracts, manage wine investments and keep a close eye on our wine lists, GP and margins.
• We’ll want you to balance great wine with great business sense. Because as much as we love a beautifully expressive Burgundy, we’re also rather fond of making money.
• You’ll oversee pricing, price lists, stock levels and purchasing, making sure the commercial side of wine is every bit as well considered as the liquid in the bottle.
• Turn our teams into wine lovers. You won’t just know wine. You’ll know how to teach wine.
• You’ll also organise and monitor WSET training for our teams.

The aim

1. A team who can confidently say: "I'd recommend this one..." rather than: "Erm... they're all quite nice."
2. You’ll help us create and host drinks-related events, from Wine Supper Clubs to other brilliant and slightly more unexpected beverage experiences. We want people to leave thinking:"That was brilliant. When's the next one?"
3. Build partnerships worth talking about. You’ll work with our suppliers and partners to create meaningful annual partnerships across our hotels.
4. Summer terraces.
   Winter promotions.
   Festive seasons.
   Launches.
   Residencies.
   Events.
5. You’ll have responsibility for quarterly and annual strategy, forecasting sales and costs, monitoring performance and keeping a close eye on outgoing costs.
6. You’ll help manage revenue, costs and purchasing systems, create P&Ls for events and partnerships and manage third-party agencies and vendors.

What will you bring to our table?

• We’re looking for more than a brilliant palate. You’ll need proven Wine and Beverage management experience and genuine industry knowledge, along with a passion for food, wine and hospitality.
• You have the ability to make our teams care about wine. Someone who can walk into a hotel and make the room a little more enthusiastic.
• You’ll need to be a qualified Sommelier, at least up to Level 3- because quite simply when it comes to wine, you need to know your stuff.
• Communication skills- you will be able to stand in front of 20 people and make wine training feel less like training and more like a very good afternoon.
• You will not be a 'snobby somm.' - We work with some of the best wine suppliers in the UK and across the globe, including Coterie, so we want someone who will