Hands-On Food Service Manager: Restaurant & Bar Leader

The Venues Collection; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare & wellbeing

23 days' annual leave + bank holidays

Life assurance

Meals on duty

Job summary

The Venues Collection at Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes is seeking a Food Service Manager to lead the Restaurant & Bar operation on a hands-on basis, delivering exceptional service and developing a high-performing team.

You will also support Duty Management across the property, ensuring health & safety, compliance and guest satisfaction while driving revenue and maintaining brand standards.

Qualifications

• Experience leading a food & beverage operation
• Strong people leadership and team development skills
• A genuine passion for delivering excellent guest service
• Good commercial awareness, including revenue, stock, wastage and cost control
• The ability to motivate and engage a team in a busy operational environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• A proactive approach to problem solving and guest recovery
• Good knowledge of food safety, Health & Safety and licensing requirements
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities
• Confidence making decisions and taking ownership of operational issues
• The ability to work collaboratively across departments
• A flexible approach and willingness to support the wider operation when required
• Good IT skills and confidence using departmental systems, with experience of Opera desirable.

Responsibilities

• Leading the day-to-day Restaurant & Bar operation
• Delivering consistently high standards of food and beverage service throughout the guest journey
• Recruiting, training, coaching and developing a high-performing team
• Creating a positive, guest-focused culture and leading by example
• Managing labour scheduling in line with business demand
• Holding regular one-to-ones and performance reviews
• Driving colleague engagement, retention and development
• Building strong relationships with the kitchen and wider operational teams
• Maximising revenue through effective upselling and promotional activity
• Monitoring service levels, staffing requirements and operational performance
• Managing stock, wastage and beverage gross profit performance
• Ensuring licensing, food safety and hygiene standards are maintained
• Handling guest queries and feedback, taking ownership through to resolution
• Identifying sales opportunities through positive guest interaction
• Ensuring departmental SOPs are up to date and fully adhered to
• Managing Profit Protection requirements within the department
• Ensuring the team understands the venue's facilities, events and services
• Maintaining effective communication across departments
• Managing maintenance issues promptly and ensuring these are recorded appropriately
• Supporting colleague discipline and grievance procedures in line with company policies
• Taking ownership of Health & Safety and ensuring all relevant legislation and risk assessments are followed.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Guest service

Commercial awareness

Communication

Problem solving

Food safety

Organisation

Decision making

IT skills

Tools

Opera

Job description

The Venues Collection at Kents Hill Park in Milton Keynes is seeking a Food Service Manager to lead the Restaurant & Bar operation on a hands-on basis, delivering exceptional service and developing a high-performing team.

You will also support Duty Management across the property, ensuring health & safety, compliance and guest satisfaction while driving revenue and maintaining brand standards.