Head of Operations

Warner Hotels; Holme Lacy; Presencial; GBP 70.000 - 100.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Warner Hotels at Holme Lacy House in Herefordshire seeks a Head of Operations to lead front and back-of-house functions across Reception, Leisure, Spa, Housekeeping, Entertainment and Nights. You will drive service excellence and commercial performance while maintaining brand standards.

You will recruit, develop and retain teams, deputise for the General Manager, and partner with HUB teams to deliver seamless guest experiences.

Formación

• Experience in Reception / Front Desk management in a high occupancy hotel.
• Proven track record of managing large bedroom operations and supporting full site operational delivery.
• Experience managing OTA relationships and distribution performance.
• PPO experience desirable.

Responsabilidades

• Oversee day-to-day operations across reception, leisure, spa, housekeeping, entertainment, and nights.
• Drive on-site sales and commercial initiatives to maximise revenue.
• Provide leadership for entertainment and leisure with calendar development.
• Lead housekeeping and nights to maintain service standards and efficiency.
• Forecast rotas and manage labour spend while ensuring coverage.
• Monitor guest experiences and lead complaint resolution to protect reputation.
• Ensure health and safety compliance across all departments.
• Recruit, train, and develop teams; foster retention.
• Deputise for senior leaders and collaborate with HUB teams.
• Identify operational efficiencies and pilot new initiatives.
• Govern procurement and financial sign-off within authority.

Conocimientos

Front desk management

Operations leadership

OTA relationships

PPO experience

Descripción del empleo

Join our team at Holme Lacy, part of the Warner Hotels Group. This Grade I listed 181-bedroom hotel in Herefordshire has a theatre, spa, two restaurants, and a coffee shop, all set in 20 acres of green fields.

Join Warner Hotels at Holme Lacy House as our Head of Operations.

Set within the stunning Herefordshire countryside, Holme Lacy House is one of Warner Hotels' most characterful destinations, combining rich history, beautiful grounds, and exceptional guest experiences. As Head of Operations, you'll play a pivotal role in leading key operational departments across the hotel, ensuring every guest enjoys a seamless and memorable stay.

AsHeadofOperations,you’llplaya crucial role in bringing that magic to life.

Role Purpose:

TheHeadofOperationsleads all front and back-of-house functions to deliver seamless guest experiences across Reception, Leisure, Spa, Housekeeping, Entertainment, and Nights teams.

With a Guest Hearted approach, the role ensures service excellence while driving commercial performance through effective sales execution and collaboration with HUB teams. By applying Limitless Thinking, the Head of Operationsidentifiesefficiencies, pilots new initiatives, and elevates leisure and entertainment propositions to meet brand standards and guest expectations. The positionowns its impactbymaintainingcompliance, safeguarding and reputation through complaint resolution, whilst balancing labour costs with operational quality. Success is achieved by winning as one, recruiting, developing, and inspiring teams, fostering collaboration, and deputising for senior leaders to ensure business continuity.

Distinctive in scope, the role combines daily operational delivery with strategic improvement to secure both immediate service excellence and long-term growth.

Responsibilities:

Operational delivery:Oversee day-to-day operations across reception, leisure club, spa, housekeeping, entertainment, and nights team; ensure seamless guest arrival, check-in, and service delivery across alltouch-points.

Sales and commercial execution:Drive on-site sales performance across leisure, spa, and entertainment; implement hotel-specific propositions and external marketing initiatives in partnership with HUB teams to maximise revenue.

Entertainment and leisure leadership:Provide oversight of entertainment delivery and calendar development; ensure leisure club and spa operations (including memberships and day spa services) are executed to brand standards and guest expectations.

Housekeeping and nights management:Lead and quality assure housekeeping operations and nights team delivery;maintainservice standards, guest satisfaction, and operational efficiency across both functions.

Labour and rota management:Forecast and produce efficient rotas across reception, leisure, spa, housekeeping, entertainment, and nights; control labourspendwhilemaintainingrequired cover to deliver service excellence.

Guest experience and complaint resolution:Monitor and enhance arrival, check-in, and post-stay guest experiences; lead complaint handling and feedback resolution to protect reputation and drive loyalty.

Compliance and safety:Ensure 100% adherence to health & safety requirements across all operational departments; oversee leisure audits including lifeguard compliance, paperwork, and administration.

People management and retention:Recruit, train, develop, and performance manage team members across all operational departments; foster teamwork, morale, and succession planning tomaintainengagement and retention.

Deputising and collaboration:Undertake Duty Management shifts, manage rotas, and deputise for senior leaders and the General Manager whenrequired; collaborate closely with HUB teams, Sales, Events, HR, and Marketing tomaintainbrand standards and business continuity.

Continuous improvement and strategy:Identifyoperational efficiencies and service improvements across leisure, spa, reception, and housekeeping; pilot commercial and guest experience initiatives to scale successful practices within Head Office parameters.

Governance:Operatewithin approved financial sign-off limits and procurement processes; escalation issues outside delegated authority to the General Manager

Behaviours and Essential Skills

• Makes choices that prioritise guest needs and champions a culture of warm, effortless service across all operational teams.
• Anticipates guest pain points, removes friction from thearrival to departurejourney, and continuously elevates service standards.
• Identifies opportunities, efficiencies, and innovations across leisure, spa, entertainment, reception operations; confidently tests andpilotsnew ideas.
• Owns the operational P&L, revenue performance, labour control, and local sales execution, making balanced decisions that protect both guest experience and commercial outcomes.
• Applies strong understanding of front desk, housekeeping, nights, leisure, spa, entertainment operations tomaintainbrand standards and seamless daily delivery.
• Uses systems insights, guest data, and operational metrics to inform decisions on staffing, experience, and commercial performance.
• Maintains full accountability for health & safety, safeguarding, licensing, audit readiness, and operational risk across all departments.
• Coaches, motivates, and inspires large, multidisciplinary teams; builds succession strength and nurtures future leaders.
• Works effectively with HUB teams and onsite leaders, breaking down silos to deliver consistent brand standards, seamless operations, andjoined updecision making.
• Creates an engaged,high performingenvironment rooted in teamwork, positive behaviours, and clear communication embodying WinAsOne every day.

Essential Experience

• Experience in Reception / Front Desk manager role in high occupancy hotel environment
• Proventrack recordof managing large bedroom operations and supportingfull siteoperational delivery.
• Experience managing OTA relationships and distribution performance.
• PPOexperiencedesirable.

Ready to discover your glow?

Be part of something more than a hotel — where your personality shines and your ideas matter.

Inclusion Statement

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of who we are and what we do. Our commitment to these values is unwavering and they are central to our mission. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries and we are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments or flexibility that you mayrequire, including whether a role can be part-time or a job-share.

We genuinely care about every candidate's experience during the recruitment process and are here to provide support where we can. If yourequireanyassistanceor reasonable adjustments while applying, pleasedon'thesitate to reach out to us at: [e-mail]

Please note:UnsolicitedCV’sfrom agencies will not be considered