Head Waiter

Gleneagles Townhouse; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days holiday

Seasonal parties

Discount on F&B

Golf membership access

Job summary

The Gleneagles Hotel in United Kingdom seeks a Head Waiter to lead our Food and Beverage team. The role focuses on delivering a premium dining experience, coaching staff, and driving upselling while maintaining the highest service standards across all service periods.

Ideal candidates bring luxury hospitality experience, a track record of achievement, and flexible working availability, including weekends, to thrive in a fast-paced, guest-centric environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in luxury hospitality environments preferred.
• Outstanding track record of achievement in food & beverage service.
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including weekends.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a warm, memorable dining experience and attend to guest queries with care.
• Lead daily service briefings and share information with the team.
• Coach and develop staff to enhance performance and upsell where appropriate.
• Maintain top service standards across breakfast, lunch and dinner shifts.
• Collaborate with departments to ensure smooth operation and guest satisfaction.
• Upsell thoughtfully and motivate the team to do the same.
• Ensure presentation and preparation align with Gleneagles standards.

Skills

Leadership

Coaching

Upselling

Communication

Team player

Flexible

Job description

COME AND JOIN US . . .

We are currently seeking a supremely professional, confident and knowledgeable Head Waiter to join our Food and Beverage team.

The on target earning potential for this role is £40,724 per annum - comprising a base salary of £30,724, plus a qualified estimate of £10,000 in gratuities and service charge* As a member of the Gleneagles team, you will also enjoy a fantastic range of perks, benefits and rewards.

ABOUT GLENEAGLES

For the past century we’ve been making memories at our iconic hotel and sporting retreat in rural Perthshire. Gleneagles Townhouse, our luxury hotel and members’ club on St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, has created an exciting new chapter in our history. Crowned ‘Employer of the Year’ at the 2024 Cateys, awardedtwo Michelin Keys in recognition of our exceptional hospitality experience and named Best Overall Hotel in the UK by Time Outin 2026, everything we do is about surpassing expectations and creating unrivalled adventures for our guests.

WORKING AT GLENEAGLES

We’re devoted to making our people feel as valued as our guests. In this way, we strive to support the whole ‘you’ – not just the professional part but the personal part too. People join our team for all sorts of reasons. Some work here to develop a career, some work full-time, while others have a part-time schedule to fit around their personal commitments. However long you plan to stay with us and whatever hours you’d prefer to work, we’re open to flexible working requests and offer hours, shift patterns and contract @types to suit everyone.

Here’s a bit more detail on what we see you doing in this role:

• Delivering a warm and memorable dining experience for our guests and members; attending to each and every query and enquiry in a caring and helpful manner, the consummate professional
• Collaborating with other key departments, building strong working relationships, and a great appreciation of your inter-dependencies
• You’ll lead daily briefings with the service team to ensure all relevant information is shared, understood and applied directly
• Passionate about sharing your knowledge, through your strong coaching style, you’ll ably support the development and progression of your team
• Maintaining the highest standards of service, room preparation and presentation throughout the restaurant, playing a significant part in making sure the breakfast, lunch and dinner operation runs without a hitch, and our service is smooth
• Taking a keen interest in all elements of the operation and proactively suggesting ways of increasing the quality of our service; you’ll be proficiently upselling and encouraging your team members to do the same at every opportunity
• Interacting with our guests, always warm, professional, helpful and doing everything you can to exceed their expectations; playing your part in making their stay with us luxurious in every way

The kind of person we’re looking for:

• Ideally, you have experience within a luxury hospitality environment and an outstanding track record of achievement
• Your perspective and approach are always fresh; no matter how many times an issue has been presented to you, to your guest it’s the first time
• An early bird some days and a night owl other, working flexibly during the week and weekends
• You want to be the best and work with the best; learning from the experts in our team and sharing your knowledge with us
• Resilient, with the ability to deal with fast-paced environments, you’re adept at managing several, often conflicting priorities at once
• Always warm, thoughtful and sociable, you love to look after our members, guests and your fellow colleagues alike
• Highly motivated and possessing an immense sense of pride in your work; you're passionate about delivering the high standards for our guests in line with the Gleneagles brand
• You have a positive “can do” attitude to solving problems in a professional and courteous manner
• A strong team player with great communication skills and an enthusiastic approach; you're well organised and punctual with an eagle eye for detail
• You want to be part of a team that works hard, supports each other and above all has fun along the way

What’s in it for you:

Time to let your hair down

• 30 days holiday (including bank holidays) that increases with service
• Seasonal parties and local social events
• 50% discount on Food & Beverage, Country Pursuits, Spa (Mon-Thurs) and the Golf Driving Range
• Golf Membership (with access to all 3 championship courses) for £50.00 per annum

Treats in your pocket

• Flexi points into yourPerkboxwallet to spend as you choose. The points can be spent immediately, or you can save them up over a number of months, for perks that cost that little bit more. All this gives you greater choice, so you can pick the things that mean the most to you!
• A generous ‘refer a friend’ scheme

Be our guest

• Stay with us as a guest at Gleneagles or Gleneagles Townhouse for up to 2 nights per year at £95.00 per night – a benefit available upon completion of 12 months service
• Friends & Family discounted rate of £225 - £275 B&B per night at Gleneagles
• Enjoy discounted rooms and restaurants rates with up to 50% off across the wider Ennismore brands and hotels, located across some spectacular locations, including London, Paris, Rome, Dubai, Doha, Rio, NY, Chicago and LA...to name just a few

Investment in your development and wellbeing

• Pension scheme
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme, offering support and confidential advice for you and your family when you need it most
• Ongoing investment in your personal development with access to internal and external training qualifications and programmes
• Internal career opportunities across a wider range of specialisms and departments
• Monthly recognition programme
• Volunteering day every year with a charitable partner of your choice
• Gleneagles Cycle Scheme to spread the cost of the bike that you really want and reduce your carbon footprint

*About gratuities & service charge:

• Gratuities (tips) and service charge (an additional charge added to our room rates and services across the hotel that is passed directly to our employees) are paid on a pro-rata basis regardless of your role.
• It is estimated that in 2026, our full-time employees can expect to receive around £7,000 in addition to their annual salary