People and Recruitment Coordinator

Rockfish Restaurants; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent restaurant group is seeking a dedicated Recruitment & People Coordinator based in Exeter. This role involves managing the full recruitment cycle, onboarding new hires, and enhancing employee engagement across multiple locations. The ideal candidate will have relevant experience in hospitality recruitment or HR, strong organizational and communication skills, and a proactive approach. With competitive pay and various employee benefits, this position promises to be rewarding for those passionate about people and hospitality.

Benefits

Competitive pay

28 days holiday

50% off food in all restaurants

24-hour wellbeing support

4-week paid sabbatical after 10 years

Qualifications

• Proven experience in hospitality recruitment and/or HR.
• Strong understanding of hospitality culture and operational pace.
• Full, clean driving license and ability to travel.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end recruitment processes and deliver a great candidate experience.
• Collaborate with management for smooth onboarding processes.
• Support engagement initiatives and share internal communications.

Skills

Hospitality knowledge

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Tech-savvy

Proactive mindset

Education

CIPD level 5 or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Recruitment & People Coordinator

Location: Exeter-based, with travel to Rockfish sites across Devon & Dorset
Contract: Full-time, 40 hours, 5 days (Hybrid: restaurants across Devon & Dorset / home / office)

This is an exciting opportunity to join an award-winning restaurant group, ranked among the UK’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For. You’ll also work closely with our prestigious restaurant, The Seahorse in Dartmouth, voted one of the best in the UK.

At Rockfish, we believe the best seafood should be enjoyed by everyone — whether dining by the sea in one of our restaurants or ordering online to cook at home. We’re a business built on passion for the sea, seafood, sustainability, and hospitality — and we’re growing.

We’re looking for a hospitality-focused Recruitment and People Coordinator, ideally with experience in hospitality recruitment and/or HR, who understands the pace and personality of our industry. Rockfish has 12 seaside restaurant locations, The Seahorse, and a growing seafood business located on the Quayside in Brixham, delivering seafood to our restaurants and homes. This is a diverse role where you’ll impact the employee experience across all departments. You’ll support our management teams across Devon and Dorset, helping to attract brilliant people and deliver a seamless experience from first conversation to first shift and beyond.

If you love recruitment and thrive in a people-first environment, this could be the perfect fit.

What You’ll Be Doing

Talent Acquisition (Your Main Focus)

• Manage end-to-end recruitment to deliver an outstanding candidate experience.
• Develop localised and seasonal recruitment strategies tailored to individual Rockfish locations — each Rockfish is unique!
• Create innovative, compelling job adverts; manage job boards and campaigns; track response and performance data.
• Search, build, and nurture talent pipelines for core roles, supporting year-round talent readiness.
• Build partnerships with local communities and networks to widen talent pools.
• Support new opening recruitment with candidate screening and high-volume seasonal hiring campaigns, including open days and experience days.
• Deliver recruitment analytics (time-to-hire, source performance, cost-per-hire).

Onboarding & HR Administration

• Collaborate with site management teams to deliver a smooth, welcoming onboarding process that reflects Rockfish culture, including organising first-day induction and team integration for the first week.
• Manage and update all ATS and HR systems; ensure people data and employee records are accurate, compliant, and up to date.

Engagement & Internal Communications

• Support the creation and delivery of wellbeing, recognition, and engagement initiatives.
• Assist with survey administration to support continuous improvement.
• Share internal stories, recognition moments, and updates across Rockfish communication channels.

People Support

• Provide note-taking and admin support during meetings when required, ensuring all documentation is timely, and professionally presented.

What You Bring

• Qualified to CIPD level 5 or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience in hospitality recruitment and/or HR.
• Understanding of hospitality culture, roles, and operational pace.
• Strong organisational skills and exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Confidence using HR and ATS systems; tech-savvy.
• Proficient in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• A proactive mindset and a passion for people and hospitality.
• Trustworthiness, discretion, and professionalism.
• Full, clean driving license.
• Ability to travel to Rockfish locations across Devon and Dorset.
• Based in or near Exeter.

Who You Are

• Hospitality-Focused – You know what great service teams look like.
• Talent-Focused – You enjoy connecting the right people with the right roles.
• Detail-Driven – Accuracy is your default.
• Collaborative – You work brilliantly across People, Payroll & Operations.
• Curious & Ambitious – You’re eager to develop your People career.
• Cultural Champion – You bring Rockfish values to life in every interaction.

What’s in it for you

• Competitive pay.
• Your birthday off.
• Hybrid working (with travel).
• 28 days holiday.
• 50% off food in all our restaurants, including The Seahorse!
• Work in some of the most beautiful coastal locations with a view!
• 24-hour wellbeing support (counselling, financial, legal advice).
• 5-year awards.
• 4-week paid sabbatical after 10 years.
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay.
• Travel expenses paid (Ts & Cs apply).

If you’re Exeter-based, hospitality-minded, and passionate about people, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now and help us build the team that brings the Rockfish experience to life.