Venue Director

Compass Group; Wisley; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading hospitality provider is looking for a Venue Director for their RHS Garden Wisley location. This full-time position offers a salary of £75,000 - £80,000 DOE. The ideal candidate will have over 3 years of experience in a similar senior role and a strong background in contract catering and hospitality management. Responsibilities include managing day-to-day operations, financial performance, and leading a talented team. The role offers a competitive benefits package, including holidays, a bonus scheme, and medical benefits.

Benefits

27 days holiday + bank holidays

Discretionary bonus scheme

Competitive pension contribution

Comprehensive private medical + health care benefits

Enhanced maternity/paternity pay

Free staff meals

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3+ years in a senior or regional role.
• Experience in contract catering or hospitality management.
• Passionate about food and guest experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead operations across multiple catering outlets.
• Manage full P&L, including financial reporting.
• Drive sales growth through innovative approaches.

Skills

Leadership

Financial acumen

Communication

Stakeholder management

Creative marketing

Job description

Venue Director
Location: RHS Garden Wisley
Salary: £75,000 - £80,000 DOE
Contract: Full-Time, Permanent, 5 out of 7 days per week

As the Venue Director of this vast, prestigious, multiple catering outlet venue, you will take on a key leadership role within the team to shape the strategy, deliver exceptional food and service as well as drive the commercial performance of the venue. As a newly won contract to the Restaurant Associates Venues team, we require a leader who is confident with implementing processes, comfortable with balancing strategic and commercial decision making and enjoys developing innovative approaches to move the venue forward.

In this role, you will be leading a talented team alongside working with senior partners, and you will embody the Restaurant Associates Venues values and cultures as well as implementing processes that will ensure this venue continues to be high performing whilst having guest experience at heart. This is a highly visible, client‑facing leadership role where innovation, accountability, and collaboration are key.

What We Offer:

• 27 days holiday + bank holidays
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Competitive pension contribution offer
• Comprehensive private medical + health care benefits
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay
• Free staff meals whilst working on site
• A supportive, values-driven culture within cohesive teams
• Opportunities for growth and development within a national business
• A chance to make a meaningful impact in a continuously growing sector

Responsibilities:

• Lead day-to-day operations across the multiple catering outlets on site, consisting of restaurants, coffee shops, and event spaces
• Take ownership of the full P&L, including forecasting, and financial reporting to internal senior stakeholders
• Co-create and implement strategic plans with RHS Wisley and internal teams to ensure the guests experience the highest standard of food and beverage on offer
• Champion employee engagement, wellbeing, and team development on site-Deliver and exceed standards in customer service, food quality, and compliance
• Drive sales growth through creative marketing and events planning with an innovative approach to increase potential sales and market position
• Act as the on-site cultural ambassador, fostering a positive and inclusive workplace
• Inspire a team to embody the Restaurant Associates Venues culture and work with the senior operators on site to continue implementing this.

The Ideal Candidate:

• Minimum of 3+ years proven experience in a similar senior/regional role.
• Proven experience in previous contract catering, hospitality and/or venue management roles.
• Ideally worked in a similar environment – heritage/culture visitor attraction venue with multiple different food offering operations – grab & go, restaurants, events‐based dining such as canapes and bowl food.
• Strong financial acumen and track record of delivering against budgets
• Inspirational leader with excellent communication and stakeholder skills
• Commercially savvy and results‑driven, with a focus on continuous improvement along with strong KPI management.
• Passionate about food, service, and guest experience
• Confident, client‑facing, and calm under pressure
• Able to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery

About Us:

Restaurant Associates is a leading premium hospitality provider with an ethos drawn from our history of fine and high‑quality dining in London and New York.

Within our venues team, we provide catering and hospitality services to some of the most iconic visitor attractions and destinations in the UK including the Imperial War Museum London, Glyndebourne Opera House, Knebworth House, Design Museum, Whipsnade Zoo and many more. Within these amazing venues we operate a host of bespoke cafés and restaurants, as well as delivering private events ranging from small meetings to large‑scale ground events of up to 1000 people. You can find a full list of our venues on our website.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive, diverse, fun, and dynamic place to work with opportunities to collaborate with a wide range of teams plus a commitment to putting our people first. Restaurant Associates is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from candidates of all backgrounds. As a business, we are committed to sustainability led practices and are proud to have achieved 3 stars with the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good Programme.

Job Reference: com/0711/43818001/52760942/R/SU #RA Venues