Assistant Restaurant Manager

Black Barn Bistro; Havelock North; On-site; NZD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Barn Bistro in Havelock North on the North Island is seeking an Assistant Restaurant Manager to work with the Executive Chef and Restaurant Manager. The role demands a proactive, professional leader who can drive standards, mentor staff and ensure impeccable service across the dining floor.

You’ll bring around 5 years FOH experience, senior FOH exposure, strong wine and cocktail knowledge, and a passion for delivering memorable customer experiences in a venue known for its innovative menus

Qualifications

• Around 5 years proven work experience in Front of House.
• Ideally 3 of those years in a senior FOH role in a formal dining restaurant.
• Ability to lead service on the floor and act as key contact point when RM is absent.
• Intermediate to advanced wine and cocktail knowledge.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Experience in setting up and closing down a restaurant.
• Strong leadership, motivational and people skills.
• A passion for Customer engagement and creating a unique customer experience.
• Be presentable, well organised and time efficient.
• Have a keenness to broaden your knowledge and expertise within the hospitality and winery space.
• A full understanding of the sequence of service.

Responsibilities

• Receive and confirm reservations
• Supervise wait staff
• Assist with the training of new staff
• Hold pre-service briefings with staff
• Liaise with kitchen staff about specials and menu changes
• Allocate table sections for service
• Ensure tables are set correctly
• Greet and seat guests
• Offer and serve drinks to guests
• Confidently handle guest feedback and resolve complaints
• Work closely alongside and under the guidance of the Restaurant Manager and Executive Chef
• Be proactive about jobs that need doing or assessing where assistance is needed
• Ensure compliance with health and safety and sanitation regulations as well as ensuring all operating licenses are current
• Ensure opening, closing and cleaning procedures are completed to a consistently high standard
• Ensure the restaurant operates within the Black Barn experience

Skills

FOH experience

Senior FOH

Leadership

Customer engagement

Attention to detail

Restaurant operations

Sequence of service

Wine knowledge

Time management

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 9th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

Black Barn Bistro – Havelock North, North Island

What we’re looking for:

We’re looking for a professional, well trained Assistant Restaurant Manager to work alongside our Executive Chef and Restaurant Manager. The spirit of the place is young and energetic where people are made to feel relaxed and welcomed. However, behind that relaxed welcome is a team totally dedicated to impeccable customer service and attention to detail. You’ll need both the skills and the passion to not only quickly lock into those standards but to also help drive and train others to do the same. It is a great place to work in a beautiful part of Aotearoa, and you’ll be made to feel very much a part of the broader Black Barn team who cover everything from luxury retreats to amphitheater concerts to a busy cellar door. That said, we’re not looking for someone to float around, meet and greet and disappear – we’re looking for a pro-active, professional who has their act together and their eye on everything and is never happy with ‘good enough’.

While we’re a Bistro at heart with a strong and growing reputation for innovative menus and outstanding food – there’s a little more to it than that as well.

In winter, every few weeks we turn into an intimate concert venue with wining and dining attached. We hold a limited number of weddings and corporate events. We have a separate private dining area called The Cabana and a magical courtyard for outdoor dining in summer under a canopy of grapes. We provide service and separate menu for guests sitting under an avenue of figs while trying wines from our cellar door. All this means no day is quite the same as the next, there is huge opportunity for interactivity, spontaneity, good ideas and fun – but it also means we seriously need to have our act together to pull it all off – and that’s where this role is critical.

Skills and experience required:

• Around 5 years proven work experience in FOH
• Ideally 3 of those years in a senior FOH role in a formal dining restaurant
• Ability to lead service on the floor and act as key contact point when RM is absent.
• Intermediate to advanced wine and cocktail knowledge
• Excellent attention to detail
• Experience in setting up and closing down a restaurant
• Strong leadership, motivational and people skills
• A passion for Customer engagement and creating a unique customer experience
• Be presentable, well organised and time efficient
• Have a keenness to broaden your knowledge and expertise within the hospitality and winery space
• A full understanding of the sequence of service
• NZ citizen or Residence visa holder

Proposed tasks and responsibilities:

• Receive and confirm reservations
• Supervise wait staff
• Assist with the training of new staff
• Hold pre-service briefings with staff
• Liaise with kitchen staff about specials and menu changes
• Allocate table sections for service
• Ensure tables are set correctly
• Greet and seat guests
• Offer and serve drinks to guests
• Confidently handle guest feedback and efficiently and fairly deal with any problems or customer complaints that may arise
• Work closely alongside and under the guidance of the Restaurant Manager and Executive Chef and take direction easily
• Be proactive about jobs that need doing or assessing where assistance is neededEnsure compliance with health and safety and sanitation regulations as well as ensuring all operating licenses are current.
• Ensure opening, closing and cleaning procedures are completed to a consistently high standard
• Ensure the restaurant operates within the framework of the Black Barn experience where our philosophy right across the business is to be the experts at giving people a good time.

What’s in it for you?

• Genuine opportunities for growth and professional development
• Opportunity to work within an industry-leading team ready to share their knowledge
• Competitive pay rates and benefits based on your experience + annual bonuses for long term commitment
• The chance to take your career forward in one of the very best restaurants in the region
• Staff discounts on purchases of Black Barn Wine and other Black Barn perks.
• Complimentary tickets per season to concerts held at the Black Barn Amphitheatre