BAR MANAGER

We are Human Kind; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Employee discount

Health insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

A unique hospitality group in San Diego is seeking a visionary Bar Manager to lead their innovative beverage program. The role involves overseeing all bar operations, crafting unique drink offerings, and ensuring an exceptional guest experience. Candidates should have substantial bartending experience, excellent leadership and customer service skills, as well as a broad knowledge of spirits. The position offers a dynamic work environment focused on creativity and community engagement while working in a newly renovated hotel setting.

Qualifications

• 3 years bartending experience and 1-2 years as Bar Manager.
• Extensive knowledge of beer, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic options.
• Ability to work varied shifts, including weekends and holidays.
• Excellent customer service skills and strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work varied shifts, including weekends and holidays.
• Certifications as applicable for the position.
• Physically able to lift up to 50 lbs and stand for extended periods.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day bar operations and team management.
• Develop and maintain the beverage program according to company standards.
• Manage costs, budgets, and operational expenses.
• Control costs and budget to ensure profitable operation (labor, COGS, expenses).

Skills

Leadership

Customer Service

Knowledge of Spirits

Team Building

Customer service

Team leadership

Recruiting

Budgeting

Shift flexibility

Tools

POS systems

Job description

We’re seeking a visionary leader with a self-starting spirit—someone who sees the big picture and isn’t afraid to roll up their sleeves to make it real. As Bar Manager, you will oversee all aspects of the bar program, including menu development, team hiring and training, sourcing, and day-to-day operations. You’ll be entrusted with ensuring exceptional quality and service at every level. Your creativity and leadership will shape a program that reflects our ethos—experimental, inclusive, and deeply rooted in place. From introducing guests to a natural wine from Valle de Guadalupe, or crafting a Bacanora-forward cocktail that channels the spirit of the Sonoran Desert, to offering a restorative fresh-pressed juice (with an optional spirit) or simply nailing the perfect shot-and-a-beer combo—we want to offer something for everyone.

We require our Bar Manager to develop an impressive NA program, curated packages for our private hot spring cabanas + pools, and event beverage programming, which includes everything from concerts to Chef’s tables tastings to weddings and private events. A good understanding of the wide array of different agave spirits, such as sotol, bacanora, mezcal etc. would be a bonus. As well as other non‑agave classics and up and comers – we are looking for a wide and broad knowledge base of spirits.

As much as this job is about knowing how to program and having a wide range of knowledge of wine, spirits and even non‑alcoholic beverages, it is about leadership, management, recruiting and training. We need a leader; someone that knows how to build a team, someone that naturally assumes responsibility in order to offer our guests the highest level of experience. Backed by designing and creating systems and operations including costing, ordering, and budgeting. Someone who leads by example and understands their role in orchestrating the vibe of the bar, from the tone of our team to the experience of our guests. We want a driver; someone who loves food and beverage and is looking for a meaningful place to express their unique talents to our guests, who are paying attention, and who will appreciate them. We are looking for an extremely high performer that is incredible at what they do.

Additional:

We are hospitality driven, we welcome all demographics and strive for every guest to feel warmly welcomed and appreciated. Our bar’s atmosphere straddles everything from a punk dive to a desert island resort. Our outdoor Ritual Pool Bar is lively with guests in vacation mode who are looking for friendly and fast service. We love our locals, we have live music, DJs and host several special events. What Makes Us Special - Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel

Areas of ownership include:

• Spearheading the beverage program for the restaurant and bar: plan, build, train and direct the beverage program.
• Developing, evolving, and maintaining the beverage program to fit within the We Are Human Kind aesthetic and standards
• Assist in managing day to day operations including, but not limited to: 1) FOH – floor management, staff management and providing an exceptional guest experience 2) Admin – bar scheduling, ordering and inventory audits
• Help to manage all related costs and budget to ensure profitable operation including and not limited to labor, COGS, and operational expenses

Qualifications (Includes equipment knowledge/use):

• Experience: Bartending (Full Bar) 3 years, Bar Manager 1‑2 years * Experience opening a bar is a huge plus*
• Extensive wine knowledge of beer, wine, spirits and N/A options
• Knowledge of food health and safety regulations
• Excellent customer service skills and strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to work varied shifts, including weekends and holidays as needed
• Comply with certification requirements as applicable for position
• Possess the physical and mental stamina to work for extended periods of time
• Physically able to lift and carry heavy trays and equipment as well as delicate china and glassware up to 50 lbs
• Physically able to walk without assistance on various surfaces for an extended period of time

We Are Human Kind

Intentional Hospitality This is not a regular job, and we are not a regular company. We Are Human Kind is our name. We are a new hospitality group, forming around the restoration and rejuvenation of a small, magical, high desert community nestled in the bouldery mountains of San Diego’s Sonoran Desert along Old Highway 80. Live music, art, hospitality, and community are our heartbeat. We are dreamers and we are doers. We are looking for others who feel the same calling for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build something meaningful, something real, and something that reverberates through the generations.

OUR CULTURE

Our culture encourages the strange and unusual. We see beauty in imperfection. We like dust, we like patina, we like age and we like rust. Our culture is high fidelity - we celebrate humanity in all of its forms - all of the highs and lows of our natural human rhythms, backgrounds, experiences, and times together. We accept that life is ups, downs, easy days and hard days - and we wouldn’t want it any other way. We are not easily offended and we laugh a lot. We put everything we have into everything we do. We do not go halfway. As the owners and designers, there is no detail we do not care about. We care about the way our spaces make others feel and the way our food and our drinks convey our intentions. We are relentless, we are problem solvers, the show must go on. We approach all aspects of this endeavor from a place of aspiration. We focus on the human experience and our goal is to overwhelm our fellow humans with spaces and experiences that feel effortless and natural.

VALUES

Impressively independent and reliable. Excitement about what you do. Passion for the smallest details. Grace and compassion for others. Upholding honesty over comfort. Resilient. Conscientious. Self‑aware.

ABOUT JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS HOTEL

The crown jewel and the heartbeat of this tiny dusty town is the Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel. A newly renovated boutique hotel in the middle of nowhere…one hour east of downtown San Diego. The hotel has been designed with a sense of place, natural materials, textures, and objects from ancient and primitive cultures from all over the world. 22 artisan rooms, 2 outdoor mineral hot spring pools, indoor hot spring tub, exotic desert hideaway bar, restaurant with lava rock walls, vintage ceramic lights and outdoor patios under a canopy of old‑world lanterns, a live music stage, and multi‑friend cabanas with cast iron fire pits.

We Are Human Kind is an equal opportunity employer. At We Are Human Kind, we are committed to treating all Applicants and Associates fairly based on their abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other classification protected by law.

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off

Work Location:

In person