Café F&B Operations Lead

Marine Life; Florida; On-site; USD 48,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Loggerhead Marinelife Center is seeking a Food & Beverage Manager to lead the Tortuga Café and ensure high‑quality service, food preparation, and customer satisfaction. You will recruit and train staff, manage inventory and costs, and uphold health and safety standards in a busy café environment.

The role requires strong math for cash handling, excellent communication, and a passion for service in a dynamic, guest‑facing setting. It is a salaried, full‑time position based on Florida operations.

Qualifications

• Experience in a food service or hospitality role.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation and service.
• Barista experience is beneficial.
• Strong math skills for cash handling.
• Ability to manage staff and schedules.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the Café.
• Recruit, train, and supervise staff.
• Review and evaluate staff performance.
• Manage inventory and place orders with suppliers.
• Prepare food & beverages according to recipes and standards.
• Ensure all food & beverages are prepared to a high standard.
• Manage costs and implement cost-saving measures.
• Perform opening/closing procedures and cash handling.
• Maintain guest satisfaction with friendly service.
• Ensure cleanliness and health safety compliance.
• Support the Café image and guest experience.

Skills

Staff management

Food service

Barista experience

Cash handling

Customer service

Health & safety

Job description

The Tortuga Café Food & Beverage Manager is responsible for managing and organizing the day-to-day operations of the Café. They oversee staff recruitment, training, and supervision. They play a vital role in providing excellent customer service and ensuring a clean and welcoming environment for guests. They handle ordering, inventory, and ensure food & beverage cost standards are being met to increase profitability and customer engagement. This position also involves preparing and serving food & beverages, handling cash transactions, and maintaining the snack bar area. The ideal candidate will possess a passion for service, the ability to learn food notes and prepare dishes to standard, strong math skills for cash handling, an attention to detail, and the ability to lead a team.

Core Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the Café
• Recruit, train, and supervise staff
• Review and evaluate staff performance
• Manage inventory and place orders with suppliers as needed
• Prepare food & beverages according to established recipes and standards
• Ensure all food & beverages are prepared to a high standard
• Manage food & beverage cost and implement cost-saving strategies to minimize waste
• Conducts all opening and closing procedures. (Opens and closes cash tills, kitchen cleaning, etc.)
• Ensuring that all guests feel welcome and are given responsive, friendly, and courteous service always
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness and compliance with food and health safety regulations
• Achieving company objectives in sales, service, quality, appearance of facility, and sanitation and cleanliness through training of employees and creating a positive, productive working environment
• Manage the Café’s image and suggest ways to improve it

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Experience

• Previous experience in a food service or other role in the hospitality industry.
• Strong knowledge of food preparation and service.
• Previous experience as a barista is beneficial.
• Strong math skills, including basic math and retail math, are essential for cash handling duties.
• Ability to manage staff.
• Good organizational and time management skills.
• Understanding of health and safety regulations.
• A friendly demeanor with excellent communication skills to help create a positive atmosphere for guests.

Physical Demands + Work Environment

The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Successful applicants must be comfortable in a highly dynamic environment in an active and busy office or outdoor setting. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand and walk. The employee is frequently required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. This position may involve working outdoors in Florida, often in hot and humid conditions, and at events that extend into evening and weekend hours. Must be willing and able to travel for offsite programming and possess a valid driver’s license.

Notes

This is a salaried, non-essential, exempt, full-time position. The successful incumbent may be required to perform tasks beyond the scope of this job description as requested by the supervisor. This recruitment may be used to select candidates for additional open positions. It is our policy that all team members, including newly hired, transferred, and promoted team members, will be carefully monitored and evaluated for an initial introductory 3-month period on the job. After satisfactory completion of the introductory evaluation, such team members will be evaluated on an annual basis.

Founded in 1983, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a leading cultural attraction in South Florida that provides open access to all guests. Today the Center is a global leader in the research, rehabilitation, and protection of sea turtles, serving our broader mission to promote ocean ecosystem conservation. Annually we reach 900,000 guests with our transformational education programs and partner with nearly 100 organizations across six continents and 16 countries in ocean conservation. In early 2022, we opened a new 27,500 square-foot campus that greatly expands our exhibition, education, and convening space and doubles our medical facilities.

We love welcoming individuals who are also passionate about ocean conservation and sea turtle rehabilitation, and we'd love for you to explore donating your talents and time.