Front of House Manager

Rose Castle is seeking an experienced Front of House Maestro (Manager) who blends leadership with personality and flair. As part of the new leadership team, the FOH Maestro leads on guest experience and hospitality delivery. They are passionate about hospitality and bring fresh vision and vigour to our guest services. The role includes overseeing a team of FOH Associates, working closely with the Operations Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver an exceptional hospitality experience for Rose Castle clients, ensuring smooth event execution from arrival to departure.
• Lead, manage and motivate the Front of House team across weddings, corporate bookings, retreats and ticketed Rose Castle hosted events.
• Take responsibility for FOH and guest welfare, health and safety and emergency procedures.
• Manage guest check-ins and check-outs with efficiency and warmth.
• Collaborate and liaise with the kitchen, housekeeping, sales and operations teams to ensure unified service.
• Organise and execute pre-event set-up and post-event turnaround, stock checks and other relevant event provision in unison with event briefs.
• Uphold licensing regulations in accordance with The Licensing Act 2003.
• Reconcile guest purchases across POS and PMS systems.
• Liaise with FOH Associates to adapt rotas based on specific event needs and assist with recruiting new FOH team members.
• Monitor and report on guest feedback and operational performance through end-of-event reports; lead post-event debrief meetings and implement improvements to enhance Front of House delivery.

About Rose Castle:

Rose Castle is set in the picturesque countryside with beautiful interiors and gardens. Rose Castle has an ethos centred on warmth, authenticity, and excellence in hospitality.

As a private venue hosting a rich variety of public events and exclusive hire, including weddings, corporate retreats, family celebrations and meetings. This historic castle is three miles outside Dalston, Cumbria, and close to the M6 and Carlisle, with views South across to the Lake District fells.

Working alongside Rose Castle Company is the Rose Castle Foundation charity. It hosts international programmes and retreats at Rose Castle, and elsewhere, which bring people together across challenging societal divides. Their aim is to equip a generation of reconciling leaders around the world.

Required personal attributes:

• Ability to make people feel special.
• Experience in hands-on hospitality, ideally in a prestige, events or historic venue.
• Proven leadership in managing and developing a Front of House team.
• Adaptability to a flexible, event-led calendar with predominately weekend work and peak summer activity.
• Excellent interpersonal skills makingthe difference between a normal event and a memorable experience, proactively resolving any challenges that may arise.
• Extraordinary attention to detail and customer service.
• An organised approach withthe ability to manage multiple tasks.
• Confident with basic administration, IT and Microsoft Office.

Desired experience and skills:

Familiarity with POS systems for managing sale of food and beverage (we use Lightspeed).

Familiarity with PMS systems for managing guest profiles and check-in/check-out processes (we use MEWS).

Personal license holder.

Points to note:

Contract: Part-time on a temporary contract basis until October 2025, with the possibility of becoming permanent.

Hours: Minimum of 24 hours per week.

Salary: From £17 per hour (£35,360 pro-rata).

Holiday: Pro-rata allowance included.

Location: Must be able to commute to Rose Castle, Dalston. Please note that public transport is not viable due to the rural location.

Availability: Willingness and ability to stay overnight as Duty Manager.

Perks: Free on-site parking; assistance with short-term live-in accommodation available.

Physical Requirements: Ability to lift and move furniture with assistance or independently in a safe manner (e.g. banqueting tables, chairs).

AMRT1_UKCT