Private Members’ Bar Director, Mayfair

I am retained by the owners of a intimate, invitation-only members’ bar in London to find the person who will run it.

It is a bar for members rather than a members’ club. What it has is a serious bar at the heart of the room, a DJ, good sound, and a membership of artists, architects, musicians and writers who come for the drinks, the music and each other. The people who run it know almost every member by name, and the atmosphere is closer to a house party among friends than to a club with a queue outside. The drinks philosophy is luxury through simplicity: nothing that serves no purpose, everything simple and elegant.

The role

You own the experience every night the bar is open. The welcome and the floor. The door when the room is full. The mood and the music, which means understanding what works in the room and what does not, and steering the night with the DJs. You book and look after artists and run the calendar of events. You know the members, their habits and their circles, and you are the face they expect to see. You work hand in hand with an experienced bar team on the drinks offer and with a small support team on partnerships, membership and communication. And you drive the trading: early-evening volume, strong nights, events and private hires, spend per head.

You work directly with owners who are present, engaged and close to the detail.

Who I am looking for

• A bar personality first: someone who has built a following in a serious bar, in the mould of the great London hotel bars, and can also run a room
• Cool in the real sense, at ease with a creative membership that spots in seconds anyone who is trying too hard
• A feel for music and atmosphere, and the ability to deal with DJs and artists as artists, not as staff
• Senior enough to hold your own with owners who are close to the business, and to run the place without being told
• A host and a networker, visible, warm and discreet, with a circle of your own
• Members’ bar or members’ club experience is valued, not required

What is on offer

• Salary in the mid fifties, plus a performance bonus
• Evening-led hours, no double shifts and none of the lunch-and-dinner pressure of a restaurant
• A right-hand manager on the floor, a bar team that runs under its own lead, and a support team that takes the admin off your desk
• A big role in a intimate, special place, with owners who want it to take off

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