B.U.C General Manager in Leeds

We're looking for a high-energy, sociable, and socially-skilled General Manager who specialises in late night hospitality to come on board. You'll be taking the lead to develop and motivate the team to deliver to customers our unique offerings and create Leeds' best social culture. We need someone who can confidently run a venue end-to-end, but who also understands that creating a real social experience requires cultural leadership without a regimented approach.

This role is for a visible, energetic leader who leads from the front, sets the tone for staff, and actively creates a fun, socially open environment. You'll lead by example, bringing warmth, humour, and confidence to every shift, encouraging staff to engage, guests to interact, and the room to come alive, while understatedly maintaining high standards, strong processes, and commercial awareness. You don't see management as enforcement; you see it as influence and setting a culture. You're organised, trusted, calm under pressure, and genuinely excited by the idea of building something special alongside supportive ownership that are hands-on and involved.

This position is packed with potential to grow for the right person, joining us on our exciting journey and becoming central to one or multiple venues over time. With big ambitions to change the UK's nightlife scene for the better, we want to build a core team that is central to delivering that vision, giving you room to grow your career with us as you develop.

You'll be working to deliver a real vision, built from the ground up not as a bar, but as the UK's first social experience, so you need to be extroverted and someone who's capable of and empowered to take action on new ideas, new events, and new partnerships. We'll be working from day 1 to make material changes to Leeds' nightlife, bringing people back together, and making memories for both our staff and our customers. If you have that type of passion, let's talk.

Experience and skills

• Management experience (Hospitality preferred) – 2 years
• Hospitality experience (Including late night and kitchen management) – 2 years
• Experience as a University Social Sec, Events host, or other extremely extroverted position – 1 year
• Hospitality admin and reporting experience (Sales, Capacity, Stock, Financial)
• Interest and affinity for working with and for University Students and Young Professionals
• Passion for socialisation, facilitating interactions, and creating amazing atmospheres
• Socially intelligent and engaging leadership style with a passion to help give our team the tools to deliver
• Adaptable nature, with an ability to navigate in changing and evolving customer offerings
• Confidence inputting into social media and marketing campaigns, including recording content, being in-video, and customer interactions

Preferred Experience

• Experience working with facilitation/in-person event partners (e.g. Thursday, Student Unions, etc.)
• Experience managing and coordinating customer-facing offerings (e.g. Venue-run Fantasy Leagues, Dance classes, themed events etc.)
• Experience working with Influencers, Musicians, and Company partnerships to drive revenue growth
• Obsessive interest in country music (highly preferred)

Duties of the role

• Access & Venue Control
  • Full keyholder access
  • Opening and closing process design
  • Assist in setting and maintaining opening/closing procedures and standards
  • Ensure venue security when operating in conjunction with SIA staff
  • Act as senior point of contact on duty when ownership not present
• Shift & Floor Management
  • Lead customer offerings end-to-end (food, drinks, activities, entertainment)
  • Allocate staff positions per shift and manage rotations where possible
  • Manage breaks and coverage of multi-bar and host positions
  • Resolve customer issues and troubleshoot technical issues where arising
  • Maintain service pace, standards, and guest experience
  • Undergo First Aid at work course if not already obtained
  • Visibility on the floor during peak trade
  • Actively orchestrate guest interactions, encouraging customers to meet new people.
  • Facilitate staff engagement moments on the floor — team games, small competitions, or social 'ice-breakers'.
  • Run post-shift culture debriefs: what worked socially, what didn't.
• Staff Management
  • Day-to-day management of all staff
  • Induct and onboard new starters, including assisting with initial training pre-open
  • Train staff on service standards, drinks specs, and procedures
  • Set cultural expectations on shift
  • Provide ongoing feedback and coaching, including customer interaction and atmosphere
  • Manage staff conduct during shifts, ensuring liveliness and customer interaction
  • Handle informal disciplinaries and escalate to ownership where required
  • Manage probation feedback and recommendations for all staff through opening period
  • Coach staff in creating social energy — e.g., guiding interactions, spotting staff with leadership potential.
  • Mentor staff on guest engagement and upselling skills through playful modelling rather than directives.
  • Monitor staff morale and intervene proactively if engagement drops.
• Rotas & Scheduling (With ownership Oversight)
  • Build weekly rotas within agreed labour budgets
  • Manage availability and shift swaps in line with B.U.C policy
  • Cover short-term sickness where required, escalating to ownership if required
  • Flag staffing shortages early
  • Track labour hours vs budget
  • Submit rotas for ownership review/sign-off
  • Build rotas to maximize social chemistry — pairing staff who bring energy and complement each other.
  • Plan contingency cover with staff who can step into high-energy roles if someone is absent.
• Stock Control & Ordering (Operational)
  • Conduct regular stock counts (weekly minimum), with AM assistance where required
  • Order stock within agreed par levels
  • Identify sales trends, suggesting improvements or changes to stock par, offerings, etc.
  • Manage cellar and stock storage and process optimisation, updating guidance where applicable
  • Monitor waste, spillages, and variances
  • Maintain stock rotation and dating
  • Ensure stock availability for service, flagging unavailability to ownership for resolution
  • Report anomalies or issues to ownership
  • Coordinate stock/setup for events or themed nights (cocktails, games, social activities).
  • Oversee stock layout to support smooth floor operations and fast service without disrupting social flow.
• Cash Handling & Financial Reporting
  • Oversee daily financial reporting
  • Investigate and report discrepancies
  • Ensure till accuracy and compliance
  • Monitor daily, weekly, & monthly sales performance
  • Track labour % against targets
  • Provide weekly sales and labour summaries
  • Review performance trends with ownership
  • Input into financial and sales optimisation methods at monthly general meeting
• Standards, Quality & Guest Experience
  • Maintain service and hospitality standards
  • Ensure drinks are made to spec by all staff
  • Manage guest issues and complaints in accordance with B.U.C policy
  • Oversee cleanliness and presentation of all customer facing areas
  • Ensure toilets, bar, and back-of-house standards
  • Protect brand tone and guest experience
  • Ensure environmental safety (blocked access routes etc.)
  • Actively monitor guest interaction levels, suggesting initiatives to boost engagement
  • Ensure floor energy is consistent, spotting and correcting low-energy periods.
  • Support VIP or event guest experiences while maintaining inclusive culture.
• Compliance & Safety (On-Shift)
  • Ensure licensing laws are followed on shift
  • Manage age checks and refusals (including managing SIA door team)
  • Oversee health & safety compliance
  • Ensure incident logs are completed
  • Act as secondary point of contact for issues during service
  • Liaise with security at regular intervals
• Communication & Reporting
  • Act as joint authority on decisions with ownership
  • Communicate targets, updates, and process changes to staff
  • Provide feedback from the floor to ownership, both customer and staff
  • Attend weekly general meetings with ownership
  • Support implementation of new systems or procedures
  • Propose floor activation ideas: mini-events, games, ice-breakers, guest engagement competitions.
  • Monitor and report on the social energy ROI — how culture drives repeat visits, sales, or brand engagement.
• Performance & Improvement
  • Drive sales through service in accordance with B.U.C customer policy
  • Identify operational inefficiencies, suggesting to ownership at weekly general meeting
  • Suggest improvements to systems and flow, suggesting to ownership at weekly general meeting
  • Support ownership-led initiatives
  • Contribute to hitting agreed profit targets
• Culture & Social Presence
  • Contribute to customer social initiatives and orchestration
  • Assist in organising live events
  • Logistical communication with B.U.C brand partnerships (Influencers, musicians, Student Union/Societies, Journalists etc.)
  • Assist in initial staff and customer culture design
  • Assist in soft furnishing setup of venue
  • Input into initial staff training days
  • Mentor staff in how to naturally facilitate social interaction among guests.
  • Work with ownership to experiment with new experiences or engagement ideas.
  • Maintain visible presence on the floor as a cultural role model.
  • Encourage staff to take initiative in creating fun, memorable guest moments
  • Participate in both social media content creation and podcast/outreach initiatives as required by ownership

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £40,000.00 per year

Benefits: Casual dress, Employee discount, Referral programme, Store discount

Work authorisation: United Kingdom (required)

Work Location: In person