Head Of Food & Beverage in Manchester

Overview

Head of Food & Beverage

Salary £28,500 to £40,000 DOE • Location: Cockfields Farm Park, Lees Road, Oldham, OL6 8AR • 40 hours per week – typically 5 days out of 7, including at least one weekend day • Flexible approach required

Join us on our journey to become the UK\’s best Farm Attraction

About Cockfields Farm Park: For over 70 years, Cockfields has been a family-run staple of the community, welcoming over 100,000 annual guests as a premier visitor attraction. Our mission is to ensure every visitor loves, shares, and returns to the farm, supported by a five-year investment plan focused on upgrading our infrastructure, landscape, and—most importantly—our people, to become the best Family Visitor Attraction in the Northwest. We are seeking a dedicated Head of Food & Beverage to join during this exciting growth period, helping deliver an unrivalled guest experience through exceptional service and a high-quality catering offering. As Head of Food & Beverage you will be part of a young, dynamic & supportive management team.

The Role

As Head of Food & Beverage, you are the heartbeat of our visitor experience, ensuring our food offering is a highlight of every \”great day out\” at Cockfields. We seek an ambitious, growth-minded leader to drive our catering department during a period of significant expansion. This is not a role for someone looking to maintain the status quo; it is for a creative professional determined to set the standard for food & beverage in the UK attraction industry. Over the next two years, you will spearhead the redevelopment of our kitchen, the launch of new food outlets, and the redesign of our menus. You will have the freedom to innovate with offerings for both daily service and high-profile seasonal events. If you combine operational excellence with culinary creativity, you will lead our team into this next chapter.

Responsibilities

1. Leadership & People Management
   • Recruit & Retain: Lead recruitment, onboarding, and continuous training for the catering team.
   • Performance: Conduct 1-1 appraisals, set targeted outcomes, and manage staff welfare and motivation.
   • Administration: Manage rotas, timesheets, and leave requests via online systems.
   • Culture: Lead daily morning briefings to align the team on visitor numbers and daily goals.
2. Operational Excellence
   • Health & Safety: Maintain strict adherence to COSHH, health and safety policies, and Safer Food Better Business guidance.
   • Food Safety: Lead allergen information (Natasha\’s Law) and host local authority inspections.
   • Compliance: Oversee pest control procedures and equipment maintenance/servicing.
   • Duty Management: Assume on-site Duty Manager responsibilities, including locking up the farm when required.
3. Commercial & Financial Growth
   • Financial Reporting: Prepare sales reports for the General Manager, calculate costings, and manage profit margins.
   • Procurement: Liaise with suppliers to balance quality and price.
   • Stock Control: Oversee regular stock takes, rotation, and forecasting for seasonal events.
4. Customer Experience
   • Menu Innovation: Direct menu updates creatively and encourage team ideas to meet customer requirements.
   • Service Standards: Lead by example on the floor, handle customer queries, and maintain a positive atmosphere.

About You

To be successful in this role, you should be:

• Ambitious: Eager to help us win \”Large Farm Attraction of the Year.\”
• Knowledgeable: Deeply familiar with food prep guidelines and modern POS/till systems.
• Flexible: Ready to work weekends and special events to suit the business needs.
• Proactive: Able to identify a problem (e.g., a broken fridge or morale dip) and fix it before it impacts the guest.
• Entrepreneurial: Take ownership of catering on site, always seeking improvements and innovation.

Hours & Benefits

Hours: 40 hours per week. This role requires a flexible approach to meet business needs, particularly during weekends, bank holidays, and school holidays. You will typically work 5 days out of 7, including at least one weekend day. Standard hours are 10:00 to 16:30, with start and finish times varying to accommodate events and operational requirements.

Investment: We are committed to your growth; as we invest in the farm, we invest in your professional development.

Note: Equals One is an advertising and recruitment agency working on behalf of our client to promote this vacancy. You may be contacted directly by the employer if they wish to progress your application. Due to the number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide specific feedback if your application is unsuccessful.