Premium Lounge Manager - The o2 in London

About the Role

The role leads the day-to-day operation and overall performance of a premium hospitality lounge, managing the guest experience, food and bar service, and financial and operational results. The manager provides strong, visible leadership in a busy event environment, ensuring high hospitality standards, excellent customer service, engaged staff and strong commercial results. They lead and support the front-of-house team and work closely with culinary, beverage, logistics and support colleagues to deliver events from start to finish.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of the premium lounge, taking overall responsibility for smooth running, service, staffing and guest experience.
• Deliver exceptional customer service by being visible on the floor, understanding guest needs and resolving issues professionally while maintaining high hospitality standards.
• Recruit, train, coach and motivate the front-of-house team, creating a positive culture of teamwork, accountability and service excellence.
• Maintain health and safety standards, including responsible alcohol service, safety checks, incident reporting and compliance requirements.
• Manage financial performance by controlling labour and operating costs, monitoring budgets, managing stock and tills, and working towards revenue and profit targets.
• Drive sales and upselling, identifying sales opportunities, increasing spend per transaction and motivating the team to achieve sales targets and promotions.
• Act as a key point of contact for clients and work closely with internal and external stakeholders to understand and deliver their requirements.
• Coordinate event delivery with culinary, beverage, logistics and support teams to ensure the lounge is fully prepared and events run smoothly from start to finish.
• Identify improvements to the lounge experience using guest feedback, event reviews, menu development and competitor awareness.
• Ensure company standards, SOPs, stock procedures and service expectations are consistently followed while encouraging innovation and best practice.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Strong team leadership, able to motivate, coach and develop people while recognising and celebrating their achievements.
• Approachable and personable, building positive relationships based on trust, respect and integrity with a friendly and supportive management style.
• Excellent communication, able to communicate clearly and confidently with team members, customers, clients and stakeholders at all levels.
• Collaborative team player who works well with other venues and teams, shares best practice and contributes positively across the wider business.
• Customer and client focused, building strong client relationships, listening to customer needs and consistently aiming to deliver excellent experiences.
• Adaptable and innovative, comfortable working in a fast-changing environment, embracing new ideas and helping teams adapt to change.
• Strong leadership and decision-making, taking ownership, addressing problems, making confident decisions and remaining focused during challenging situations.
• Commercially focused, understanding profitability, facing challenges realistically and looking for opportunities to improve business performance.
• At least 2 years' management experience leading teams.
• Strong IT skills, good numeracy and English, London market experience, and the ability to engage effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

Preferred Skills

• Management experience ideally gained within a demanding hospitality environment with complex front-of-house operations.

Benefits & Perks

• Competitive salary with bonus and full company benefits.
• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, birthday off, and a holiday purchase scheme.
• Healthcare and wellbeing cover including Aviva Digicare and Medicash for dental, optical and therapy treatments.
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme for mental health support.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave, two days' additional leave after returning from maternity leave, a day off for a baby's first birthday, and enhanced family leave.
• Shopping, entertainment and travel discounts, 20% off Nuffield Health and 10% off PureGym memberships.
• Pension scheme, life assurance and preferred rates on salary finance products.
• Professional subscriptions, ongoing training and structured career pathways.
• Meals on duty included.

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