Food and Beverage Manager in Hampshire

Do you enjoy working with good food and great people?

The Role: Help shape Hampshire's countryside for future generations. As part of Hampshire Countryside Service, you will help protect and enhance some of the county's most valued landscapes, country parks, wildlife habitats and rights of way placing the people of Hampshire at the heart of everything we do. Joining our service means working with purpose to ensure Hampshire's landscapes remain vibrant, resilient and accessible for all. With collaboration and innovation at our core, we empower people to make a lasting difference. If you are inspired to work in this exciting and challenging role then join us in building a future where nature thrives.

This role is five days a week within a seven-day operation and includes regular weekend working (normally every other weekend), bank holidays and some evening work.

What you’ll do: We are seeking an experienced Catering Manager to oversee the delivery of the catering offer at the Lookout, Lepe Country Park. This is a fantastic opportunity to take full responsibility for your own restaurant within a modern, light filled space, serving good mood food in a stunning coastal setting. From hearty breakfasts to vibrant salads, everything we serve is freshly prepared using locally sourced ingredients. With proven hospitality management experience, you will have a successful track record of running a comparable food and beverage operation. You will demonstrate strong commercial awareness, with a clear understanding of budgeting and financial control, rota planning, ordering, record keeping, and stock management, alongside the ability to identify opportunities for service improvement and revenue growth. You will have a sharp eye for detail and maintain excellent personal and operational standards. Highly organised and an effective leader, you will communicate confidently and lead from the front, taking a hands on approach while consistently putting the customer at the centre of decision making. You will thrive in a fast paced, high volume environment, performing well under pressure and responding calmly and professionally to unexpected challenges. Motivated, enthusiastic, and resilient, you will bring a genuine passion for coaching, developing, and leading teams to achieve high standards and strong commercial results.

What we’re looking for: You will be an experienced hospitality professional with previous roles based around food and beverage operations. You’ll be comfortable running the front of house and kitchen teams with strong people management skills as well as significant knowledge within a catering environment including food preparation and ordering, health and safety and team development. Well organised with excellent communication skills, you will put the customer at the heart of everything you do. Confidence leading a team in a busy environment is key, with a willingness to work directly with the team and customers. You will also have experience of back-office functions including invoicing, HR and rota planning and be able to balance the business needs of the office with leading the team from the front.

On top of this rewarding opportunity to work in a beautiful country park, we offer a competitive salary and generous benefits package. In addition to excellent training and ongoing professional development, staff are enrolled in the local government pension scheme and benefit from flexible working with regular rota patterns, staff discounts, family friendly policies and free parking when on shift.

Hampshire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies. We are a Disability Confident Employer - committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.