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- Tasks: Lead catering services at a prestigious independent school, ensuring quality and innovation.
- Company: Holroyd Howe is a top UK contract caterer focused on independent schools.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, 28 days holiday, and enhanced family-friendly policies.
- Why this job: Make a meaningful impact in a values-led environment with strong work-life balance.
- Qualifications: Experience in high-quality catering management and team leadership is essential.
- Other info: Join a team committed to sustainability, nutrition, and food innovation.
The predicted salary is between 44000 - 66000 £ per year.
Company Description
General Manager (Catering) - Prestigious Independent School
Location: West Surrey
Salary: £55,000 per annum + amazing benefits!
Benefits:
- Competitive salary of £55,000
- 52-week contract with minimal out-of-term operations
- Additional hours worked in term time compensated with lieu time out of term
- 28 days holiday including bank holidays
- Volunteering and grandparent leave available
- Enhanced family-friendly policies
- Comprehensive training and development support
- Company pension and life assurance
- Access to Perkbox discount platform
- Mental health and wellbeing support
- Free meals while on duty
- Clear progression opportunities through structured pathways
About the Role:
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a General Manager to lead the catering services at one of the area's most respected independent day schools. This position oversees the delivery of food and hospitality services across the site, including a busy dining operation, staff hospitality, and events. The successful candidate will lead a dedicated catering team, ensuring exceptional quality, innovation, and service.
Responsibilities include operational leadership, financial and compliance oversight, team development, and delivering outstanding client satisfaction within a premium educational environment.
What We're Looking For:
We're seeking an experienced and people-focused operator with a background in managing high-quality catering in education or similar sectors. A passion for food, service excellence, and team culture is essential. If you're ready to make a meaningful impact in a values-led setting, while enjoying a strong work-life balance and long-term growth opportunities, we'd love to hear from you.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage a large team to ensure efficient and high-quality catering services
- Act as the line manager to Prep School Chef Manager as well
- Ensure smooth operations, meeting the needs of both students and staff
- Maintain operational excellence in a challenging logistics environment, focusing on efficiency and cost-effectiveness
- Implement and uphold food safety and quality standards (HACCP) across all catering operations
- Oversee the hospitality and lettings segments, ensuring a seamless experience for external events and high-profile functions
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives, adapting operations to meet changing demands and enhance service delivery
Qualifications Requirements:
- Proven experience as a General Manager in a high-volume, quality-focused environment
- You can demonstrate that managing, training, and supporting a team has been an important part of your career to date
- Financially astute, you are very analytical and know how to create and maintain budgets and drive commercial performance
- Excellent coaching, delegation and influencing skills
- Ability to prioritise multiple projects in a fast-paced, multi-faceted, creative environment and able to thrive under pressure
- Ability to multitask, prioritise responsibilities, and adapt to changing circumstances in a fast-paced environment
- Meticulous organisational abilities and a high attention to detail
- Empathetic, clear and highly effective verbal and written communication
- Ability to adapt to challenges and opportunities with a solution-oriented perspective
- Excellent strategic thinking and critical reasoning skills
Additional Information
Holroyd Howe is one of the UK's leading contract caterers, providing fresh innovative food services solely to independent schools and colleges. We are a team of experienced professionals who tailor our catering service provision specifically to suit children of all ages in order to meet the bespoke requirements of each school. To provide our teams with the right skills to succeed in their jobs, we invest in their training and development. Our exceptional teams of seasoned specialists customise our catering services to fit children of all ages and satisfy the unique needs of our clients.
We pride ourselves on:
- Sustainability - Sustainability is at the heart of our thinking; always mindful of the ethics of our sourcing and how we prepare our meals.
- Nutrition - We take nutrition seriously and understand the impact a healthy diet has on the fundamental years of development. Meals are always freshly prepared from scratch and packed with nutritious ingredients.
- Food Innovation - We offer a wide portfolio of training opportunities and experiences, which attracts chefs who are passionate about culinary excellence and menu innovation to our team. From tasting tables, theme days and food theatre, to chef demonstrations and supplier showcases, we create engaging and fun dining experiences for our students. We work together to make mealtimes exploratory, quirky, and fun for our pupils, helping them build strong and healthy relationships with food.
Holroyd Howe is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all employees to share this commitment. All roles within Holroyd Howe are regarded as regulated activity, it is an offence to apply for a role in regulated activity if you are barred from working with children, therefore we will require an Enhanced DBS which includes a Barred List check for all successful applicants. We will also require shortlisted applicants to provide appropriate information regarding any criminal offences and shortlisted applicants will be subject to an online search of public available information on suitability to work with children.
This appointment is offered on the return of satisfactory professional references.
General Manager - SURREY employer: Holroyd Howe
Contact Detail:
Holroyd Howe Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land General Manager - SURREY
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with the specific needs of the educational catering sector. Research the latest trends in school dining and nutrition, as well as any unique challenges faced by independent schools. This knowledge will help you demonstrate your understanding of the role during interviews.
✨Tip Number 2
Network with professionals in the catering and education sectors. Attend industry events or join relevant online forums to connect with others who can provide insights or even referrals. Building relationships can give you an edge when applying for this position.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss your leadership style and how you've successfully managed teams in high-pressure environments. Be ready to share specific examples of how you've improved service delivery or implemented innovative solutions in previous roles.
✨Tip Number 4
Showcase your passion for food and service excellence during any interactions with the hiring team. Whether it's through your conversations or questions, let them see your enthusiasm for creating exceptional dining experiences for students and staff alike.
We think you need these skills to ace General Manager - SURREY
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV highlights relevant experience in managing catering services, particularly in educational settings. Use specific examples that demonstrate your leadership skills and ability to maintain high-quality standards.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Write a cover letter that reflects your passion for food and service excellence. Mention how your values align with those of the school and provide examples of how you've successfully led teams in similar environments.
Highlight Relevant Skills: In your application, emphasise your financial acumen, organisational abilities, and experience with food safety standards (HACCP). These are crucial for the role and should be clearly articulated.
Showcase Your Team Development Experience: Discuss your experience in training and supporting team members. Provide examples of how you've fostered a positive team culture and driven continuous improvement initiatives in previous roles.
How to prepare for a job interview at Holroyd Howe
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a General Manager, you'll be leading a large team. Be prepared to discuss your leadership style and provide examples of how you've successfully managed and developed teams in the past.
✨Demonstrate Financial Acumen
Since the role requires financial oversight, come ready to talk about your experience with budgeting and driving commercial performance. Highlight specific instances where your financial decisions positively impacted operations.
✨Emphasise Your Passion for Food and Service
This position is all about delivering exceptional quality and service. Share your passion for food and hospitality, and discuss how you ensure high standards in catering services.
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that assess your problem-solving abilities in a fast-paced environment. Think of examples where you've had to adapt to challenges or implement improvements in catering operations.
