Head of Retail Operations - Kia Oval

Head Of Retail Operations – Kia Oval

• £50000 per annum

Who We Are:
Levy UK & Ireland is the vibrant and exciting sector of Compass Group, the world’s largest catering company. We work at some of the greatest venues in the world, delivering legendary experiences in food, drink, and hospitality.

In the UK, we are proud to have a wealth of long-standing partnerships with venues across sport, entertainment, and events. Our partnerships include venues such as Wimbledon, Twickenham, Edgbaston, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Principality Stadium, Scottish Event Campus (SEC) and ExCel London.

We are culinary champions – it’s what we do and it’s what we are passionate about. At the core of our work is the belief that sustainably sourced great food and drink, coupled with exceptional service is key to creating legendary experiences. Focussed on ‘doing the right thing’ for our people and the planet, sustainability, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of what we do.

We are official partners of the British Paralympic Association and are proud to pay all our team members at least the Real Living Wage or London Living Wage.

We collaborate with some of the UK’s most game-changing and well-loved brands, all sharing our vision for bringing best-in-class experiences.

• Medicash – Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children)
• Aviva Digicare – Free annual healthcare check
• Exclusive Benefits & Wellbeing site (Perks at Work)
• Entertainment discounts – up to 55% off cinema tickets
• Health & Wellbeing discounts – Discounts for Nuffield Health (20%) and Pure Gym (10%)
• Travel discounts – Discounts with holiday companies such as TUI and Expedia
• Shopping discounts – Save up to 15% at high street and online stores by purchasing Shopping Cards
• Meals on duty
• Vodafone discounts
• Pension scheme and Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 23 days + BH’s and additional day off for your birthday
• 2 days additional leave, following return from Maternity leave during first year back
• Competitive and supportive family benefits
• Day off for baby’s first birthday
• Holiday purchase scheme
• On-going training & development and career pathways
• Professional subscriptions paid
• Financial wellbeing programme and preferred rates on salary finance products

More about the role:

Overview:
The Kia Oval is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth, South London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it was opened in 1845. It was the first ground in England to host international Test cricket in September 1880. The final Test match of the English summer is traditionally played there.

The Kia Oval is a very busy venue; Surrey men’s and women’s teams play a huge amount of cricket there along side the likes of Oval Invincibles and England Cricket.

Key Responsibilities

Role Purpose:

• Reporting to the Head of Catering Operations whilst working closely with various internal and external stakeholders including the Concessions Manager, your direct report. You will also be responsible for the key areas below.

Retail Management:

• An influential leader to oversee the delivery of all match-day operations in all retail catering areas.
• Work with internal culinary team to deliver a premium retail food operation and offering.
• Work with the Beverage Operations team to ensure we plan and deliver an appropriate beverage offering for each of our demographics.
• Working closely with the beverage operations team and managing variable teams to ensure the stadium is set up for match days.
• Ensure all match day paperwork is appropriate and covers all necessary legislation to deliver a safe and compliant operation.
• Forecast all retail matchday labour planners whilst working with our colleagues at Constellation to build a consistent and appropriately trained variable workforce.
• Working with the Venue Operations team to plan out the layout of the concourse for each matchday.
• Working with commercial partners to deliver brand activations and experiences for our customers.
• Always consider the use of technology to solve service, cost and operational inefficiencies.
• Ensuring that we are operating in accordance with our Net Zero goals supporting with innovative new ideas, and opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint.

Food and Beverage Partner Management:

• Work with our Concessions Manager to deliver an appropriate concession offering for our attendance demographics.
• Work with the Concessions Manager and Venue Operations team to plan appropriate matchday locations for partners to ensure all stakeholders are considered.
• Ensure the Concessions Manager is carrying out Food audits on all traders each matchday.
• Ensure the Concession Manager collects and collates all the relevant information from each trader to share with relevant internal and external parties.

Finance:

• Demonstrate strong understanding of financial reports and P&Ls.
• Accountability for all retail related fixed operating costs.
• Manage every matchday retail labour planners and ensure alignment to budget.
• Collate, compile and provide analysis of data as required to support decisions, observations and opportunities.
• Work with the Purchasing and Data Analysis Manager to make data led decisions when appropriate.
• Work with the Purchasing and Data Analysis Manager to ensure all EPOS procedures are carried out when necessary and to remain compliant at all times.

Health & Safety:

• To maintain H&S compliance and lead a health & safety culture in the department.
• Work with onsite HSE champion to ensure that all health and safety core signatures and the HSE silver standards are adhered to and maintained in your area of business.
• To personally demonstrate that you take responsibility for your own health and safety and that of others.
• Comply with all allergy procedures and safety regulations maintaining a clean, sanitary, safe work environment for staff, members, guests.
• Ensure compliance with all Responsible Service of Alcohol processes and RSA incident log handover is reported at the end of every event.
• Undertake the role of Alcohol Safety Co-ordinator for the venue.
• Perform regular safety observations of the department and ensure all maintenance issues are reported to the facilities team on Safety Culture.

People:

• Ensure variable and full-time members of the team are enabled to develop and grow in their role.
• Work with Constellation to deliver inductions and training to the variable retail team where possible.
• With the Constellation team, build and develop a consistent and effective retail management team.
• Actively communicates with all area managers, supervisors, and team members to build positive team morale, completing pre-shift briefings.
• Develop all staff incentives and engagement tools and ensure they are fully utilised to their potential.

Person Spec:

• Minimum 5 years in retail management experience in a large scale or sports venue/stadia.
• Strong operational experience with a passion for F&B.
• Always striving to offer the best customer experience possible, even if sometimes the operational efficiencies may have to be sacrificed.
• Highly confident, engaging and demonstrates a positive ‘can do’ attitude.
• Nice and approachable with good interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to influence and operate at all stakeholder levels (desirable).
• Personal license holder (desirable).
• High degree of IT proficiency.

About you:
At Levy UK & Ireland, we take pride in fostering a workplace culture that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusion. We believe that our differences are our greatest strengths, and we are committed to creating an environment where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered.

Our team is a vibrant tapestry of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which enriches our creativity, innovation, and overall success. We are dedicated to providing equal opportunities, promoting fairness, and ensuring that all voices are heard.

We firmly believe that a diverse team leads to innovation and creativity. We welcome candidates from all walks of life and backgrounds to join us in our mission to create a supportive and equitable work environment where everyone has the chance to excel and collaborate.

Join us in our journey towards a more diverse and inclusive world, where every person has the chance to thrive and contribute their unique talents. Together, we can achieve greatness.

As part of Compass you’ll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK’s biggest businesses.

Job Reference: com/1912/68717001/52705878/SU #London and South

Compass Group UK&I is committed to fostering an environment where every individual can truly be themselves at work and has equal opportunities to advance in their careers. We strive to build a culture that respects and celebrates the unique talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and abilities of all our team members. We want our colleagues to feel valued, empowered to reach their full potential, and to thrive because diversity is our strength!

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