Catering & Events Manager in Knowsley

We are looking for a Catering & Events Manager to support the commercial growth of Shakespeare North Playhouse’s food, beverage, hospitality and events offer, alongside safe, compliant and consistent high-quality delivery.

About the Organisation

Shakespeare North Playhouse, ‘Theatre Building of the year 2023’ is a unique new arts venue, which opened in the summer of 2022. It presents a vibrant contemporary cultural and learning programme featuring home co-produced and visiting performances, as well as comedy, music, community work, hire and events and a range of education and training activities.

The Shakespeare North Trust (SNT) is the Charitable organisation which is the operator of Shakespeare North Playhouse. The Trust also has two wholly owned subsidiaries within the Group structure. The subsidiaries are limited companies.

Our Vision: “Inspired by Shakespeare. Bringing Joy: Together, we tell stories that feel like our own, that change the way we see the world – opening doors, inviting debate, inspiring a love of learning, and bringing joy to this place; Our Shakespeare North Playhouse.”

Our Mission – The Big Goal: “We share world-class theatre, activities and conversations inspired by Shakespeare and relevant to all of us.”

Our Promise: At Shakespeare North Playhouse we commit to being ‘Bold and Brave’.It is a promise we make to each other internally as a team, to our visitors, patrons, and partners, and to all our artists and makers as we all come together to create a wonderful place.

Our Values and Behaviours: The organisational values define Shakespeare North Playhouse. They create a framework for the way in which the organisation wishes to achieve the vision andobjectives. The team are firm in the belief that what is achieved is only half of the plan, as how success isattainedis of equal importance. It is critical that there is a framework of how people will thrive together, as a team, with partners, visitors, and audience.

Equal – Supportive – Accountable – Useful

Reporting Relationships:

You will reportdirectlyto the Head of Commercial & Visitor Operations and l inemanagetheAssistant Catering & Events Manager and Catering & Events Assistants, providing clear, visible leadership to permanent, casual and event staff.

Place of Work

The place of work will be Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot,Knowsley.

Salary and Hours of work

This is a full-time permanent role andwill be contracted as40hours per weekto beworked over a5 dayperiod. The jobholder will be expected to exercise flexibility based on the needs of the Venue. Evening and weekend work will be required.

Your actual hours to be worked each week will be asnecessitatedby the needs of the business.Workingpatternswill be notified to you by your line manager usually four weeksin advance.

The rate of pay for this role is £32,000 per annum.

Purpose of the Role

• Lead and develop Shakespeare North Playhouse’s food and beverage,hospitalityand events operation.
• Increase income and profitability through effective pricing, menu and package development, promotions, cost control and active management of gross profit,staffingand wastage.
• Lead the catering and events team to deliver consistentlyhigh standardswhilemaintainingfull statutory andorganisationalcompliance across food safety, allergens, health and safety,licensingand emergency procedures.

Main Duties

• Own the commercial performance of food, beverage and events against agreed income, grossprofitand expenditure targets, using sales and customer data to increase spend per head, covers, average transaction value and repeat visits.
• Develop and deliver a plan tomaximisethe opportunity created by the 18additionalcovers, including use of space, service model, menu range, trading periods,promotionsand customer proposition.
• Work with the Head Chef and wider commercial team to develop well-costed menus, hospitality packages,events offersand new trading opportunities for audiences, daytime visitors, local customers, privatehiresand corporate clients.

Food & Beverage Operations

• Lead the day-to-day management of the bar, kitchen and food and beverage services, planning staffing, stock, service times and customer flow around performances, events,hiresand daytime trading.
• Integrate theadditionalseating capacity into service whilemaintaininghigh standardsof speed, quality, presentation,cleanlinessand customer care.
• Ensure equipment and operational areas are wellmaintainedand work collaboratively with Visitor Experience, Technical,Producingand other teams to integrate catering activity into the wider building operation.

Events, Hospitality & Venue Hire

• Lead catering and hospitality delivery for corporate events, private hires, receptions,meetingsand other commercial ororganisationalevents.
• Develop attractive, operationallydeliverableand appropriately priced event menus and packages, supporting enquiries,planningand client communication from sale through to delivery.
• Review event performance and feedback to improve service quality, efficiency, repeat business and profitability.
• Manage purchasing, ordering, storage, stockcontrolandstock takesto achieve value for money,maintainquality and availability, andminimisewaste,lossand avoidable cost.
• Monitor staffing costs and operating expenditure, check supplier invoices,maintaineffective supplierrelationshipsand support procurement activity asrequired.
• Provideaccurateandtimelysales,costand performance information to the Head of Commercial & Visitor Operations, highlighting variances,risksand opportunities.

People Management

• Line manages Assistant Catering & Events Manager and Catering & Events Assistants, providing clear, visible leadership to permanent, casual and event staff.
• Planrotasand staffing to meet operational demand while controlling costs, and ensure effective induction, training,supervisionand ongoing competency.
• Motivate and develop the team to deliver excellent customer service, commercialawarenessand safe working practices, while managing payroll and people matters in line withorganisationalprocedures.

Health & Safety, Food Safety, Compliance & Licensing

• Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, allergens, health and safety, fire safety, Environmental Health, licensing and other statutory requirements,maintainingrobust records, checks, riskassessmentsand due‑diligence systems.
• Maintainhigh standardsof cleaning, waste management, pestcontroland equipment safety; support inspections and audits and ensure corrective actions are completed promptly.
• Hold, or be willing to obtain, a PersonalLicenseand act as DPS ifrequired, and undertake First Aider, Fire Marshal, key holder/IncidentControllerand emergency-planning responsibilities withappropriate training.

Customer Experience & Quality

• Champion warm, inclusive and efficient hospitality so that the food and beverage offer strengthens the overall Shakespeare North Playhouse visitor experience.
• Monitor customer feedback,complaintsand service issues, taking promptactionand using learning to improve products,serviceand customer flow.
• Work with Marketing and colleagues to promote the offer effectively and test improvements that increase customer satisfaction and commercial performance.

General Responsibilities

• Contribute to the widerobjectivesand values of Shakespeare North Playhouse, working collaboratively across departments and attending relevant operational and management meetings.
• Provide clear updates on trading, staffing, compliance, risks and opportunities,maintainingappropriate confidentiality, dataprotectionand financial controls.
• Undertakerequired training and professional development and any other reasonable duties consistent with the level and purpose of the post.

Person Specification

• Significant experiencemanaging food andbeverage, hospitality,cateringor events operations in a busy customer-facing environment, including delivery of events or venue-hire catering.
• A strongtrack recordof improving commercial performance through sales growth, pricing, menu or product development, and management of gross profit, staffing costs,stockand wastage.
• Experience leading operational teams andmaintaininghigh standardsof statutory compliance, including food safety, health and safety and licensed premises.
• Strong commercial acumen and confident numeracy, with the ability to interpret sales and cost information and take practical action togrowincome and profitability.
• Excellent operational planning,peopleleadership,communicationand customer-service skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a live performance and events environment.
• Sound knowledge of food safety, allergens, hygiene, health and safety and licensing requirements, with the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, suppliers,clientsand commercial partners and flexibly across evenings and weekends.

Qualifications / Requirements

• Hold, or be willing and able to obtain, a PersonalLicenseand act as Designated Premises Supervisor ifrequired.
• Hold, or be willing to undertake,appropriate foodsafety, allergen, First Aid, FireMarshaland other role-related training.
• Experience in a theatre, cultural venue, visitor attraction or other environment combining daytime trading,performancesand events.
• Experience of opening,expandingor repositioninga foodand beverage operation, including increasing seating or trading capacity; experience of EPOS/stock or hospitality systems and sustainable food and beverage practices is also desirable.

Diverse representation

We encourage and welcome applications from people whose background and experience are under-represented in the cultural sector. We are committed to inclusive working practices and understand there may be barriers people face when considering an opportunity like this. If you are interested in applying for this role but feel there are things that may prevent you from getting involved, please get in touch and let us know how we can support you in making your application and throughout the selection process.

Equality Monitoring

As part of your application, please make sure to fill out the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. The information you provide will not impact on the consideration of your application and will be used solely for the purpose of monitoring.

Data Protection

Information provided by you as part of your application will be used in the recruitment process. Any data about you will be held securely with access restricted to those involved in dealing with your application in the recruitment process. Once the process is completed the data relating to unsuccessful applicants will be stored for a maximum of 6 months and then destroyed. If you are the successful candidate, your application will be retained and form the basis of your personnel record. By submitting your application, you are giving your consent to your data being stored and processed for the purpose of the recruitment process, equal opportunities monitoring and your personnel record if you are the successful candidate. In submitting your application, we will assume that consent by you is given. We refer you to Shakespeare North’s job applicant privacy notice which you should read before applying for this role.

This job description is intended as a guide to the duties expected of the post-holder. These duties may be reviewed from time to time to meet the needs of the business.

This job description is not contractual.