Head of Food & Beverage

Overview

Department/Team: Backstage Food & Beverage

Hours: 45 Hours per week, on a shift basis across Monday-Sunday (Monday to Saturday initially, but we may open on Sundays as the operation develops)

Location: Backstage, The Old Vic, The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Salary: In the region of £50,000 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Direct reports: Head Chef, Backstage F&B Manager

Oversight of Kitchen, Café/Bar and Floor Service teams

Benefits

• Enhanced annual leave, starting at 25 days per year, increasing by one day per year up to 30 days (plus bank holidays).
• Opportunity to switch statutory bank holidays to mark a religious event or festival
• Complimentary tickets for you and a guest to Old Vic preview productions
• Discretionary invite to Press Night performances and parties
• Free therapy from our therapy partner SelfSpace
• Mental health support via our in-house Mental Health Champions
• Enhanced employer pension contributions with The People’s Pension
• Festive day – one discretionary additional paid day off around the festive period for a collective pause
• Time to volunteer – one day per year to support a charity or project of your choosing
• Commitment to learning, education and development
• Enhanced sick pay
• Access to interest‑free travel schemes including Cycle 2 work and Season Ticket loans after your probation period
• Family‑friendly policies and enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental pay
• All staff social events
• Staff discount in Penny and The Old Vic bars as well as discounts in local bars and restaurants
• Opportunities to get involved with staff clubs and working groups such as the Inclusion Working Group
• Buddy schemes including New Starter and Parental buddies to support your induction and return to work after parental leave

Backstage

Backstage is a project for the future – a six‑storey space for creativity, education and community right next door to our historic building. Together with award‑winning architects Haworth Tompkins, we have built a low‑carbon building that includes:

• A welcoming public café and workspace during the day, which evolves into a vibrant bar and restaurant at night
• A Clore Learning Centre for our award‑winning outreach work
• A Writers’ Room where creatives can work
• A free to use Script Library
• A modern and flexible rehearsal room which can transform into a studio theatre
• An event space and terrace

We believe Backstage creates a stronger Old Vic for the future, providing a welcoming space for our generation and the next. Within Backstage, the F&B offer is primarily centred around the ground floor and first‑floor café and bar space – but also extends to event catering provision and a grab‑and‑go offer for the theatre. With an overall capacity of 181 (61 covers) across the two floors, Backstage will be open from early until late, Monday to Saturday. The daytime artisanal café will serve the very best coffee, coupled with delicious baked goods. A comfortable place where culture meets great coffee in a vibrant and dynamic space. This same space then seamlessly transitions into an enticing evening bar – a destination. A socially inspired bar/dining offer; celebrating cultural diversity, vibe and buzz in a stylish and comfortable environment coupled with a strong “sense of place” as an intrinsic part of The Old Vic as a whole. The food offer will be based on conviviality and sharing – built around the concept of small plates.

The Team

The Backstage F&B team is responsible for all Food & Beverage related activity within Backstage and The Old Vic theatre itself. The team includes the Operations Director, Head of Food & Beverage, Backstage F&B Manager, Head Chef, Sous Chef, Chef de Parties, KPs, Duty Managers, Bartenders and Waiting Staff.

Role Summary

The role of the Head of Food and Beverage has full responsibility for all food and beverage provision across The Old Vic – including management of the Backstage catering and bars operation and the teams that work within it, with key on‑ground support from the Backstage F&B Manager. The Head of F&B will ensure high standards of menu/food presentation and customer service, whilst closely monitoring the weekly P&L and implementing operational changes to drive the growth of the business.

Areas of Responsibility

Management

• Line managing the Head Chef and Backstage F&B Manager.
• Leading the Food and Beverage operation, with the support of the Backstage F&B Manager, including opening and closing procedures.
• Signing off Waiting, Bar and Kitchen team rotas on the rota platform (Staff Savvy).
• Ensuring consistently high standards across the F&B operation, and that the team meets all targets.
• Ensuring operational efficiency is maximised with structures and processes.
• Working closely with the Operations Director on Backstage F&B strategy, planning and forecasting.
• Undertaking appraisals and probation management as required for the F&B team.

Food & Beverage

• Project managing all menu changes, ensuring that they adhere to our brand concepts of accessibility and sustainability.
• Managing food menu development in accordance with budget, and brand vision.
• Ensuring that our menu is in line with our aims as a community hub and that it has broad appeal.
• Maintaining high standards of food and beverage quality.
• Managing relationships with suppliers, ensuring sustained partnerships.
• Ensuring the highest quality and consistency with all Food and Beverage processes, proactively solving those issues and accurately reporting any ongoing issues.

EPOS

• Overseeing the Backstage F&B Manager and the Theatre F&B Manager in the management of the EPOS system (Point One).

Customer Experience

• Understanding and overseeing the customer journey in relation to the F&B offer, promptly dealing with any issues.
• Working closely with the Head of Customer Experience to ensure exceptional customer service, and a friendly, safe and secure environment in which customers can enjoy their experience.
• Handling any customer complaints and feedback professionally and efficiently.

Training

• Identify all training needs and overseeing the Backstage F&B Manager and Theatre F&B Manager in ensuring that teams are provided with all the necessary training, as well as the tools to be effective in their roles.
• Ensuring professional development and training opportunities to upskill direct reports to continuously improve the F&B team.

Licensing

• Upholding the theatre’s Premises licence as set out by Lambeth Council.
• At all times, ensuring that the theatre operates in compliance with the premises licence and all associated conditions.
• Ensuring the Theatre complies with all statutory requirements in relation to being a licenced premises.
• Regularly ensuring that all team members take part in licencing training and associated training initiatives.
• Ensuring every staff member of supervisor level or above completes a personal licence qualification and obtains a personal licence.
• Immediately reporting any potential breaches of licencing to the Operations Director.
• Documenting visits from Licencing or statutory bodies promptly and communicating immediately to the Operations Director.
• Attending all Local Licencing Forums, and communicating any relevant information to the F&B team.

Finance and Stock Management

• Monitoring the P&L of the Bars operation as a whole (daytime, showtime and late‑night) and regularly reporting to the Operations Director, and the Finance team.
• Liaising with Finance to effectively manage cost control points including wastage and GP.
• Keeping updated and detailed reports of sales; by show, bar, time of day, price band and wastage, evaluating where improvements can be made and implementing corrective action where required.
• Carrying out robust stocktakes - and ensuring stock control measures are in place.

Health & Safety Management

• Writing and reviewing F&B related risk assessments and ensuring staff are trained on the relevant safe systems of work.
• Ensure the Food and Beverage team always deliver on their legal responsibilities in relation to food safety.
• Remaining up to date with any changes to food safety legislation.
• Ensuring that all relevant paperwork is completed on time and correctly.
• Liaising with the Head Chef, ensuring final sign off on all Food safety paperwork, including menus and their allergens.
• Liaising with the H&S management team, in planning for emergency evacuation and invacuation scenarios.

Events

• Working closely with the Head of Commercial Event Sales to devise event package options – and to create corporate and private events packages.
• Working closely with the Head Chef to support catering requirements for donors or external events within the theatre.
• Liaising with third‑party caterers for larger‑scale events as required, ensuring that they can deliver seamlessly alongside the Backstage food operation.
• Working with the Events team to confirm menus and details for event sheets, ensuring a smooth and successful event.

Development

• Continuously working to improve our offering, suggesting ways that we can improve customer experience through F&B.
• Identifying commercial opportunities to maximise income.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, and the management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

Person Specification

Essential

• Proven experience of working as a Head of Food and Beverage (or equivalent) at a similar sized venue.
• Strong commercial financial acumen and proven experience maximising income.
• Experience of managing food and beverage partnerships and supply relationships.
• Personal Licence Holder.
• Strong leadership and team management.
• Proven understanding and application of food safety, hygiene and health and safety principles.
• Highly motivated with a positive and flexible approach to work and ability to adapt quickly to new information and procedures.
• IT literacy, with good experience of the Microsoft Office suite and Excel in particular.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven budgetary management and stock control.
• A proven ability to work as both part of a team and independently.
• Highly organised and good timekeeping.

The closing date for this role is 19 April 2026. First conversations are likely to take place 23 April 2026.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates. We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under‑represented groups at The Old Vic. In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs. We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs.