Full time · 37.5 hours a week · North Bristol · £30,000–£34,500 a year
Running our lakeside cafe, reception and events. A hands‑on leadership role in a growing, family‑run outdoor venue, with the chance to shape our cafe into a destination people seek out.
About us and the role
West Country Water Park is a family‑run outdoor venue near Bristol. We have an aqua park, go‑karting, open water swimming, paddleboarding, a sauna, a lakeside cafe, an upstairs events space and kitchens.
Cafe and reception work as one team. The same team serves coffee, checks customers in and answers questions about every activity on site. The role oversees all of it and makes sure we are ready for every event and room booking.
We want our cafe to be a destination in its own right: friendly, relaxed, with great hot drinks and food options and a vibe that makes people want to come and stay, whether they are coming to play or not.
The role is very seasonal. May to August is flat out. Winter is quieter, and that is when the focus moves to planning, training and building for next summer.
Role breakdown roughly
Cafe - 50%
Reception and front of house - 30%
Events and room bookings - 20%
Cafe
- Running the cafe day to day and making it a place people choose to visit.
- Making the cafe profitable: setting menu prices against food and labour costs and acting on the sales data.
- Buying well: checking supplier prices regularly, ordering at the best value and keeping waste low.
- Championing food hygiene: running daily checks and records, and keeping the kitchens clean and safe every day.
- Bringing new ideas: planning and running seasonal offers such as the summer BBQ, which is essential for us.
- Owning coffee quality: making excellent coffee and training every team member to the same standard.
Reception and front of house
- Running reception alongside the cafe. Our cafe team are trained on both.
- Training the team on front of house.
- Knowing our whole business: every activity, how bookings work, waivers, parking, policies and what customers ask.
Events and room bookings
- Knowing every upcoming booking: corporate days, parties, meetings and room hire.
- Planning and preparing simple food in our kitchens, and setting out teas and coffees.
- Making sure the upstairs rooms are clean, tidy and set up before every booking.
- Training the team to deliver all of this independently.
Team and systems
- Leading, training and motivating a mostly young team, many in their first job, and setting clear standards and holding them.
- Recruiting and training seasonal staff ready for summer.
- Building the weekly rotas (in Planday) so we're staffed right for the weather and the bookings.
- Using our systems confidently: the till back office (prices, till layout, stock & sales reports), ROLLER for bookings and Planday for rotas.
Who we're looking for
We want to be clear about what matters to us. The right person will be:
- Serious about food hygiene.Keeps standards high every day, Level 2 Food Hygiene is essential; Level 3 is a bonus.
- A great barista.Can make an excellent flat white and teach others to make one too.
- A strong leader of young teams.Trains thoroughly, follows up to make sure it's put into practice, and holds people to standards kindly and firmly.
- Confident with tech.Able to log into the till back office, change prices and read the sales reports. Comfortable with booking systems and rota software. Looking for ways to improve our systems
- Commercially sharp.Knows their food and labour costs, and shops around for the best supplier prices.
- Full of ideas.Keen to try new things, like a summer BBQ or a winter menu, and see them through.
- On board with our vision.Understands what a friendly, modern destination cafe feels like and wants to build one.
Ideally, they will have:
- 2+ years managing or supervising a cafe, coffee shop or similar.
- 2+ years leading a team.
- 3+ years in cafes, restaurants or catering.
- Experience with stock control, ordering and rotas.
- Front of house or reception experience (helpful, not essential).
Hours, pay and benefits
- Full time, 37.5 hours a week.
- 3 weekends a month in peak season.
- Some evenings, mostly in summer for events and parties.
- £30,000–£34,500 a year, depending on experience and skills.
- 28 days' holiday, including bank holidays.
- Pension: 3% from us
- Staff discount in the cafe and on all our activities.
- Free on-site parking and a cycle to work scheme.
