General Manager in London

We are currently recruiting for an experienced and dynamic General Manager to oversee our kitchen and hospitality services at a flagship workplace restaurant in London, EC4A. As General Manager, you will bring a strong background in fresh food operations, senior leadership, and hospitality management, alongside a genuine passion for quality and service excellence. This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role where your operational expertise, commercial awareness, and people management skills will be critical to success.

You will be a key presence across kitchen and hospitality operations, working closely with senior managers and teams to set standards, refine processes, and consistently deliver an exceptional dining and hospitality experience. We are looking for an experienced senior-level General Manager with a proven track record of leading multi-disciplinary teams, managing complex food and hospitality operations, and maintaining high standards across food safety, service delivery, presentation, and compliance.

You will be confident managing service at pace, overseeing stock control, menu development, and hospitality planning, while driving innovation and ensuring strong cost control and commercial performance. This role plays a vital part in aligning day-to-day operations with wider business goals and values. You’ll oversee a team of approximately 18 staff across the kitchen and hospitality departments. Your responsibilities will include not just the smooth daily running of service, but also staff development, performance management, and mentoring, ensuring your team grows in confidence, skill, and consistency. Direct reports include the Head Chef, Hospitality Head Chef, and Hospitality Manager.

The kitchen delivers a vibrant, freshly prepared food offer across both breakfast and lunch services. Breakfast includes a range of hot and cold options such as a full English breakfast, a yoghurt and toppings bar, and fresh baked goods. Lunch features a diverse selection of hot and cold world cuisine and bistro-style dishes, alongside sandwiches, deli items, a seasonal salad bar, and convenient grab-and-go options. In addition to core services, the operation supports a varied hospitality offer including fine dining experiences, canapé events, and both hot and cold buffet service.

We’re looking for a confident, capable leader who is passionate about great food, high-quality service, and team development. You’ll be proactive, customer-focused, and ready to inspire and support your team in delivering a consistently excellent experience—both in the kitchen and in front-of-house service. This is a full-time position based on a 40-hour working week. Core hours are typically 7:00am to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday, but you will be expected to manage your time effectively to meet the needs of the business. This may occasionally include evening or weekend work in support of hospitality events. Day-to-day, the kitchen caters for around 300 people, plus hospitality.

Wilson Vale is an established, quality-led contract caterer. We work with amazing clients across the UK who place huge value on great food as a key part of their culture and community. We work in office restaurants, independent schools and at conference venues with the same high-end ethos throughout.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for food and hospitality operations
• Oversee daily service delivery across breakfast, lunch, and hospitality events
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of approximately 18 staff to drive performance and engagement
• Maintain consistently high standards of food quality, service, and presentation
• Ensure compliance with food safety, health & safety, and company policies
• Drive innovation through a strong understanding of premium hospitality, service styles, and food trends
• Maintain strong financial oversight, including budgeting, cost control, and resource management
• Build and maintain excellent client and stakeholder relationships
• Support and manage hospitality events, including occasional evening or weekend requirements

OUR CULTURE:

• Craft at our core – we pride ourselves on our craft-skilled chefs who create wonderful fresh food from scratch.
• It’s all about the food – the menu is the most important document our chefs write every week.
• Quality, seasonal ingredients – 300+ British suppliers and our chefs can source locally.
• Freedom to create – our teams love to cook up exciting food themes and pop-ups to keep the food fun.
• Support like no other – our business was founded by family and we have stayed true to those same family values of nurturing development, protecting our values and building trust and loyalty.
• Making food that not only tastes great but is good for the planet. We have always had a strong environmental ethos and are dedicated to our social and environmental commitments.
• We believe in tailored training and opportunities to build your career with us.

WILSON VALE PERKS:

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Online employee benefits scheme
• Your Birthday off every year after 1 years’ service.
• Enhanced Maternity Pay