Head of Food & Beverage Operations

The role of the Head of Food and Beverage Operations is to have 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 support from a Deputy Head of F&B.

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 £50K per annum

Contract: 1 year FTC

Direct reports: Head Chef, Deputy Head of Food & Beverage Operations. Oversight of Kitchen, Café/Bar and Floor Service teams

Areas of responsibility

Management

• Line managing the Head Chef and Deputy Head of F&B Operations, within Backstage.
• Leading the Food and Beverage operation, with the support of the Deputy Head of F&B, 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, ensuring 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 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 Deputy Head of F&B 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.
• Ensuring 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 Deputy Head of F&B 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. (Ask Angela, Wave, Challenge 25).
• 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 delivers always 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

The post holder must be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential

• Proven experience of working as a Head of Food and Beverage Operations or General Manager of a similar sized venue.
• Experience of new openings is preferable.
• 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.

Specific location

Salaried

29/07/2025

Fixed Term, Full Time