About the role
- To lead and line manage the F&B and Venue team.
- To play a key role in the development of new business ventures and enhance current business operations such as weddings, parties, and conferencing functions to ensure maximum revenue for the site.
- To be a key member of the Chester House Leadership Team, acting as Deputy when required for the Chester House Estate Business Manager.
- Responsible for delegated operational budgets (income generation as well as expenditure control)
- To drive continuous improvement in service delivery ensuring a high-quality visitor experience across all venue and catering operations.
- To develop and implement strategic plans to increase footfall, visitor engagement and secondary spend opportunities.
- To establish and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, external partners and industry professionals to enhance business growth and sustainability.
- To oversee compliance with health and safety regulations, licensing requirements and best practices in hospitality and venue management.
- To ensure staff development, training and motivation to create a high-performing and customer-focused team.
- To work closely with the marketing and communications team to promote events, catering and venue hire services effectively.
What will you be doing?
- Oversee and manage the daily operations of food and beverage services, weddings, conferencing and retail to ensure a seamless and high-quality visitor experience.
- Develop and implement business strategies to drive revenue growth, optimise costs and improve overall profitability.
- Lead, train, and motivate the visitor services team, ensuring high performance, engagement and professional development.
- Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations, food hygiene standards and licensing requirements across all areas of responsibility.
- Develop and maintain key partnerships with external suppliers, stakeholders and local businesses to enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.
- Work closely with the marketing team to promote events, venue hire and catering services to a wide audience, driving increased bookings and visitor engagement.
- Monitor and analyse financial performance, setting and managing budgets and implementing cost control measures without compromising service quality.
- Oversee venue sustainability initiatives, including waste management, local sourcing and environmentally responsible practices.
- Act as a key point of contact for customers, handling complaints, feedback and ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction.
- Take responsibility for the overall presentation, maintenance and operational efficiency of all venues and catering outlets, ensuring a welcoming and professional environment for visitors.
This job description reflects the major tasks to be carried out by the post holder and identifies a level of responsibility at which they will be required to work. In the interests of effective working, the major tasks may be reviewed from time to time to reflect changing needs and circumstances. Such reviews and any consequential changes will be carried out in consultation with the post holder.
About you
You are a dynamic and experienced hospitality professional with a strong background in food, beverage and venue management. Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences, you have a proven ability to oversee large-scale catering operations, event management and venue services. Your leadership skills allow you to manage and inspire a diverse team, ensuring high standards of service while driving revenue growth and operational efficiency.
With a commercial mindset, you thrive on business development, optimizing costs, and implementing innovative strategies to enhance visitor engagement. Your expertise spans everything from weddings and conferencing to restaurant and retail operations, making you a well-rounded and strategic leader. You excel in financial management, compliance and sustainability, always seeking new ways to improve efficiency while maintaining the highest quality standards.
Above all, you are motivated by a passion for hospitality, heritage, and community engagement. You understand the importance of creating memorable experiences that encourage repeat visits and position Chester House Estate as a premier destination. If you are ready to take on a leadership role in a thriving cultural site and contribute to its ongoing success, we would love to welcome you to the team.
Our benefits
We offer:
- a competitive rate of pay
- great opportunities in a large unitary council - many of our casual workers decide to apply for permanent positions
- statutory leave entitlement
- lots of opportunities to work in the public sector to make a difference
About us
We are a new unitary council, established in April 2021; we are one of the largest unitary councils in the country. Our vision for North Northants is to be 'A place where everyone has the best opportunities and quality of life'.
Our priorities are:
- helping people live active fulfilled lives
- caring for our young people, providing them with high quality education and opportunities
- enabling a thriving and successful economy
- leading on a green and sustainable environment
- ensuring our communities are connected so they can shape their lives and where they live
- providing modern public services
Our values, as chosen by our staff, are - Customer-focused, Respectful, Efficient, Supportive and Trustworthy.
Your differences make us different - Achieve Together.
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