Catering & Events Manager

We are looking for a Catering & Events Manager to support the commercial growth of Shakespeare North Playhouse’s food, beverage, hospitality and events offer, alongside safe, compliant and consistent high-quality delivery.

About the Organisation 

Shakespeare North Playhouse, ‘Theatre Building of the year 2023’ is a unique new arts venue, which opened in the summer of 2022. It presents a vibrant contemporary cultural and learning programme featuring home co-produced and visiting performances, as well as comedy, music, community work, hire and events and a range of education and training activities.  

The Shakespeare North Trust (SNT) is the Charitable organisation which is the operator of Shakespeare North Playhouse. The Trust also has two wholly owned subsidiaries within the Group structure. The subsidiaries are limited companies. 

Our Vision: “Inspired by Shakespeare. Bringing Joy: Together, we tell stories that feel like our own, that change the way we see the world – opening doors, inviting debate, inspiring a love of learning, and bringing joy to this place; Our Shakespeare North Playhouse.” 

Our Mission – The Big Goal: “We share world-class theatre, activities and conversations inspired by Shakespeare and relevant to all of us.” 

Our Promise: At Shakespeare North Playhouse we commit to being ‘Bold and Brave’. It is a promise we make to each other internally as a team, to our visitors, patrons, and partners, and to all our artists and makers as we all come together to create a wonderful place. 

Our Values and Behaviours: The organisational values define Shakespeare North Playhouse. They create a framework for the way in which the organisation wishes to achieve the vision and objectives. The team are firm in the belief that what is achieved is only half of the plan, as how success is attained is of equal importance. It is critical that there is a framework of how people will thrive together, as a team, with partners, visitors, and audience.    

Innovative – Honest – Collaborative – Creative 

Equal – Supportive – Accountable – Useful 

Reporting Relationships:

You will report directly to the Head of Commercial & Visitor Operations and line manage the Assistant Catering & Events Manager and Catering & Events Assistants, providing clear, visible leadership to permanent, casual and event staff. 

Place of Work  

The place of work will be Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Knowsley. 

Salary and Hours of work  

This is a full-time permanent role and will be contracted as 40 hours per week to be worked over a 5 day period. The jobholder will be expected to exercise flexibility based on the needs of the Venue. Evening and weekend work will be required.   

Your actual hours to be worked each week will be as necessitated by the needs of the business. Working patterns will be notified to you by your line manager usually four weeks in advance. 

The rate of pay for this role is £32,000 per annum.  

Purpose of the Role 

• Lead and develop Shakespeare North Playhouse’s food and beverage, hospitality and events operation. 
• Increase income and profitability through effective pricing, menu and package development, promotions, cost control and active management of gross profit, staffing and wastage. 
• Lead the catering and events team to deliver consistently high standards while maintaining full statutory and organisational compliance across food safety, allergens, health and safety, licensing and emergency procedures. 

Main Duties 

Commercial Strategy & Income Generation 

• Own the commercial performance of food, beverage and events against agreed income, gross profit and expenditure targets, using sales and customer data to increase spend per head, covers, average transaction value and repeat visits. 
• Develop and deliver a plan to maximise the opportunity created by the 18 additional covers, including use of space, service model, menu range, trading periods, promotions and customer proposition. 
• Work with the Head Chef and wider commercial team to develop well-costed menus, hospitality packages, events offers and new trading opportunities for audiences, daytime visitors, local customers, private hires and corporate clients. 

Food & Beverage Operations 

• Lead the day-to-day management of the bar, kitchen and food and beverage services, planning staffing, stock, service times and customer flow around performances, events, hires and daytime trading. 
• Integrate the additional seating capacity into service while maintaining high standards of speed, quality, presentation, cleanliness and customer care. 
• Ensure equipment and operational areas are well maintained and work collaboratively with Visitor Experience, Technical, Producing and other teams to integrate catering activity into the wider building operation. 

Events, Hospitality & Venue Hire 

• Lead catering and hospitality delivery for corporate events, private hires, receptions, meetings and other commercial or organisational events. 
• Develop attractive, operationally deliverable and appropriately priced event menus and packages, supporting enquiries, planning and client communication from sale through to delivery. 
• Review event performance and feedback to improve service quality, efficiency, repeat business and profitability. 

Finance, Stock & Supplier Management 

• Manage purchasing, ordering, storage, stock control and stock takes to achieve value for money, maintain quality and availability, and minimise waste, loss and avoidable cost. 
• Monitor staffing costs and operating expenditure, check supplier invoices, maintain effective supplier relationships and support procurement activity as required. 
• Provide accurate and timely sales, cost and performance information to the Head of Commercial & Visitor Operations, highlighting variances, risks and opportunities. 

People Management 

• Line manages Assistant Catering & Events Manager and Catering & Events Assistants, providing clear, visible leadership to permanent, casual and event staff. 
• Plan rotas and staffing to meet operational demand while controlling costs, and ensure effective induction, training, supervision and ongoing competency. 
• Motivate and develop the team to deliver excellent customer service, commercial awareness and safe working practices, while managing payroll and people matters in line with organisational procedures. 

Health & Safety, Food Safety, Compliance & Licensing 

• Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, allergens, health and safety, fire safety, Environmental Health, licensing and other statutory requirements, maintaining robust records, checks, risk assessments and due-diligence systems. 
• Maintain high standards of cleaning, waste management, pest control and equipment safety; support inspections and audits and ensure corrective actions are completed promptly. 
• Hold, or be willing to obtain, a Personal License and act as DPS if required, and undertake First Aider, Fire Marshal, key holder/Incident Controller and emergency-planning responsibilities with appropriate training. 

Customer Experience & Quality 

• Champion warm, inclusive and efficient hospitality so that the food and beverage offer strengthens the overall Shakespeare North Playhouse visitor experience. 
• Monitor customer feedback, complaints and service issues, taking prompt action and using learning to improve products, service and customer flow. 
• Work with Marketing and colleagues to promote the offer effectively and test improvements that increase customer satisfaction and commercial performance. 

General Responsibilities 

• Contribute to the wider objectives and values of Shakespeare North Playhouse, working collaboratively across departments and attending relevant operational and management meetings. 
• Provide clear updates on trading, staffing, compliance, risks and opportunities, maintaining appropriate confidentiality, data protection and financial controls. 
• Undertake required training and professional development and any other reasonable duties consistent with the level and purpose of the post. 

Person Specification 

Essential Experience 

• Significant experience managing food and beverage, hospitality, catering or events operations in a busy customer-facing environment, including delivery of events or venue-hire catering. 
• A strong track record of improving commercial performance through sales growth, pricing, menu or product development, and management of gross profit, staffing costs, stock and wastage. 
• Experience leading operational teams and maintaining high standards of statutory compliance, including food safety, health and safety and licensed premises. 

Essential Skills & Knowledge 

• Strong commercial acumen and confident numeracy, with the ability to interpret sales and cost information and take practical action to grow income and profitability. 
• Excellent operational planning, people leadership, communication and customer-service skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a live performance and events environment. 
• Sound knowledge of food safety, allergens, hygiene, health and safety and licensing requirements, with the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, suppliers, clients and commercial partners and flexibly across evenings and weekends. 

Qualifications / Requirements 

• Hold, or be willing and able to obtain, a Personal License and act as Designated Premises Supervisor if required. 
• Hold, or be willing to undertake, appropriate food safety, allergen, First Aid, Fire Marshal and other role-related training. 

Desirable 

• Experience in a theatre, cultural venue, visitor attraction or other environment combining daytime trading, performances and events. 
• Experience of opening, expanding or repositioning a food and beverage operation, including increasing seating or trading capacity; experience of EPOS/stock or hospitality systems and sustainable food and beverage practices is also desirable. 

How to Apply 

If having reviewed the job description and information about the Shakespeare North Playhouse you consider yourself to be a good fit for this role, please email a CV and a cover letter of application to [email protected] . Please also complete our equality monitoring form linked below.

The cover letter of application should be of no more than 2 sides of A4 addressing how your experience matches the role description, why you are interested in the role and why you think your skills and experience would make you a good candidate. Alternatively, you may submit a video/audio file of no more than 10 minutes in length. You can do this via WeTransfer or an alternative file transfer service.  

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 30th September at 5pm. 

Diverse representation 

We encourage and welcome applications from people whose background and experience are under-represented in the cultural sector. We are committed to inclusive working practices and understand there may be barriers people face when considering an opportunity like this. If you are interested in applying for this role but feel there are things that may prevent you from getting involved, please get in touch and let us know how we can support you in making your application and throughout the selection process. 

Equality Monitoring 

As part of your application, please make sure to fill out the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form . The information you provide will not impact on the consideration of your application and will be used solely for the purpose of monitoring. 

Data Protection 

Information provided by you as part of your application will be used in the recruitment process. Any data about you will be held securely with access restricted to those involved in dealing with your application in the recruitment process. Once the process is completed the data relating to unsuccessful applicants will be stored for a maximum of 6 months and then destroyed. If you are the successful candidate, your application will be retained and form the basis of your personnel record. By submitting your application, you are giving your consent to your data being stored and processed for the purpose of the recruitment process, equal opportunities monitoring and your personnel record if you are the successful candidate. In submitting your application, we will assume that consent by you is given. We refer you to Shakespeare North’s job applicant privacy notice which you should read before applying for this role. 

If you have any questions or would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, please contact us via email at [email protected] 

This job description is intended as a guide to the duties expected of the post-holder. These duties may be reviewed from time to time to meet the needs of the business.   

This job description is not contractual.