Job opportunities

Front of House Manager

We have an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, commercially minded and customer focused Front of House Manager to join our team at The Living Rainforest.

The Trust for Sustainable Living is a registered charity based near Newbury, Berkshire. At our visitor centre, The Living Rainforest, visitors can experience the sights, sounds and smells of a lush tropical rainforest environment.

The Front of House Manager is a key member of our team, managing the front of house areas. This is a business focused role to drive the long-term success and profitability of the centre, including the front reception, catering and retail activity which are key parts of the visitor experience.

Key Responsibilities (full job description available on request):

· To manage the Visitor Centre front of house including café, shop and front entrance

· Develop a profitable and effective sales operation which contributes to the overall visitor experience

· To recruit, manage, train and support all Front of House staff

· Managing rotas and coordinating with part time and weekend staff

· To ensure Health and Hygiene standards are met and implemented in all front of house areas, including COSHH, Natasha’s Law and Food and Allergens Safety.

· Assist with events held at The Living Rainforest from room layout to customer welcome and food preparation/presentation.

· Support the education team with greeting school groups and assisting to ensure every school has a memorable visit.

· Implement promotional strategies using sales and pricing data

· Ensure all Front of House areas are welcoming

Front reception

· Ensure all visitors have a positive and friendly experience throughout their visit, from the initial welcome through to their journey home.

· Optimise admissions income, in collaboration with colleagues across the organisation

· Oversee the training of front of house staff about Gift Aid sign up, and monitor uptake

· Lead by example in providing visitors advice and handle complaints in a quick, efficient, professional manner

Shop/Merchandising

· Ensure the shop and café are suitably merchandised in accordance to our visitor profiles, and to ensure sufficient quantities of product are available

· Oversee the stock levels, display and pricing of products in our shop and café.

· Attend trade shows where required and communicate with suppliers.

· Using our EPOS/CRM system to optimise sales volume and profitability including, by identifying profitable lines and bestsellers and monitoring spend per head

Café

· Manage the development and oversee day-to-day operations of the café, including changing new menu items based on seasonality and customers’ preferences

· Ensure employees are trained on the proper use of all café equipment and ensure a high level of health and hygiene are maintained at all times, and monitor and report improvements where required

· Ensure Health and Hygiene practices are up to date with new legislation e.g. Natasha’s Law and keep update to date with new legislation

· Ensure a high standard of cleanliness is maintained at all times

Required skills and experience:

· This is a hands-on management role with the ability to lead by example.

· Have strong leadership skills and ability to manage a team

· Be commercial minded and target focused

· Fantastic communication and organisation skills

· An excellent team player and willing to collaborate with all areas of the organisation

· Must be willing to undertake an advanced DBS check and be First Aid trained

· Good computer skills excel, word and familiarity with EPOS systems.

· Experience working in a front of house/café/retail environment would be highly desirable

· Have or willing to obtain a Food Safety and Hygiene Level 3 qualification and allergens training

About this role:

· This is a full-time role and involves working weekends and Bank Holidays on a rota basis

· The standard hours are 9.00am to 5.30pm with some flexibility required

· We can offer you a diverse role within a unique working environment, with the opportunity to get involved with different aspects of a visitor centre.