Head of F&B

POSITION SUMMARY

City Cruises UK is part of the City Experiences division of the Hornblower Group, a global leader in world-class experiences and transportation services. We operate public dining and sightseeing cruises as well as private charters for corporate events, birthday parties, weddings, or other special occasions across London, Poole and York.

The Head of Food & Beverage will join City Cruises at a very exciting time. You will be responsible for the Food & Beverage and Customer delivery across over 25 public dining products, over 300 individual private hire events annually ensuring well over 100,000 guests each year have an unforgettable experience with City Cruises.The next 3 years will be exciting as we look for growth in our Public Dining and Private Hire programmes - both in terms of volume and quality.

You will be experienced in Food and Beverage Management and/or Event management and will have demonstrable success in leading and delivering on large scale customer improvements. You will possess the necessary interpersonal skills to lead and develop a diverse team through the changes you wish to introduce

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic and Leadership

• Define and document F&B annual strategy
• Provide input into new products, menus ,concepts and unique dining experiences
• Leadership responsibility of the Kitchen team (Back of House)
• Leadership responsibility of the Private Hire Event Delivery team (pre event)
• Leadership responsibility of the Front of House Event Delivery team
• Set individual KPIs for the department and measure performance against the objectives

Event Specification

Work with the Product & Commercial team to build detailed product/event specifications and delivery expectations

Customer Delivery

• Responsible for the Food and Beverage (F&B) provision of all City Cruises functions and charter sailings.
• Initiate continuous Customer Delivery improvements and lead on their implementation.
• Initiate continuous Food and Beverage improvements in conjunction with the Kitchen team and Purchasing/Supply team
• Lead a team of Event Managers capable of delivering all aspects of the Event according to specification.
• Implement a system of performance monitoring highlighting areas for improvement in Event delivery, produce recommendations for improvements analysing costs and benefits.

Compliance

• To oversee all compliance with regulatory bodies (eg, Public/Environmental Health)
• Manage the relationships with licencing authorities in regards to the procedures to obtain “TENS” applications
• Ensure all practices are managed within our alcohol licencing responsibilities
• Put in place procedures and processes to ensure daily hygiene and work practices in both service and food production at head office.
• Ensures that all F&B employees have all of the certification required for their positions.
• Support the Procurement & Supply team by ensuring the F&B team comply with company stock management processes.
• Ensure correct procedures are in place to comply with Company requirements around Purchase Orders, Requisitions, receiving goods, correct recording of Wastage, Breakages, Pre-ordered drinks, Complimentary drinks.

Resourcing

• Evaluate and if necessary develop the F&B resourcing strategy.
• Develop resourcing budgets and forecasts for Front of House and Back of House and regularly feedback on costs v budget
• Provide up-to-date resourcing positions on annualised/seasonal hours, ensuring these are being managed by the team
• Lead on tactical solutions to forecast resourcing challenges.
• Manage staff training

Other

• Develop a plan in conjunction with the line manager for new equipment purchases and vessel improvement initiatives to support Customer Delivery expectations.
• Development of good communication channels and processes with other teams to ensure the successful delivery of Events and Products
• Achieve budgeted sales targets for onboard beverages.
• Provide management reports as required on performance of the team and recruiting positions.
• Provides regular feedback to all F&B employees, on business performance, new initiatives, and training opportunities. Encourage employee feedback.

People

• Act as an Ambassador for our RESPECT Value system, supporting our values at all times
• Developing team members through tailored Coaching or Training plans – including among others food handling training.
• Continuous evaluation and development of employee incentive schemes
• Ensure a succession plan is in place
• Regular performance appraisals for all staff

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

Education Level/Qualifications Required:

Educated to a degree level or similar professional qualification.

Experience Required:

• Experience in a variety of noteworthy up-scale restaurants and higher volume catering establishments
• Experience in Event Management, Conferences or Banqueting
• At least three year’s previous General Manager experience in charge of a restaurant(s) and ideally multi-faceted catering establishment(s)
• Some experience of Change Management desirable

Skills Required:

• Strong leadership skills
• Change Management
• Demonstrable ability to put the customer at the heart of the F&B strategy/actions.
• Respect your colleagues and City Cruises customers
• Approach everything with integrity with what you do
• Deliver excellence through profit, customer satisfaction and living our City Cruises values
• Work with empathy
• Promote strong team ethics
• Be able to motivate the team and be a proactive member of the F&B Department
• Have a clear understanding of the creation of profit within the department.
• To be an innovator thinker.
• Adopt hands on approach to the job.
• Can keep a clear head under pressure
• A warm and engaging personality – outward going, confident with first class inter-personal skills
• Great attention to detail
• Highly organised and self-motivated
• A problem solver and ‘can do’ person
• Be flexible in managing business requirements
• To exhibit a professional attitude at all times
• Smart/Well presented