Kitchen manager

Reporting to: Pub manager

Your role:

To take full responsibility for all aspects of managing your kitchen. To support, lead and motivate the team, in a safe and happy environment, to meet sales, profit and compliance targets.

  • To provide excellent customer service.
  • To serve all food to the correct specification.
  • To adhere to all Wetherspoon standard operating procedures (SOPs) and company policies, to maintain a clean, safe and legal workplace.

Essential requirements:

The essential requirements you’ll need to start:

  • Be aged 18 years or over.
  • Have a proof of right to work in the place where you will be based (UK or ROI).
  • Have a bank account in your own name in the place where you will be based (UK or ROI).
  • Be able to converse in English and to understand the language to complete training and other duties associated with your job role.
  • Have a fixed place of residence within reasonable travelling distance of your place of work.
  • Basic computer literacy.

About you:

  • Demonstrate leadership qualities.
  • Have the ability to manage time and prioritise tasks, to ensure that each shift runs smoothly and efficiently.
  • Know how and when to delegate tasks and how to feed back positively to the person completing the task (identifying any areas for improvement, if necessary).
  • Demonstrate passion and enthusiasm in your role and show commitment to your colleagues and your pub
  • Have a strong work ethic and be self-motivated
  • Have a friendly nature and good communications skills.
  • Be honest, trustworthy and respectful.
  • Remain calm when working in a fast-paced environment.
  • Adhere to Wetherspoon’s kitchen uniform and appearance standards.
  • Receive regular feedback from the management team and achieve any actions agreed on.

A day in the life:

To oversee and guide the kitchen operation, leading by example, demonstrating how to complete tasks, motivating and coaching the team to:

  • achieve the company mission statement: ‘To have by far the best CQSMA standards in the pub world, to be the best company to work for and, by doing these things, to be the most profitable.
  • deliver consistently high standards of cleanliness, quality, service, maintenance and atmosphere (CQSMA), proactively managing results which fall below expectations.
  • ensure that the kitchen opening and closing procedures are adhered to.
  • adopt a stand back and look (SBAL) approach to ensure that all areas are correctly presented throughout the day.
  • prepare, cook, and present all food to company standards.
  • achieve food delivery time targets at all times.
  • be aware of, and knowledgeable about, all promotions, events and new products in your pub, sharing your knowledge with the team to ensure that it has the latest information.
  • take pride in maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness by adopting our clean-as-you-go philosophy for all areas. Ensure that the kitchen is cleaned and maintained in accordance with guidelines throughout the day. Ensure the team action any points raised on kitchen checks in a timely manner.
  • respond to any customer feedback in a positive and helpful manner, seeking support, if required – reviewing all customer feedback with the management team and identifying/actioning any training needs.

In addition, to:

  • ensure all training materials and kitchen documents are up to date and displayed correctly.
  • maintain office administration, in line with company policies and general data protection regulations (GDPR), including use of duty manager log books, CCTV, keys, safe and storage of paperwork.
  • have knowledge and use of systems within the business, including kitchen screen reporting system, property management systems and personnel systems.
  • ensure that all accidents, incidents and serious food complaints are recorded following company procedures. take responsibility in achieving all financial targets set for the kitchen by taking proactive steps to build sales and control costs.
  • work with the pub manager to:
    • to forecast sales and associated costs.
    • review and manage all aspects of the profit and loss account.
    • maximise sales opportunities
  • know your competitors and their current pricing/activities.
  • know your customer base (local businesses, students, shoppers).
  • manage stock holdings and minimise shrinkage:
    • o monitor correct portion sizes of products.
  • o maintain appropriate order levels and receive deliveries ensuring full availability of products at all times.
    • investigate and report any anomalies as required.
    • complete daily line checks and log all wastage.
    • oversee the completion of manager’s own stock (MOS), analyse and communicate results, introduce and manage any actions required for improvement (eg additional grab tests to control portion size).
  • assist in achieving all people-related targets:
    • manage and maintain all aspects of the associate promise.
    • identify recruitment needs, search and selection activities and the appointment of staff, in line with the company’s recruitment procedures. Ensure all paperwork (including Proof of Right to Work documentation) is certified, copied and filed in line with UK Home Office or Irish National Immigration Service (dependant on where your pub is based) and company policies.
    • conduct new employee inductions.
    • hold probation and training review meetings; ensure that all training is completed to the required standard and within the set time frames. Agree actions for improvement, development and progression to support a strong succession plan in the kitchen.
    • manage all formal meetings with the kitchen team eg attendance review meetings and disciplinaries. Respond promptly and appropriately to any staff concerns or grievances.
    • effectively and proactively manage the day to day performance and attendance of the team as required.
    • manage accurate rota development in line with sales and hours forecasts. Ensure all rotas are issued in line with the associate promise. Be reactive with hours in line with weekly sales.
  • monitor and manage all maintenance issues and manage maintenance contractors.
  • take part in weekly blue-bag meetings and monthly business review meetings with your area manager, agreeing on/actioning all targets set.
  • read the weekly management action pack, associated documents and all operational and marketing briefs to remain up to date with all the latest information. Any points noted should be actioned.
  • if required, and once trained, maintain safe and correct handling of all cash in line with the company’s Cash Control policy and report any cash issues to the pub manager.
  • carry out any reasonable task as requested by the management team to meet the needs of the business.

Training and development:

  • Complete the management academy, including ongoing training, within the stated time frames.
  • Attend and participate in regular team meetings, manager meetings and training sessions.
  • Generate and share ideas for improvements in the kitchen and company.
  • Support and train new and progressing team members.
  • Support the achievement of the Wetherspoon action plan.

Career opportunities

If you would like to progress in Wetherspoon, speak to your pub manager about the opportunities available to you; these may include:

  • Wetherspoon apprenticeship academy including degree apprenticeships
  • Advanced management academy

Learn new things, get recognised for your efforts and gain skills which will last for ever!

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