Overview
Our Lounge Operations Chefs play a pivotal role in the success of our business. Working alongside an Operations Manager you will manage an area of approximately 8–10 sites maximum, remaining close to our teams and our customers every day. Your team will be your absolute number 1 priority, spotting amazing talent; having aces in the right places, celebrating success; creating a real buzz and a sense of belonging for our team, plus developing great managers and leaders through training, coaching and mentoring. We are about unrelenting standards and we love people who never settle, with the ultimate goal that every customer leaves happy.
In our roles at Loungers, there is a lot to wrap your head around. We care more about who you are and what you're capable of, than what you've done.
We’ve described who we're looking for through our Coat Hangers. The behaviours and values we think will make you successful. Being totally frank, if these don't sound like you, Lounges probably isn't for you either!
What you will be responsible for
* Relentlessly on the hunt to find and hire great kitchen talent to join Lounge at all levels, with a specific focus on building a high performing and loyal team of Heads Chefs and Sous Chefs (your number 1's and 2's in site).
* Getting the best out of your team by understanding what makes them tick as individuals, ensuring clear priorities for each site and fostering a strong culture of honest two-way feedback in the kitchens and between yourself and your Head Chefs.
* Frequent site visits to actively support service, train and coach kitchen teams, with most sites visited at least once a week.
* Developing the capability and confidence of your Head Chef team through clear development plans and opportunities for skill growth, ensuring Head Chefs prioritise developing their own kitchen teams.
* Knowing the details of our menu specs and kitchen processes inside-out, so you can immediately spot issues or opportunities during visits and contribute hands-on when needed (e.g., preparations, covering sickness, or managing the pass on busy times).
* Ensuring all kitchens deliver the Lounge Commitments, including fair rotas and regular conversations (e.g., 121) every 6 months, and maintaining the unique Lounge culture.
* Leading training and engagement of kitchen teams to deliver seamless menu changes and improved food quality.
* Planning and delivering 14 Great Kitchen Shifts across your sites with the right people on the right shifts, back-up plans, quality forecasting, ordering and rotas.
* Engaging with the community your Lounges operate in—partnering with your Ops Manager to connect with local initiatives (e.g., food banks, loungeaid).
* Developing, planning and executing all operational aspects for your Lounges alongside your Ops Manager, staying exceptionally close to the detail of your lounges, teams, customers, standards and processes in your kitchen.
* Finding ways to make the role your own by adding your unique footprint to how you lead your people and deliver our Ops expectations back of house.
* Conducting high-impact visits and being visibly hands-on with kitchen teams, leading from the front to demonstrate what good looks like.
* Working in partnership daily with your Operations Manager to align on P&Ls, rota management, shift reporting, team/talent risks and rolling out Company initiatives.
* Delivering daily and weekly Ops Chef expectations — ensuring rotas are submitted on time, orders are accepted, stock takes are completed, and everything in between.
* Providing daily reporting on all aspects of kitchen performance, including shift detail, stock, PARs, safety concerns and other issues, maintaining our obsessive attention to detail.
* Owning the kitchen H&S standards and practices across sites, ensuring site leaders uphold safety, allergen processes, deep cleans and labeling.
* Delivering on key performance indicators such as customer wait times, Net Promoter Scores, gross profit and food safety expectations (EHO, NSF).
Who Do We Look For?
* You Believe. In yourself and your leadership, in your team, in bringing people together and in our cause. You believe that delivering a great experience, making sure our customers leave happy and our teams loving what they do is achievable day in, day out.
* You're honest: And have the strength of character to own up to what's not going right and tell it like it really is.
* Care for your team: You genuinely care about the people who work for you and can keep your team motivated and engaged, flexing your leadership style accordingly. For those wanting to progress you can help and support them grow and reach their aspirations.
* Command the detail: You're all over the stocks, rotas, labour, H&S, and the nooks and crannies of the sites, delivering uncompromising standards front and back of house, and knowing what part everyone plays.
* Never settle: For second best. You obsess about learning from yesterday and getting better, in each site, every day, and helping your team do the same. We expect hard work and commitment.
* Do it your way: Lead your team and your business through your own unique style and personality, recruiting and developing people who bring their true selves to work.
Where are you now?
* You are probably a HC, Kitchen Manager, Operations Chef or Area/Regional Chef in bars or restaurants or cafes with fresh food experience.
* You will have had multi-site hospitality experience across bars; restaurants; cafés, or something in between.
* Even though you're in a management role, you balance your time between managing and getting involved on the floor; we want people who still want to be part of delivering great hospitality, not management via email.
* You will have been in senior leadership positions in a large turnover single-site or multi-site capacity with a track record of inspiring and motivating large teams.
* You will be familiar with managing through clear KPIs and making commercial decisions to meet EBITDA and revenue requirements.
* Your ambition will keep you driven and focused on getting better every day, delivering a big impact.
* You may have come from front-of-house (General Management) or back-of-house (Food Development/Head Chef) roles; either works for us.
* You will know what it's like to be all over the detail and manage across multiple priorities.
The Good Stuff
* Competitive salary + annual achievable bonus paid 2x a year.
* Opportunity to participate in the Loungers Management Share Plan programme.
* Company car allowance.
* Full expenses and mileage provided.
* Great opportunity for personal development and career progression in a fast-growing business.
* Annual Ops trip to somewhere sunny. Honest!
* 50% discount on food from day 1.
* The best staff party - Loungefest (see our video).
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