Our head offices are based in the beautiful village of Hook Norton near Banbury. Here you will find our teams of finance, HR, purchasing, marketing & creative that support all of our locations across the Thomas Franks family. There is ample parking space available when visiting. We are looking for a Head of Mobilisation & Event Support to join our Central Support team. The Head of Mobilisation & Event Support is a senior operational leader responsible for supporting the successful mobilisation of new and retained catering contracts across the business. Working closely with the Operations and Head Office Teams. This role supports the operational manager to ensure every mobilisation they are supporting is executed to the highest standards of food safety, service and people management to meet our client expectations. The role is also responsible for allocating and prioritising event support across the regions.
1. Mobilisation Support
* To support the Operations Manager with the mobilisation of new catering contracts across education, B&I & leisure.
* Create and manage mobilisation plans covering menus, equipment, supply chain, staffing, finance, IT, marketing & creativity & charity.
* Coordinate teams including culinary, HR, finance, H&S, Procurement, and marketing & creativity.
* Work with HR and the operational manager to support TUPE processes and ensure positive engagement during employee transfers.
2. Mobilisation & Event support Team Leadership
* Line‑manage, support and develop the regional Mobilisation & Event Support Team, ensuring strong performance, engagement, and adherence to company standards.
* Develop weekly deployment schedules, ensuring optimal coverage for absences, mobilisations, sickness, and holiday periods across the region.
* With the Operations Manager match skill sets to site requirements to maintain food quality, service standards, events and compliance.
* Support the Operations Manager with recruitment, onboarding, training, and skills development.
* Monitor labour utilisation, travel costs, and deployment efficiency to optimise the cost efficiencies.
* Oversee issues related to performance, conduct, or availability.
* Ensure Mobilisation & Events Team members represent the TF brand and ethos consistently and provide a positive experience at each location.
3. Operational & Food Safety
* Ensure operational managers adhere to their responsibilities in relation to full compliance with food safety, HACCP, allergen management, and health & safety legislation.
* Ensure a pre‑opening audit is conducted and readiness checks to ensure kitchens, equipment, documentation, and systems meet operational and EHO expectations.
* In conjunction with the Operations Manager and Culinary Lead, oversee equipment commissioning, light equipment procurement, menu rollout, and new system configuration and training.
4. Client & Stakeholder Management
* In partnership with the Operations Manager serve as the lead contact for clients, where needed, during mobilisation and transition phases.
* Deliver mobilisation updates, actions, risk assessments, and project progress reports.
* Along with the operational team, build strong, early client relationships that support long term partnership and contract growth.
5. Team & Staff Development
* With the Operations Manager support recruitment and onboarding of catering teams – including chefs, catering assistants, supervisors, and managers.
* Support the Operations Manager to ensure all staff (including mobilisation team) are trained on allergens, food safety, service styles, and TF brand‑specific standards.
* Along with the Operations Manager and L&D team, provide coaching and support to TUPE'd employees to help integration into the business.
6. Continuous Improvement & Post‑Mobilisation Support
* Provide hands‑on operational support post‑go‑live to stabilise service delivery, food GP, labour budgets, and client satisfaction.
* Capture lessons learned and feed into future mobilisation frameworks and operational standards.
* Identify opportunities to improve mobilisation processes, supplier setup, and operational workflows.
7. Financial
* In conjunction with the Operations Manager, develop and manage mobilisation budgets, ensuring costs remain within agreed limits.
* Monitor post‑mobilisation performance including revenue, where appropriate, food, labour efficiency, and cost control.
* Support operations with the implementation of stock, ordering, and financial systems.
8. Special Functions
* Help to organise, plan, coordinate and attend special functions as required.
Thomas Franks is a founder‑led, fresh food catering business with a focus on excellence and service delivered with individuality, passion and style. We are unique in every approach and our clients, and our people are paramount to our daily success.
All applicants must demonstrate that they have the Right to Work in the UK to be considered for this role. An enhanced DBS, Identity & reference checks (covering the last five years) will form part of the selection process. As an organisation using the Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) Disclosure service to assess applicants' suitability for positions of trust, Thomas Franks Ltd complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice and undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly. We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and undertake not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a Disclosure based on conviction or other information revealed. However, for any post in a school please be aware that any application is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such any criminal conviction, caution or bind‑over must be declared. Diversity and Inclusion at Thomas Franks we actively encourage applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds and continue to develop a culture of growth and inclusion and would like to invite applications from groups who are currently under‑represented, because we believe greater diversity leads to exceptional results and provides a better working life.
Benefits
* Wider wallet scheme (discounts at major retailers, restaurants, gyms etc).
* Travel Expense paid
* Volunteers leave – up to one day per year.
* Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoptive leave.
* Cycle to work scheme.
* Recommend a friend bonus.
* Unrivalled individual training and development.
* Well established apprenticeship programme.
* Team & company social events.
* Employee assistance programme.
* Workplace pension.
* Excellent career progression within a leading independent contract caterer.
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