Application Deadline: 10 July 2025
Department: Visitor Economy, Leisure & Service Industries
Location: Liverpool
Compensation: £56,772 / year
Description
Job Title: Head of Commercial Operations - Visitor Economy
Department: Visitor Economy
Salary: £56,772 per year
Job Type: Permanent, 35 hours per week.
The Head of Commercial Operations will lead all commercial activities within the School of Visitor Economy, Leisure and Service Industries, overseeing the College’s restaurant, delicatessen, and bakery. This role includes direct line management of both teaching and technical staff in the Hospitality and Catering Department. Working in close partnership with the Head of School and Executive Chef, the post-holder will ensure curriculum planning and delivery are aligned with and support the commercial success and growth of these facilities.
A key focus of the role is business development, partnership building, and stakeholder relationship management. The successful candidate will use their existing professional networks, while also establishing new partnerships within the hospitality and wider visitor economy sectors, to create meaningful opportunities for students.
The role encompasses the full student journey—from enrolment to employment—ensuring graduates are highly employable, experienced, and well-connected. This includes guaranteeing all students gain practical experience through a minimum number of weekly hours in the College’s working environments, securing external commercial contracts, and leveraging industry relationships to provide placements, masterclasses, co-designed curriculum, restaurant takeovers, and high-profile collaborations with hospitality businesses across the city region.
We are therefore seeking candidates with strong, established connections within the city region’s hospitality and visitor economy sectors.
The Head of Commercial Operations – Visitor Economy will also be a key member of the Wider Leadership Team, contributing to a high-performance culture and promoting aspiration throughout the College. The post-holder will occasionally deputise for the Head of School and provide strategic support to other College Directors and Heads to ensure an exceptional student experience.
Responsible to: Head of School – Visitor Economy, Leisure and Service Industries
Key Responsibilities
* Lead the College’s commercial functions within the school of Visitor Economy Leisure and Service Industries.
* Manage the restaurant, delicatessen and bakery, working to commercial income targets and targets for student working hours in these spaces.
* Lead on the planning and delivery of innovative and inspirational working practices in the restaurant and hospitality spaces, collaborating with industry to secure ground-breaking partnerships and give students an experience of a wide range of styles and approaches, whilst learning from industry practitioners and developing their own professional networks.
* Work closely with the Head of School Visitor Economy, Leisure and Service Industries to ensure timetables and the planning of curriculum activity is aligned with commercial operations and supports the achievement of commercial income and growth targets.
* Line manage a team of teaching and technical support staff, ensuring that individuals and teams within the directorate are developed and challenged to secure an outstanding student experience and support sector-leading outcomes.
* Work closely with the College commercial and business development teams, as well as external employers, to increase the number of apprenticeships in Production Chef, Commis Chef and Chef de partie roles.
* Support and promote the College’s EDI strategy, translating this into operational actions that strengthen the approach and deliver meaningful accomplishments within the school, developing learners and staff as advocates and allies.
* Ensure high expectations, achievement and progression are effectively promoted and measured throughout the learner journey for all students, including the most disadvantaged and those with learning difficulties and / or disabilities, ensuring the College meets the strategic goal of turning disadvantage to advantage.
* Contribute to the College’s strategic and business planning processes to ensure efficiency and high performance and support the development of 2,3 and 5 year plans which are informed by industry expectations and an expert understanding of upcoming knowledge and skill requirements across Liverpool City Region priority areas.
* Drive high expectations and high performance to secure the College’s position as ‘best in class’ in he sector for Hospitality and Catering.
Essential Criteria
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
* An extensive existing network of contacts in the Liverpool city region hospitality and visitor economy sector
* A proven track record of success in restaurant management, management of other hospitality settings or in business development in the hospitality and visitor economy sectors
* Commercial acumen and experience of delivering successfully against commercial income or growth targets
* Ability to engage, negotiate with and influence a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders
* Relevant qualifications and / or experience
* The ability to develop and lead on cross-college projects, establishing credibility with a wide range of colleagues and securing buy-in from multiple teams
* Proven ability to challenge, mentor & coach – a developer of a high-performance culture, intolerant of underperformance and a track record of securing buy-in and support through constructive challenge
* Resilient and comfortable with ambiguity – ability to operate under pressure in a fast-paced, evolving environment, and to support and inspire others to do the same
* A positive role model and the ability to be a positive ambassador for the College
* Innovative, creative – a critical thinker who is able to adopt a growth mindset that supports the College’s aspirations around systems leadership and continuous improvement with regards to the end-to-end student experience.
* Committed to own continuous professional development – focused on the very best in pedagogy, a thorough understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion in action and an openness to critical and constructive feedback
* Willingness & ability to engage with current technologies and embrace diverse and evolving technologies to ensure a modern and effective student experience
Desirable Criteria:
* Professional or teaching qualification
* An understanding of technical education and the value of its contribution to meeting the skills challenges in the hospitality and visitor economy sectors
Benefits
Why Join The City of Liverpool College?
As a valued member of our College community, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits, dedicated wellbeing support, and meaningful opportunities for professional growth and development.
Here are some of the benefits available to you:
Generous holiday allowance
50 days annual holiday allowance, excluding bank holidays, plus an annual wellbeing day
Flexible Working
We offer flexible working options depending on business need to support our employee's work-life balance.
Pension Scheme
You'll be part of the Teachers' Pension Scheme, with generous employer contributions of up to 24%—one of the best pension packages in the sector.
Professional Development
We’re passionate about helping you thrive, offering a mix of formal and informal professional development opportunities—designed to sharpen your skills, expand your knowledge, and accelerate your career..
Sport & Fitness Suite
Our excellent sports and fitness facilities can be used free of charge by staff, and you’ll have access to our Cycle to Work scheme.
Health and Wellbeing
You’ll have access to our Employee Assistance programme and to free, independent and confidential 24-hour counselling service. You’ll also be entitled to a free eye test through our voucher scheme with Specsavers. It covers a full eye exam (worth up to £25) and even includes £45 towards a pair of glasses. We also offer free flu vaccinations to help keep you feeling your best all year round. As a member of College staff, you’ll be able to access a range of discounted hair and beauty treatments at our Academy and Graduate Hair & Beauty Salons
Travel
We’ve partnered with Arriva to bring you great savings on bus travel. Plus, we offer interest-free loans to help you buy annual travel passes from Merseytravel and Merseyrail. That means you can enjoy the savings of up to two months' free travel—without having to cover the full cost upfront. It’s all about making your commute more affordable and less stressful.
Employee Benefits Platform
As part of our team, you'll get access to the COLC employee benefits platform—packed with discounts, deals, and rewards on everything from everyday essentials to luxury treats. You can also access a range of discounted hair and beauty treatments at our Academy and Graduate Hair & Beauty Salons. #J-18808-Ljbffr