General Manager – House of Social, Manchester

Contract: Permanent, 45 hours per week

Salary: £40-42,000 per annum

Working Patterns: Our Management Team work collaboratively throughout the working week Tuesday – Sunday. Shifts can start as early as 7am and finish as late as 2am

Days and hours will rotate weekly subject to demands and team availability.

House of Social Food Hall is Manchester’s newest and most exciting food hall. A collection of five independent kitchens, serving food and drink to suit every taste and time. We’re looking for an accomplished Supervisor to provide leadership support, steering the on-site team to deliver to our premium standards.

Located on two levels of Vita Group’s purpose built student accommodation concept House of Social, the new venue spans 12,000 square feet of brand new dining and drinking space.

We're looking for a General Manager to oversee all aspects of the food hall including bar performance, front of house operations, events execution, and collaboration with independent kitchen operators.

Our General Manager

Responsible for the overall commercial performance, operational leadership, and guest experience at House of Social. This role leads the day-to-day operation of the venue, ensuring strong financial results, high service standards, and a vibrant, well-programmed hospitality destination. The role will ensure the venue operates efficiently while delivering strong revenue growth, controlled costs, and an exceptional guest experience.

Commercial & Financial Performance

• Own the commercial performance of House of Social, driving revenue growth across bar sales, events, and partnerships.

• Monitor daily, weekly and monthly sales performance against budget and forecast.

• Manage venue profitability including labour costs, stock control, and operational expenditure.

• Protect and improve gross profit margins through effective purchasing, stock management, and wastage control.

• Analyse trading reports, sales trends and customer behaviour to identify opportunities for revenue growth.

• Drive spend per head through menu engineering, upselling initiatives and improved guest journey.

Operational Leadership

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the venue including the main bar, mezzanine, floor seating, and external areas.

• Ensure operational systems, opening and closing procedures, and service standards are consistently delivered.

• Coordinate effectively with independent kitchen operators to maintain smooth service and high-quality food delivery.

• Ensure service standards support high-volume trading periods while maintaining exceptional hospitality.

Bar & Drinks Programme

• Develop and maintain a profitable drinks programme aligned with House of Social’s brand.

• Introduce seasonal drinks menus, promotions and supplier partnerships.

• Monitor beverage performance including GP margins, product mix and sales trends.

• Ensure stock control processes are robust and minimise wastage.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, train and develop a high-performing front of house, bar and back of house team.

• Manage rotas and labour scheduling to align staffing levels with trading patterns.

• Conduct regular performance reviews and team development planning.

• Build a positive culture that reflects House of Social values and hospitality standards.

Events, Programming & Marketing Collaboration

• Work with the Marketing and Events teams to deliver a diverse calendar of programming.

• Ensure the venue is operationally prepared for live music, private events and brand activations.

• Support marketing campaigns through operational planning and delivery.

• Maximise revenue opportunities generated through ticketed events and partnerships.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Maintain compliance with health and safety legislation, licensing and food safety regulations.

• Ensure all staff are trained on safe working practices, allergy procedures and emergency protocols.

• Maintain accurate documentation for risk assessments and compliance checks.

Working closely with the Head of F&B, the General Manager will translate strategic goals into operational delivery, driving footfall, maximising spend per head, improving bar performance, and supporting a dynamic events and programming calendar.

Commercial KPIs & Performance Targets

• Deliver weekly and monthly revenue targets in line with budget.

• Achieve bar gross profit margins in line with company targets.

• Maintain labour costs within agreed percentage of net sales.

• Increase spend per head through upselling and menu optimisation.

• Drive event revenue and venue utilisation across both daytime and evening periods.

• Maintain strong guest satisfaction and positive online reviews.

• Deliver operational efficiency across service times and customer flow.
  

Who We’re Looking For….

House of Social boasts 5 individual kitchens, delivering variety and luxury food and drink offerings to our guests. Our aim is to guarantee the best social experience to all customers and our House of Social Student residents. Our General Manager plays a critical role ensuring seamless operations and effective leadership.

Professional Experience

• Proven experience operating as a General Manager or senior hospitality leader in a high-volume venue.

• Strong commercial awareness including P&L management and financial analysis.

• High-capacity venue management with extensive events management

• Experience running bars, restaurants or multi-vendor food halls.

• Strong leadership capability managing large teams.

• Experience delivering hospitality events and programming.

• Excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills.

• Strong understanding of hospitality systems including POS and reporting tools.

• Knowledge of health & safety, licensing and food safety standards.

• Proven experience in foodservice, bartending, hospitality, or retail management; food hall, market-style dining, or multi-unit leadership.

• Premium brand ambassador, having served as the face of a luxury brand, effectively communicating the brand's story and values to existing and prospective customers.

• Developed and implemented customer satisfaction programs

• Compliant with maintenance of building safety standards.

• Our operations run seamlessly with the support of a variety of technology systems and software; our General Manager must be technologically astute.

Personal Characteristics

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate, lead and develop teams effectively.

• A hands-on attitude, combined with strong communication and people management skills.

• A strategic thinker

• Flexibility: An ability and enthusiasm for working in a varied job with rotating shift patterns, days and hours.

Why work for us…….

Our employees have the pride of working at our luxury properties, which offer the highest standard of resident accommodation across the UK. We reward the commitment and dedication of our people by providing the following benefits:

Holidays – 22 days paid holiday, rising each year up to 25 days (pro rata)

Bank Holidays – 8 paid holidays (England & Wales Bank Holidays) (pro rata)

Perkbox – All employees are given access to a Perkbox account, enabling them to choose lifestyle perks that matter by giving points to spend on a wide range of products, services & experiences, such as; cinema tickets, supermarket savings, discounted days out, a daily coffee or a summer holiday – there’s something to suit everyone!

Royal London Pension – We care about our people and their future. Vita Group contribute a financial value of 3% of salary to your pension pot in addition to 5% employee contribution to help prepare for the future.

Parties & Events – We expect high standards from our people and like to reward demanding work by hosting parties and events each year, encouraging colleagues to let their hair down, have a great time and celebrate success together.

Recognition Programmes – We recognise and celebrate our people via numerous recognition schemes, such as employee of the month vouchers, community champion, experience awards, golden buzzer awards, work anniversaries etc.

Career Development – Whether your Vita career is a medium or long-term venture; we onboard all employees by means of a thorough induction and learning & development programme, delivering professional progression via our Bronze, Silver, Gold & Platinum training & recognition schemes.

24/7 Employee Assistance – The wellbeing of our colleagues is of vital importance to Vita Group. All employees have access to a confidential service; offering support and guidance for personal or work-related issues that may be impacting wellbeing.

Important

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer Right to Work Sponsorship. Therefore, if you do require a company to sponsor your Right to Work in the UK, we will not be able to progress your application further.

All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks which will include Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks.