Bar Manager – House of Social, Manchester

Contract: Permanent, 45 hour per week

Salary: £32,000 per annum

Working Patterns: Our Management Team work collaboratively throughout the full week. 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. Our venue spans 12,000 square feet of brand new dining and drinking space. We're expanding our team with the appointment of an accomplished Bar Manager to drive speed of service while maintaining strong guest interaction and product consistency, consistently delivering exceptional guest experience standards throughout the venue.

Our Bar Manager

Lead and oversee all bar operations to ensure smooth, efficient and high-quality service across the food hall, maintaining consistently high service, drink quality and presentation standards across all bar areas.

Bar Operations

• Menu development & product management

• Ensure all bars and bar back areas remain clean, organised, stocked and fully operational.

• Support operational planning for busy periods, events and large bookings.

• Ensure all team members are confident with licensing laws, responsible alcohol service and operational procedures.

• Ensure electronic systems are accurate, organised and maintained correctly.

• Report on bar performance, operational challenges and opportunities for improvement.

Management Responsibilities

• Lead by example to create a positive, professional and motivated working environment, ensuring they feel supported and recognised.

• Maintain strong management presence across the venue, particularly during peak trading periods.

• Support recruitment, onboarding and development of floor team members and hosts.

• Conduct regular one to ones and performance conversations with the team, providing direct feedback, coaching and recognition.

• Lead daily briefs covering expected trade, bookings, events, operational focus and end-of-shift debriefs.

• Ensure communication between departments remains clear and effective throughout service.

• Deliver training around specifications, product quality, upselling and guest interaction.

• Work with Senior Management to improve standards, accountability and overall team performance.

Guest Experience

• Ensure all guests are welcomed, acknowledged and looked after throughout their visit.

• Handle guest complaints professionally and confidently, ensuring resolutions are found quickly.

• Continuously look for opportunities to improve guest journey, atmosphere and overall satisfaction.

• Communicate guest feedback, service trends and team performance clearly and professionally.

Venue Management

• Take full operational responsibility for the venue when acting as Manager on Duty (MoD), including front & back of house departments.

• Monitor cleanliness standards across the floor, bars, toilets, host stations and guest-facing areas.

• Manage maintenance or operational issues, escalating and communicating appropriately.

• Ensure compliance with Alert65 procedures, health & safety standards and licensing regulations.

• Ensure all opening, closing and operational procedures are followed correctly.

• Maintain compliance with daily and weekly management checklists.

• Guarantee incidents, accidents and compliance concerns are reported correctly.

Stock Control & Supply Chain

• Take ownership of bar stock control and rotation procedures.

• Lead and oversee weekly and monthly stock takes across all bar areas, reporting and investigating variances, discrepancies & losses.

• Monitor and manage GP performance in line with business targets.

• Ensure wastage tracking systems are completed accurately and reviewed

• Take responsibility for beverage ordering and daily consumable requirements for the bars.

• Maintain strong relationships with suppliers and support product sourcing where required monitoring delivery quality, invoice accuracy and consistency.

Who We’re Looking For….

House of Social boasts 5 individual kitchens and 2 bars, delivering variety and luxury food and drink offerings to our guests. Our aim is to guarantee the best social experience to all customers. Our Bar Manager plays a critical role ensuring seamless bar operations and effective leadership.

Professional Experience

• An experienced and accomplished Bar Manager having overseen bar and team management, daily operations, facilities management, and budgeting.

• High-capacity venue management with extensive events management

• 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 Bar 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 venues, which offer the highest standard of hospitality 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.