Opening: Food and Beverage Manager

University Grade 6 (£38,669 – £45,148, inclusive of Oxford University Weighting Allowance)
40 hours per week, including evenings and weekends

The Food and Beverage Manager is responsible for operational delivery of the catering function including the Pantry (FoH) Team, Dining Room and service, Bar and Wine Cellar.
Catering operations are generally in the Radcliffe Observatory but can be around college and external sites.

The post holder is responsible for leading and delivering all aspects of food and beverage service at Green Templeton College, ensuring consistently high standards of hospitality across the full range of college activities.

While fine dining and formal occasions are an important part of college life, equal importance is placed on the quality, professionalism and care provided during everyday lunches, informal suppers, bar service and other hospitality. The post holder must demonstrate the flexibility, commitment and operational expertise to deliver excellent service in every setting, adapting the style of service appropriately while maintaining consistently high standards.

Strong administrative, organisational and time management skills combined with a flexible and proactive approach to problem solving.

The post holder will prepare and monitor operational and event budgets and costings in collaboration with the Head of Catering, ensuring expenditure is controlled and approved financial parameters are adhered to.

Main duties and responsibilities

Service and operations

• Set and maintain consistently high standards of food and beverage service across college lunches, informal suppers, formal dining, bar service and hospitality, adapting the style of service to each occasion while ensuring equal care and professionalism.
• Report to and work closely with the Head of Catering, aligning daily operations, staffing, budgets and service development with departmental priorities while taking ownership of day-to-day service delivery.
• Collaborate with the Head Chef and Events Manager to plan and deliver dining and college events, coordinating service arrangements, timings, dietary requirements, staffing and guest expectations.
• Lead the service team to provide welcoming, efficient hospitality for fellows, students, staff and visitors; seek feedback and resolve service issues promptly.
• Recommend and implement agreed improvements to service quality, efficiency and sustainability in consultation with the Head of Catering.
• Support the college’s sustainability objectives by promoting responsible purchasing, reducing food and packaging waste, supporting sustainable sourcing initiatives and encouraging environmentally responsible operating practices.

Finance

• Prepare and monitor operational budgets in collaboration with the Head of Catering.
• Monitor and report on expenditure, beverage gross profit, stock variances, wastage and other relevant performance measures.
• Manage day-to-day purchasing, stock control and stocktaking activities, ensuring agreed purchasing arrangements, pricing structures and supplier agreements are implemented effectively.
• Identify opportunities to improve service within financial controls and reduce costs where appropriate.

Staffing

• Lead, supervise and develop the Pantry team, including: recruitment; induction; performance development reviews; and effective teamwork across departments.
• Plan rotas, timesheets and staff deployment for everyday services and events, balancing service standards, appropriate staffing levels and value for money.
• Ensure staff are smart, professionally presented and appropriately dressed in and in uniform if required.
• Ensure all team members complete mandatory training within required timescales and maintain accurate training records to demonstrate compliance with statutory and college requirements.

Administrative responsibilities

• Oversee accurate food and beverage administration, bookings, purchasing records, hired equipment and linen.
• Use Mercury, Kinetics, Microsoft Excel and Zettle as appropriate for operational records, payment processing and reporting; ensuring staff training and sound controls.
• Maintain effective records, including for rotas, wine stock, annual leave, staff absences and other areas.
• Ensure effective communication with line reports, teams across the college and external clients among others.
• Address operational issues and escalate significant concerns to the Head of Catering as appropriate.

Health and Safety

• Implement and monitor compliance with college policies and relevant health and safety, food hygiene, allergen, licensing, fire safety and manual handling requirements within food and beverage operations.
• Promote safe working practices and maintain appropriate risk assessments, COSHH records, PPE records and training records, ensuring staff receive the necessary instruction and supervision to work safely.
• Undertake regular inspections of front-of-house areas, furniture, fixtures and equipment, ensuring defects are promptly reported, monitored and followed through to completion.
• Monitor and support compliance with allergen management procedures, ensuring allergen information is communicated accurately, staff are appropriately trained and any incidents, concerns or near misses are reported immediately to the Head of Catering.

Bar operation and college wine

• Manage the day-to-day operation of the college bar, including service standards, stock control, licensing compliance, cash handling procedures and equipment requirements.
• Provide regular reports to the Head of Catering on the college bar’s performance, including stock variances, purchasing activity, gross profit performance, service improvements and operational issues.
• Manage the day-to-day operation of the college wine cellar, including secure storage, stock control, and purchasing wines in accordance with agreed budgets, delegated authority limits and Wine Committee decisions.
• Act as secretary and operational lead for the Wine Committee, supporting meetings, preparing information as required, implementing decisions.
• Oversee professional wine service and staff training, ensuring high standards in presentation, service temperatures, decanting and customer service.

General

• Participate in training and development activities relevant to the post.
• Ensure valuable service items are properly prepared, presented, maintained and secured, including college silver and other assets.
• Undertake such other duties and responsibilities as may reasonably be required by the Head of Catering and are commensurate with the grade and nature of the role.

Person specification

Skills and experience

Essential

• Relevant hospitality management qualification or equivalent management experience
• Significant management experience in food and beverage or hospitality service, including both formal and informal settings
• Proven ability to lead, train and motivate teams, organise staffing and deliver consistently high standards of customer service
• Sound IT skills, particularly Microsoft Excel, Outlook, hospitality booking software and payment systems, with the ability to learn new software
• Excellent organisational, communication and administrative skills, with accurate record-keeping and the ability to exercise discretion

Desirable

• Experience of Mercury, Kinetics, Zettle or equivalent hospitality systems
• Experience of bar operations

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of budgeting, costings, stock control and supplier management, supported by sound commercial judgement
• Food Hygiene qualification
• Willing to become a Licensee under the Licensing Act 2003

Desirable

• Sound knowledge of wine and appropriate wine qualification
• First Aid at Work qualification
• Holds a current Personal Licence under the Licensing Act 2003

Personal attributes

Essential

• Ability to work effectively under pressure whilst maintaining high service standards
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to take initiative in resolving operational issues
• Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues, customers and stakeholders across the college
• A positive, flexible and professional approach, with the ability to foster a proactive and ‘can do’ culture within the team

Green Templeton welcomes applications from people from all sections of the community and is particularly keen to encourage those from diverse groups, such as LGBTQ+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, who currently are under-represented in the college staff team.

Green Templeton recognises that the actions and choices of our community have a huge impact on the college’s environmental footprint, and is committed to embedding sustainable thinking throughout its operations.

Terms and conditions of employment

Salary

University Grade 6 (£38,669 – £45,148, inclusive of Oxford University Weighting Allowance)

Reporting

Head of Catering

Direct reports

• Catering Supervisors x 2
• Waiting staff x 3
• Casual staff

Hours

40 hours per week, including evenings and weekends

Holiday

38 days per annum (including eight Bank Holidays and college closure days). Additional long service holidays apply after five years.

Pension

The post is pensionable and the postholder is eligible for membership of the USS pension scheme.

Duration

Permanent position.

Employer

Green Templeton College. The college is an independent employer and does not automatically apply University of Oxford employment terms and conditions or policies.

Other benefits

• Eligibility for Oxford Colleges Healthcare Scheme (paid by employee through salary deduction)
• Enhanced maternity pay
• Sick pay, related to length of service, rising to six months full pay and six months half pay after five years
• Interest-free travel to work loan
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Parking is currently available on a first-come first-served basis
• Free lunches are provided when the kitchens are open
• Use of college sports facilities including squash, punt and gym
• University Card giving free access to the various university facilities including Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, libraries, sports and other college gardens (by appointment)

Recruitment timetable

Application closing date

Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 12:00.

First stage interviews

Thursday 10 December

Second stage informal meeting with members of the team

Monday 14 December 2026.

Applicants are welcome to contact the Head of Catering at eamonn.bennett@gtc.ox.ac.uk with any queries or for informal conversations regarding the role.

How to apply

Please submit the following to hr@gtc.ox.ac.uk by Wednesday 25 November at 12:00:

• CV providing details of relevant achievements as well as your professional and educational history.
• Covering letter summarising your interest in this post and providing evidence of your ability to match the criteria outlined in the Person Specification.
• Details of your latest salary, notice period and names and contact details of two referees. Green Templeton will assume that it is free to approach referees at any stage of the application process unless the applicant states otherwise.
• A Diversity Monitoring Form which will assist us with monitoring equal opportunities in recruitment. We can assure you that the information given is kept separately from the information used in recruitment decisions; that all information is strictly confidential, used purely for statistical purposes and to ensure that policies are being applied fairly.

Data Protection

All data supplied by applicants will be used only for the purposes of determining their suitability for the post, and will be held in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the college’s Data Protection Policy.