Food And Beverage Manager - Warrior Restaurant

An exciting opportunity has arisen for someone to join the Warrior Restaurant team as the ‘Food and Beverage Manager’!

Australia Zoo is an equal opportunity employer, where we recognise the diversity of our workforce and community – be it on the basis of gender, age, race, sexual orientation, or religious belief.  We provide specific workplace programs to support diversity and equal employment opportunities for women, people with disabilities and all cultural backgrounds.

Nestled within The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, the Warrior Restaurant is purposely built to provide guests with an opportunity to enjoy the Warrior ambience.  With a number of seating options, the casual-fine-dining restaurant has the opportunity to seat up to 200 people per service, contains private dining rooms and is built with sentimental history incorporated into all elements of the space.

The Food and Beverage Manager oversees all operations within the Warrior Restaurant.  The Food and Beverage Managers’ duties include; scheduling shifts, balancing registers, leading and developing a committed team of staff and overseeing cost centres involved within the department in both front of house and back of house. Additionally, The Food and Beverage Manager will oversee staff management, customer service and training within the team.

We are looking for someone who will be instrumental in building top line sales and optimising costs to deliver exceptional results to both our customer base and staffing team. Reporting directly to the Senior Management team, you will regularly meet to discuss areas of opportunity and deliver information of key performance indicators during each week.

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated understanding for fine-dining and the capacity to encourage a team to strive to achieve continual development and reach goals. Within this role you will be responsible for ensuring the functional operation of the Warrior Restaurant to the best of its capacity.  

Duties Include: 

• Overseeing operational requirements for opening and closing the restaurant, including staff rostering, balancing, locking and unlocking of the restaurant.
• Oversee financial requirements for the Warrior Restaurant, including floats, petty cash, wage costs and targets.
• Overseeing operational requirements for both the Front of house and back of house areas of the team, including product quality, service, restaurant space and ensuring teams are rostered accordingly. 
• Developing and implementing a positive and strong customer service culture throughout all areas of the business. 
• Assist the Restaurant Manager and events team with coordinating all Functions within the Restaurant Space, and liaising with the Executive Chef to ensure all core objectives for events are met.
• Provide insight and mentorship to both the Front of House and Back of House teams to ensure cohesiveness and productivity within all areas of their roles and objectives. 
• Manage and coordinate all staff movements and performance management and work closely with the Restaurant Manager and Executive Chef to achieve a cohesive and functioning team.
• Oversee all Food Handling, ensuring compliance with Health, Safety and Hygiene Standards and ensure KPIs are met by the wider team.  
• Ensure compliance for all Restaurant team members, and ensure regulatory licences and standards that apply to the industry are met.
• Handle customer complaints, and resolve any concerns in a diplomatic and courteous manner.
• Conducts daily inspections of restaurant and equipment to ensure compliance with all Health, Safety and food handling and hygiene standards. 
• Collaborate with the Executive Chef to ensure all menu creation is done so in an ethical manner.
• Managing staff and coordinating teams through rostering whilst remaining mindful of Customer Service and Budget KPIs.
• Managing the maintenance and operations of tools and equipment within the Restaurant, including ordering and maintenance required.
• Liaise with the Human Resources team regarding recruitment and staff management, to ensure the correct and best fitting candidates are selected for available roles. 
• Regularly review product quality and research new vendors and suppliers to utilise within the Restaurant.
• Coordinating the department specific induction and mentoring new staff members onboard the team.
• Managing bookings and assigning new tasks to staff.
• Resolving customers’ questions and grievances in a professional manner.
• Conducting payroll related activities in a timely manner. 
• Ensuring industry specific guidelines are adhered to and any recommendations are made with adequate notice to the appropriate stakeholders.
• Recording all income and expenses and ensuring that cash registers are balanced at the end of each shift, and ensuring any discrepancies are followed up according to standard processes.
• Estimate future needs and provide recommendations to the Senior Management surrounding current investments to benefit the department long term.
• Profit management and monitoring of KPI’s alongside the Restaurant Manager.
• Stock management and monitoring of KPI’s alongside the Restaurant Manager and Executive Chef.
• Liaise closely with the Lodge Manager to ensure any upcoming bookings and special events are catered for and covered and rostered accordingly. 
• Liaise frequently with the Lodge Guest Service Agent team to ensure any special dietaries/requests for guests staying at the Crocodile Hunter Lodge are considered and catered to.
• Coordinate delivery of meals and drinks to the Crocodile Hunter Lodge Cabins where required, and encourage the wider Warrior team to take-part in going the extra mile for our guests.

Essential Criteria: 

• Experience in a similar role within a fine dining establishment, for example; Restaurant Manager, General Manager or Hospitality Manager.
• Familiarity with restaurant management software (Experience with Symphony is preferred).
• Experience within a management position. 
• Great interpersonal communication skills, email and telephone communication, organisational and leadership skills. 
• A demonstrated understanding and passion for Conservation and Australia Zoo’s Missions and Goals. 
• Relevant Qualifications (i.e. Diploma or Bachelor of Business Management or Team Management).
• Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA).
• Responsible Management of a Licensed Venue (RMLV).
• Drivers License and reliable transport to get to and from the Warrior Restaurant.
• Ability to work in high pressure situations.
• Full availability, including weekends, evenings, public holidays and school holidays.

Preferred Criteria: 

• First Aid Qualification. 
• Diploma of Hospitality. 
• Other relevant certificates for the hospitality industry. 
• Experience within Hotel and Accommodation settings, or similar facilities.