Front of House Operations Manager

Do you love people and producing amazing results, nearly as much as Chocolate? 

Chocolate Destinations Group is recruiting for an experienced, capable, hands-on Front of House Operations Manager at our stunning Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. 

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery is an amazing tourism venue created out of passion, set on 40 beautiful acres in the Yarra Valley just 15 minutes from Lilydale. Our focus on customer service, high-quality standards, amazing festivals, ever-growing retail product range (all made on site) and vibrant all day café, make locals and travellers alike keen to return time and time again.

This important and exciting role will see you working closely with the Venue Manager and Front of House Manager, leading a team that welcomes 800,000 visitors each year! 

Together, you will play a key role in building on our well-established base of committed team members and return customers, to expand and develop a capable team that can support the rapid growth this Chocolaterie continues to experience today.

This role is available due to an internal promotion of our existing Front of House Operations Manager, who will also be available to mentor and support you in taking on this amazing role.

About You 

This role is for you if you are a strong, natural leader who loves: 

• producing results and has a proven track record of successful positions in the front line of the hospitality and/or retail industries,
• recruiting, empowering and leading great people … the beating heart of our business!
• dealing with customers and giving customers an amazing experience they’ll absolutely rave about,
• delivering on high standards of excellence, cleanliness, attention to detail and procedures that work consistently,
• bringing a ‘can do’, fun attitude to work, life and the teams you lead … 
• all aspects of Front of House service, including our Café (and bustling Kitchen) and retail, driving sales and service results
• food, hospitality and retail and can work most weekends and public holidays, being the busiest days for the Chocolaterie
• thrives in a fast paced, energetic, dynamic environment – bored with the ho-hum, you love a busy, bustling place …
• working within an amazing location you can be proud of.

This is a wonderful opportunity to carve out your role as a key leader in this business and make it your own. You’ll work with a close-knit team, who are some of the best in the industry, creating exciting experiences and memories for thousands of visitors each week. 

If you believe you can oversee and enhance the day-to-day Front of House Operations to build on the current success of the region’s leading tourism destination, please apply with your resume and covering letter.

Your Role

We’re looking for someone to lead our Front of House teams across our busy café and kitchen and our stunning retail showroom, which showcases over 480 different chocolate products, with couverture chocolate production on view and in-house ice creamery. 

Working closely with the Front of House team, you’ll be leading the customer service and sales experience for this amazing Venue.

This role requires you bring a practical and hands on approach to operating a hospitality and tourism Venue such as this, seeing to it that all Front of House departments as well as the kitchen are working well, harmoniously and having fun together while doing an amazing job. 

Given your experience, you understand the balance between the importance of leading & supporting on the floor and working behind the scenes assessing performance and developing our team members.

Supported by a Front of House Manager, the Front of House Operations Manager will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Café and Showroom, including staff management and service standards. You’ll also collaborate with the Head Chef and Kitchen team making sure successful service is achieved each and every day.

You will be focussed on maintaining our high standards, attention to detail in customer service, presentation and merchandising, execution of consistent procedures, strong sales and overall operational excellence. 

You’re a strong leader who knows how to empower and motivate team members to produce wonderful results via consistent standards of high performance and attention to detail and service.

Alongside the Front of House Manager, the ideal candidate will also be responsible for supporting recruitment efforts, building a loyal, passionate, committed and happy team. You will also be confident in developing and delivering training and continuous improvement initiatives that uphold and improve standards, productivity, and profitability of the Venue. 

We’re a business that always looks to grow and improve, as such, your experience will see you develop new ideas and measures that will improve the customer experience and ‘wow factor’, while enhancing our culture of teamwork, communication and collaboration across the Chocolaterie. You’ll share knowledge and bring your leadership skills to the Venue.  

Being in this role will mean you’ll keep an honest and positive rapport with customers, visitors, suppliers and colleagues across the Venue and the larger Chocolate Destinations Group.

Culture is a key focus. Together you’ll nurture and foster a positive, fun, hard-working (if you know hospitality and retail, you know that’s a given!), supportive, committed team environment, inside a business that continues to grow.

A fast paced, energy filled, fun and dynamic environment awaits the successful applicant with the breadth of skills and experience to join our team and continue the success of this amazing venue.

Next Steps

If this is the job for you then send your resume and covering letter