Head of Food & Beverage

Head of Food & Beverage

Salary £28,500 to £40,000 DOE

Location: Cockfields Farm Park, Lees Road, Oldham, OL6 8AR

40 hours per week -You will typically work 5 days out of 7, including at least one weekend day - flexible approach required

Join us on our journey to become the UK's best Farm Attraction

About Cockfields Farm Park

For over 70 years, Cockfields has been a family-run staple of the community, now welcoming over 100,000 annual guests as a premier visitor attraction. Our mission is to ensure every visitor loves, shares, and returns to the farm, a goal supported by a robust five-year investment plan focused on upgrading our infrastructure, landscape, and-most importantly-our people, to become the best Family Visitor Attraction in the Northwest.

We are now seeking a dedicated Head of Food & Beverage to join us during this exciting period of growth, helping us deliver an unrivalled guest experience through exceptional service and a high-quality catering offering. As Head of Food & Beverage you will play a key role in the growth of our company and join a young dynamic & supportive management team who will back you every step of the way.

The Role

As Head of Food & Beverage, you are the heartbeat of our visitor experience, ensuring our food offering is a highlight of every "great day out" at Cockfields. We are seeking an ambitious, growth-minded leader to drive our catering department forward during a period of significant expansion. This is not a role for someone looking to maintain the status quo; it is for a creative professional determined to set the standard for food and beverage in the UK attraction industry.

Over the next two years, you will spearhead the redevelopment of our kitchen, the launch of new food outlets, and the redesign of our menus. You will have the freedom to innovate with exciting offerings for both daily service and high-profile seasonal events. If you combine operational excellence with culinary creativity, we want you to lead our team into this next chapter.

Key Responsibilities

1. Leadership & People Management

• Recruit & Retain: Lead recruitment, onboarding, and continuous training for the catering team.
• Performance: Conduct 1-1 appraisals, set targeted outcomes, and manage staff welfare and motivation.
• Administration: Manage rotas, timesheets, and leave requests via our online systems.
• Culture: Lead daily morning briefings to align the team on visitor numbers and daily goals.

2. Operational Excellence

• Health & Safety: Maintain strict adherence to COSHH, health and safety policies, and "Safer Food Better Business" guidance.
• Food Safety: Act as the lead on allergen information (specifically Natasha's Law) and host local authority inspections.
• Compliance: Oversee pest control procedures and equipment maintenance/servicing.
• Duty Management: Take on site-wide "Duty Manager" responsibilities, including locking up the farm when required.

3. Commercial & Financial Growth

• Financial Reporting: Prepare sales reports for the General Manager, calculate costings, and manage profit margins.
• Procurement: Liaise with suppliers to ensure the best balance of quality and price.
• Stock Control: Oversee regular stock takes, rotation, and forecasting for seasonal events.

4. Customer Experience

• Menu Innovation: Creatively direct menu updates and encourage the team to contribute new ideas to meet the requirements of our customers.
• Service Standards: Lead by example on the floor, handling customer queries and ensuring a positive atmosphere.

About You

To be successful in this role, you should be:

• Ambitious: Eager to help us win "Large Farm Attraction of the Year."
• Knowledgeable: Deeply familiar with food prep guidelines and modern POS/till systems.
• Flexible: Ready to work weekends and special events to suit the needs of the business.
• Proactive: Able to identify a problem (from a broken fridge to a dip in morale) and fix it before it impacts the guest.
• Entrepreneurial: We want you to take hold of catering on site as if it were your own business, always looking for improvements and innovation.

Hours & Benefits

Hours: 40 hours per week.

This role requires a flexible approach to meet business needs, particularly during weekends, bank holidays, and school holidays. You will typically work 5 days out of 7, including at least one weekend day. While standard hours are 10:00 to 16:30, start and finish times will vary to accommodate events and operational requirements.

Investment: We are committed to your growth; as we invest in the farm, we invest in your professional development.

INDHS

Equals One is an advertising and recruitment agency working on behalf of our client to promote this vacancy. You may be contacted directly by the employer should they wish to progress your application. Due to the number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide specific feedback if your application is unsuccessful.