Head of Operations - Retail Food & Beverage

Job Introduction

Sodexo Live! Have a fantastic new opportunity for a driven, talented Head of Retail to join our first class team based from the iconic Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire.

At Sodexo you belong, we will take care of you and ensure you thrive in your career and provide you with excellent learning opportunities. 

You will be working as part of the team at the iconic Ascot Racecourse where we are committed to providing our guests with an outstanding experience whether they come to race, hold a business meeting, or host a private dinner at our world-class venue and we are looking for a hard working and driven individual to become part of our team!

This autonomous role will oversee all retail catering and retail operations across the venue. This is an excellent opportunity for someone to develop their career within an exceptional venue, with the support of a global business.

You will be an experienced retail professional ideally from the food and beverage sector, with experience in managing multiple units and leading a high performing team of people. 

You will be experienced in delivering high end events, conferencing or banqueting operations, have an excellent eye for detail and be willing to work as part of a team!

Role Responsibility

• Responsible for producing and overseeing the on-site retail pricing model, that will in turn drive the budget for the trading year
• Maximise the sales opportunity and in turn profitability of the Retail account in line with the agreed annual budget
• Deliver an exceptional Royal Ascot both from a customer experience and commercial perspective across the Retail portfolio
• Be the project leader of the long-term Ascot Retail Strategy ensuring it is creative and achievable in partnership with Ascot racecourse and Sodexo head office
• Ensure that the Retail Operations team deliver exceptional service standards
• Work collaboratively with the culinary team to develop exciting world class food offers for all public areas

For a full list of responsibilities please review the attached job description

The Ideal Candidate

• Experience of managing multi million-pound profit and loss accounts and budgets
• Experience of working within Events or Stadia
• Strong retail background operating multiple sites under extreme pressure
• Good awareness of marketing tools and up-to-date industry initiatives to drive additional sales to the Retail account
• Operational knowledge, skills and experience in Retail Management to a world-class standard
• Proven track record of managing an experienced team
• Resilience to manage multiple tasks and prioritise
• Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative within a team

Package Description

Circa £45,000 plus excellent benefits

We also offer Sodexo Discounts site promoting discounted mobile phone tariffs, savings across restaurant chains and days out, where you and your family can save money on everything from your weekly food shop to the latest cinema blockbuster and much more

About the Company

In the UK and Ireland, Sodexo employs around 30,000 people, and partners with clients in many sectors across business and industry; schools and universities; sports and leisure; energy and resources; government and agencies; healthcare; justice and defence.

Sodexo’s connected; people-centric approach brings together a diverse range of expertise. The breadth of services it offers ranges from food and hospitality; cleaning; reception; concierge (Circles); security; property management and technical services through to data driven workplace strategy and design (Wx); employee engagement and recognition services (Sodexo Engage) and personal home services through Prestige Nursing + Care and the Good Care Group.

Vital Spaces is Sodexo’s value proposition that puts people at the heart of everything we do, bringing together services and solutions and focusing on the productivity and wellbeing of people wherever they are.

Sodexo is committed to being an inclusive employer; we welcome and encourage applications from people with a diverse variety of experiences, backgrounds and identities.

We’re a Disability Confident Leader employer. We’re committed to changing attitudes towards disability, and making sure disabled people have the chance to fulfil their aspirations.

We are building on our support to the Armed Forces community through the development of specific pathways within our recruitment process to  support ex-forces personnel and reservists, those applying for jobs with us who meet the ideal candidate criteria for the role advertised are guaranteed to progress to the selection process