Director of Food and Beverage

An amazing opportunity at Kimpton Clocktower for a dynamic and strategic-minded Director of Food and Beverage, to lead our F&B, C&E and Kitchen departments to new heights!

You will earn a competitive, plus a potential earning of 20% annual bonus upon reaching targets.

At Kimpton, our shared mission is to make lives better through heartfelt human connections. This emotional investment drives all that we do, and it’s why you’ll love the work, too. Our colleagues are empowered and encouraged to act from the heart, to go above and beyond to create ridiculously personal experiences for each other and our guests!!

The Refuge is a vibrant and bustling establishment in the heart of Manchester, renowned for its exceptional restaurant and bar experience. Nestled in the historic but with a modern twist – Kimpton Clocktower, we pride ourselves on delivering top-notch service and unforgettable experiences to our guests.

You can check out our instagram pages to have a look at @therefugemcr & @kimptonclocktower!

Kimpton Clocktower is all about providing a contemporary luxury hotel experience whilst building heartfelt human connections with guests and colleagues – we call it Stay Human. What more could you ask? It’s not just the humans who feel this, we extend this to all our furry friends, because our heartfelt connection does not end with humans!

Working at Kimpton is not just about working and it’s certainly not like working at other places. We value personality, individuality, creativity, doing right, continually improving, focus and passion.

Our passion is YOU…come as you are!

Here, you will have space to:

• Be yourself - bringing the real you to work, with your unique personality we want you to be who you are!
• Lead yourself – we trust you to make decisions and exert your creativity to provide our guests with heartfelt human connections, we trust you to do right!
• Make it count – you matter, and we will provide you with all the tools you need to create ridiculously personalised experiences for our guests every day!

As our Director of Food and Beverage is responsible for directing and organising the activities of the Food and Beverage Departments to ensure a consistently high-quality food product and service levels.

You will be responsible for concept design, budget management, and profitability creating an environment for team members’ development and driving a positive work environment.

Our Director of Food & Beverage is responsible for:

• Leadership & Oversight: Lead and supervise all F&B Heads of Department (HODs) across Conference & Events, F&B outlets, kitchen operations, back of house, and stores departments. Ensure all teams are aligned with service standards, operational efficiency, and guest experience goals.
• F&B Strategy & Commercial Acumen: Develop and implement an overarching F&B strategy, focusing on revenue growth, GOI profitability, and achieving company-set metrics. Align departmental objectives with the hotel's goals and produce regular forecasts in line with budgets, driving margin improvements, outlet payroll optimization, and productivity controls.
• Operational Excellence: Ensure the smooth and efficient operation of all F&B departments, delivering exceptional guest experiences while maintaining compliance with statutory regulations.
• Performance & Engagement: Conduct performance reviews, regular check-ins, and provide ongoing coaching to the F&B team. Foster a culture of engagement and growth, offering both individual and group training opportunities to build team capabilities.
• Client, Guest & Team Satisfaction: Maintain the highest standards of service and operational excellence across all F&B outlets, ensuring client and guest satisfaction as a top priority.
• Catering & Events Operations: Oversee Conference & Banqueting (C&E) operations, ensuring flawless execution of events and large-scale functions. Provide operational leadership to support event logistics and client requirements.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: Demonstrate strong collaboration across departments, working closely with the General Manager's Executive Team, including the Director of Rooms, Sales & Marketing, Facilities Director, Finance Business Partner, and HR Business Partner.
• Sales & Marketing Activation: Work with the Sales & Marketing team to develop and execute tactical promotional activities, leveraging social channels, local and national competitions, and industry award nominations to drive the F&B profile of the hotel.
• Innovation & Market Trends: Stay current with market trends and innovations, continuously implementing new initiatives and presenting fresh concepts and ideas. Lead project management efforts on behalf of the hotel owner, ensuring F&B offerings remain competitive and appealing.
• Budgeting & Fiscal Management: Prepare annual F&B budgets and manage them in a fiscally responsible manner, ensuring cost controls and adherence to financial goals.
• Systems & Efficiency: Utilize knowledge of F&B systems such as Micros Simphony (POS), table reservation systems, payroll management (UKG schedule system), and catering controls to streamline operations and suggest improvements in workflow efficiency.
• Compliance & Statutory Knowledge: Ensure the hotel operates in full compliance with all statutory regulations, including food safety standards, alcohol licensing, and health & safety requirements.

To succeed as our Director of Food and Beverage, you will need:

• Experience from Large-scale F&B Operations: Proven experience managing large Catering & Events (C&E) business operations, with multiple F&B outlets and kitchen management responsibilities.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to develop and implement commercial strategies that drive revenue growth, guest satisfaction, and profitability.
• F&B Systems Expertise: Proficiency in F&B management systems such as Micros Simphony (or relevant POS), table reservation systems, catering controls, and payroll management systems.
• Food Safety & Licenses: Possession of an Alcohol Personal Licence and completion of relevant industry courses. Food Safety Level 4 certification is preferred.
• Sales & Marketing Strategy: Experience developing and executing F&B sales and marketing plans, leveraging social channels, websites, booking engines, and on-property promotions.
• Industry Knowledge: Demonstrated ability to stay ahead of F&B trends, technology, and market shifts to drive innovation and elevate guest experiences.

Our Director of Food & Beverage enjoys a range of benefits including:

• Becoming part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts family, one of the world’s leading hotel companies - which means global opportunities!
• Extensive training, opportunities for career progression across the world, plus 2 paid days volunteering per year with a cause of your choice
• Subsidised childcare support
• Meals whilst on duty
• 33days holiday each year
• We provide every colleague company sick pay and life insurance
• Amazing discounts for our hotels and restaurants around the world
• Discounts from over 15,000 stores – all the way from retail to cinema
• Don’t forget, bring your friends and take part in our generous ‘Refer a Friend’ programme!

If you are someone who likes to march to the beat of their own drum and wants to join a company which encourages authentic individuality, apply today to join us as our Director of Food & Beverage!

You must meet the legal requirements to work in the UK.

At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We firmly believe that all our colleagues deserve to be treated equally and have the same opportunities to develop and grow their skills within our business and provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and colleagues without regard to an individual's, race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or familial status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by ln aw.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants crafts unique destinations that kindle heartfelt human connections. Our bespoke spaces blend spirit, style and delight to create an addictive culture of refined irreverence where locals, visitors & colleagues seamlessly connect.

Don't quite meet every single requirement, but still believe you'd be a great fit for the job? We'll never know unless you hit the 'Apply' button. Start your journey with us today.