Hospitality Operations Manager

Hospitality Operations Manager

THE ROLE Fettes College hosts a significant range of events and functions, each of which requires planning and many of which require some form of catering provision or hospitality offering. These functions may be internal and relate to a society meeting, a sports event or a dinner for staff or governors; equally, they may be external and involve a wedding or similar celebration or simply involve the use of Fettes facilities by a third party, including the hire and use of sports pitches and courts.

As a full boarding school, Fettes operates 7 days a week during term time and events will typically occur throughout the week.

In every case, the event will need to be planned, resources and space allocated appropriately, clashes averted and the event ultimately delivered to the satisfaction of the customer(s). In some cases, the event will involve a significant amount of preplanning and marketing and/or selling.

Reporting to the Bursar, the role of Hospitality Operations Manager will lead on the successful and timely coordination of all functions with input, as required, from other relevant departments. Specifically, recognising that a significant part of the service delivery will involve catering in some form, the Hospitality Operations Manager will work very closely with the Catering Manager.

In broad terms, the role will involve maintaining a forward diary of all events which require allocated facilities/space/rooms and/or some form of catering or service and ensuring appropriate resources are put in place to ensure they run smoothly.

It is expected that there will be continual growth and change with the current demands and the Hospitality Operations Manager will lead in facilitating this.

The Hospitality Operations Manager will be expected to be flexible in working hours and able to work additional hours as required for functions within the College Key Responsibilities This is a very public facing and front of house role which includes co-ordination and oversight of all events, facility and room bookings and usage, timely communication to all interested parties and, on occasion, attendance at events which warrant it.

Operational Delivery • Maintain and share, as appropriate, a school-wide schedule of appointments and ad-hoc bookings and liaise closely with the staff member responsible for the School Calendar to assist in planning appointments and avoiding clashes; • Assist in marketing, selling and pricing external events and functions; • Liaise closely and regularly with ‘customers’, for example teaching staff, trading subsidiary staff, Head’s Office and ‘service deliverers’, for example Housekeeping, Catering and Estates; • Ensure the appropriate services are programmed, planned and delivered on time and to a high standard;

• To the extent those needs are outsourced, ensure the supplier meets appropriate standards of delivery, service and care and negotiate terms accordingly; moreover, ensure such costs are appropriately passed on to external users of College facilities; • Ensure sports fixtures are appropriately catered for students and visitors as necessary both during and after the event; at present, that includes retaining responsibility for the manning, stocking and service delivery of the ‘cake cart’ and liaising with the games department and catering manager to plan for the most appropriate post-match refreshment/meal; Equipment/Premises • Ensure repairs/maintenance to hospitality and other related equipment is carried out as soon as possible; • Research new equipment and prepare recommendations for upgrading/ purchasing; • Ensure staff are trained in the use of all equipment.

Financial • Prepare annual hospitality and events budgets for the Bursar; • Maintain responsibility for delivering the budget, justify and communicate any budget variances to the Bursar; • Verify and approve invoices for payment in a timely manner.

Compliance The Hospitality Operations Manager may be required to act as Licence Holder for some events which involve the supply and/or sale of alcohol and training will be offered as required to ensure that responsibility can be fulfilled.

Whilst the Hospitality Operations Manager is not expected or required to attend every event in person, it will be his or her responsibility to ensure that events requiring any form of licence are suitably and appropriately staffed in compliance with any licencing obligations.

General The Hospitality Operations Manager will be expected to always present a smart and professional appearance and may be required to undertake other duties as might

reasonably be requested to suit the operational needs of the business.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience The Ideal Candidate will have: • Experience in high end catering and/or events management, ideally obtained in a hotel or demanding events management environment; • Excellent communication and organisational skills; • Outstanding attention to detail and a problem-solving attitude; • Good financial awareness and the ability to develop and manage a budget; • Good computer literacy, particularly with the Microsoft Office Suite; • Rigorous time management skills potentially covering a variety of tasks each with their own deadlines; • A high degree of autonomy and initiative; • Strong communication skills with students, staff, visitors and suppliers; • A responsible approach and personable manner; Physical Demands The demands of the role may include the need to be on the move regularly throughout the day, travelling around the significant campus. In addition, there may be a requirement for a degree of manual handling and physical dexterity. A capacity to deal with these requirements as they arise and demands of meeting service deadlines is important.

PERSON SPECIFICATION To fulfil this important role, Fettes requires a creative, charismatic and organised starter-finisher with a track record of success in strategic online and offline marketing communications and team leadership, possibly in a similar organisation.

Experience in educational marketing or a creative marketing agency may be an advantage but enthusiasm, creativity, tact and a hands-on approach to problem solving and getting things done are fundamental to this role. You will be someone who lives and breathes the Fettes brand and will be able to communicate and promote the ethos of the School.

Leadership: • A strategic thinker, able to create an integrated strategy, lead and guide change, and build and enhance teams; • The ability to transfer knowledge and experience into a new setting and consider and implement creative solutions;

• A highly capable team leader with strong line-management skills.

Communication and interpersonal skills: • Outstanding people skills – a positive team-player with the professionalism, determination and personal motivation to inspire others, to achieve exceptional results and to get things done; • Demonstrable ability to build rapport and communicate persuasively with people of different backgrounds; • Impressive personal presence and presentation combined with the humility and enthusiasm to pitch-in as a team-player; • The ability to communicate so that messages are clear, convincing and inspiring, in particular utilising excellent spelling and grammar to produce high quality written communications.

Marketing and admissions knowledge: • In depth knowledge of marketing, ideally gained through experience of best practice in marketing or communications functions; • An appreciation of customer relationship management, ideally gained through a school or university admissions function; • The ability to think creatively and have vision with the talent to devise and deliver successful consumer marketing and communication strategies relevant to the education sector.

Engagement: • Empathy with independent education and the desire to relate to and extol the ethos of the School; • Proven brand stewardship experience; • A commitment to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children.

• Willing to attend a wide range of School events, to play an active part in the life of the Fettes community and to work out of hours as and when school functions occur.

IT and online proficiency: • Competence in standard Microsoft office software (email, word-processing, presentation and spreadsheet packages); • An understanding of, and an ability to interpret, databases and their use in customer relationship management; • An understanding of how websites, apps, social media platforms and online resources are used as part of effective marketing and communications strategies.

Equality: • The ability to demonstrate understanding of, and acceptance and commitment to, the principles underlying equal opportunities.

BENEFITS You will be entitled to 30 days’ holiday during the School Year (September to August) plus 8 bank holidays.

You will be opted into the Fettes Trust Non-Teaching Staff Pension Scheme after 3 months service. This scheme is a money purchase one and full details of it and your options will be made available to you prior to your opt-in date.

Subject to the availability of places at the time of first entry Fettes College will educate the Employee’s child or children at Fettes College and the Staff discount on fees is currently 85% of the day fee.

Lunchtime meals may be taken in the Dining Hall free of charge during term time and when catering is provided and at other times, when catering is provided and you are on duty. Parking is free of charge within the campus grounds. Gym membership at Westwoods Health Club, an exceptional Employee Assistance Programme and a Death in Service benefit are also available.

APPLICATION PROCESS To apply please complete an Application Form and submit along with your CV and a covering letter outlining your suitability for the role via email by Thursday, 31st March 2022 at 1 pm to recruitment@fettes.com with interviews being held week on Tuesday, 12th April 2022. The Application Form can be accessed via the following link: https://www.fettes.com/about-us/vacancies If you would like further information prior to applying for this role, please contact Mr Peter Worlledge via bursarsoffice@fettes.com.

An offer of employment will be subject to two satisfactory references being obtained from your referees and a clean report being obtained on you from the Disclosure Scotland PVG Scheme in view of the contact you will have with children during your normal duties.

We are keen to welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds into our staff body. If you would like a friendly conversation with an employee who identifies as an ethnic minority, please feel free to contact Sara Medel Jiménez (s.medeljimenez@fettes.com) who will be happy to share her experience of Fettes.

ABOUT FETTES Fettes College is a leading HMC co-educational boarding and day school close to the heart of Edinburgh. It has a strong tradition of academic, sporting and cultural excellence underpinned by outstanding pastoral care. Fettes opened its doors in 1870 and became fully co-educational in 1980: it is now an independent school of some 800 boys and girls. There are 598 students in the Senior School (13-18 years) and 202 students in the Preparatory School (7-13 years). The academic staff in the College consists of the Head and 91 full-time members of the Common Room. Our Prep School shares the same site and consists of a further 29 full-time teaching staff.

The school stands on a magnificent site of approximately 100 acres, but still within walking distance of Edinburgh’s city centre. The historic main building holds the Chapel, Library, the English, Classics and History Departments as well as the Medical Centre and two boarding houses. A large newly built teaching block (the Spens Building) houses Art, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Economics, Geography, and Music. The Theatre, Science Laboratories and Dining Hall are adjacent. The Preparatory School and seven further boarding houses (including a purpose-built U6th House) are also on the campus. Our sports facilities (including extensive playing fields, two all-weather pitches and a private Health Club) are excellent.

As well as our teaching staff we employ over 220 Non-Teaching Staff across the many departments, including Estates, Security, Housekeeping, Finance, Human Resources, Admissions and Marketing with a pervading sense of community amongst staff, students and parents alike.

The Aims of the College Fettes College aims to nurture the individual while fostering a happy, wellordered and caring community with strong family values at its core.

To this end, we will do our utmost to ensure our students: • Receive the highest possible quality of education within a boarding environment • Feel safe, valued, have a sense of personal worth and are thoughtful and considerate of the needs of others, possessing a willingness to take on responsibility • Develop their self-confidence, integrity, emotional resilience, loyalty, good manners and humour, leadership skills and team-work • Value a sense of community and service, and develop a clear sense of right and wrong, equipping them for life beyond Fettes • Are provided with equal opportunities regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnic origin or religion • Are encouraged to stretch and challenge themselves in everything they undertake