Café and Catering Manager

Job Title: Café and Catering Manager

Below covers everything you need to know about what this opportunity entails, as well as what is expected from applicants.
Location: House of Books & Friends 81 King Street Manchester M2 4AH
Hours: Full Time Permanent
Salary: £30k
About House of Books & Friends
House of Books & Friends is more than a bookshop and café, we are a vibrant Community Interest Company in the heart of Manchester city centre, our mission is to address loneliness and social isolation. We bring people together through books, conversation, great coffee, and memorable events. From carefully curated shelves and cosy reading corners to bustling Afternoon Teas and community gatherings, we create a welcoming and inclusive space.
We are now looking for an experienced, energetic Café and Catering Manager to lead our café operations and play a key role in our continued growth.
The Role
As Café and Catering Manager, you will lead on the daily running of our busy café while working closely with our bookshop and events teams. This is a hands-on, shop-floor-based role where leadership, creativity and commercial awareness are equally important.
Key Responsibilities
Operations
Oversee all café activities including food & beverage preparation, service, and cleanliness
Manage stock levels, ordering, supplier sourcing, and negotiations
Maintain and enforce health & safety standards and ensure compliance with legislation
Keep all paperwork up to date and aligned with regulations
Develop innovative, costed ideas to broaden services and product offerings
Key holding duties (opening and closing)
Support shop floor operations across both the bookshop and café, including serving and phone enquiries
Events
Organise and deliver our popular Afternoon Tea events, generating and implementing new ideas with minimal direction
Collaborate with the events team to deliver high-quality room hire and catered events
Create clear systems and procedures to enable smooth event delivery
Further develop catering options from standardised to bespoke packages for a range of budgets
Undertake hosting duties where required
Customer Experience
Create a warm, welcoming atmosphere with exceptional service
Manage enquiries, feedback, and complaints professionally and efficiently
Team Leadership
Train, supervise, and motivate café staff, future line management responsibility. xwzovoh
Foster a positive, collaborative working environment
Financial Management
Manage budgets, revenue, expenses, and profitability
Implement cost controls without compromising quality
Analyse sales data, identify trends and key seasonal opportunities
Develop strategies to increase revenue and meet targets
Menu Development & Marketing
Collaborate on menu updates ensuring consistent quality
Adapt offerings based on seasonality, dietary needs, and customer preferences
Support promotional campaigns and monitor competitor activity
Create and implement creative and new revenue streams for the cafe
About You
Proven experience (at least 2+ years) as a shop floor-based Café/Catering Manager (or similar hospitality leadership role) only people with this experience will be considered for the role.
Strong knowledge of café operations, food safety, and customer service
Experience training and managing a team
Confident using POS systems and standard office software
Flexible to work weekends and holidays as required
A genuine interest in books and the literary world
What We Offer
£30,000 salary
Holiday entitlement
Pension scheme
Staff discount
Health cash plan
A book on your birthday
One paid Reading Day per year to catch up on your reading
If you bring energy, enthusiasm, and a love of people and want to be part of a growing organisation that makes a real difference in the community we would love to hear from you.