Head of Restaurants

Department: Hospitality

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Medlock Square

Reporting To: F&B Operations Director

Description

As Head of Restaurants for Manchester City’s new Entertainment District - Medlock Square, you will play a pivotal role in shaping, and elevating the food and restaurant identity across a diverse portfolio of venues operating 365 days a year.

The restaurant estate will comprise a diverse portfolio of food-led concepts, including premium destination dining, all-day restaurants, café/bar formats and a market-hall environment featuring independent food vendors. It will also include the restaurant in The Medlock Hotel, a 401 bedroom hotel. These concepts will range from casual, high-quality daytime dining to premium, destination-led evening experiences, operating across both event/match days and non-event/match days.

You will act as the senior restaurant operations lead, working closely with the Director of Restaurants (MCFC), Director of F&B Operations, Culinary and Front of House teams to define the vision, standards, and performance of each concept from pre-opening through to long-term operation.

Your role will be critical in ensuring that each restaurant delivers a distinct identity, exceptional guest experience, strong commercial performance, and operational consistency, while operating within a coherent estate-wide framework for standards, performance and guest experience. 

To succeed, you will bring deep experience from multi-site, multi-concept hospitality operations, combining creativity and trend awareness with operational rigour, people leadership, and commercial discipline.

Key Responsibilities

 Strategic Leadership & Concept Development 

• Work in close partnership with the Director of Restaurants (MCFC) and Director of F&B Operations to shape and deliver the overall restaurant strategy and vision across Medlock Square
• Lead the development, evolution, and ongoing refinement of restaurant concepts, ensuring each venue has a clear identity, target guest, and commercial rationale
• Act as a senior voice in food and restaurant-led decision-making across the district, balancing creativity, guest experience, and operational reality

Restaurant Operations & Standards

• Oversee restaurant operations across all food-led venues, ensuring consistently high standards of food quality, service delivery, and guest experience
• Establish and uphold clear operating standards, policies, and procedures across all restaurants
• Ensure effective collaboration between Front of House, Kitchen, and central support teams
• Conduct regular site reviews and performance walk-throughs to maintain standards and identify improvement opportunities

Pre-Opening, Launch & Change Delivery

• Lead restaurant planning and operational readiness for new openings, relaunches, and concept changes
• Support commissioning, test services, and soft openings in partnership with culinary and operational teams
• Ensure teams are fully trained, equipped, and confident ahead of launch
• Drive smooth transitions from opening phase into stable, high-performing operations

Commercial Performance & Financial Control

• Drive commercial performance across restaurant venues, ensuring alignment with budgets, forecasts, and KPIs
• Work with Finance, culinary and operational teams to ensure menus are correctly costed and commercially viable
• Monitor performance metrics including sales, margins, labour efficiency, guest satisfaction, and consistency
• Identify and implement opportunities to optimise revenue, improve efficiency, and enhance guest value

Leadership, Talent & Capability 

• Lead, mentor, and develop senior restaurant leaders, including Restaurant Managers and Head Chefs
• Support recruitment, succession planning, and talent development across the restaurant estate
• Promote a strong culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and high performance
• Act as a visible and trusted leader for restaurant teams across the district

Partner & Vendor Management (Market Hall) 

• Provide governance, oversight, and support to independent food vendors operating within the market hall
• Ensure vendor compliance with agreed standards covering food quality, safety, brand alignment, and guest experience
• Balance creative independence with consistency, safety, and commercial objectives
• Act as the primary liaison between EVSL, vendors, and internal stakeholders