Absolute Taste is a leading event catering company dedicated to the provision of high-end catering services to Formula 1, Private Jet Aviation, performance sports, high-end Domestic & International Events along with a strong presence in catering venues within retail.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a talented Senior Operations Manager to join Williams F1 Racing. If you’re looking for your next exciting challenge and passionate about consistently providing excellent customer service, leading a team and forging a career in a fast-paced and expanding company then this is the role for you. You will be working in an environment like no other!
This role includes international travel as it requires attendance to the majority of F1 races throughout the F1 calendar. All international travel is paid for by Absolute Taste.
Responsible for the meticulous planning and delivery of high-level VIP hospitality, ensuring always that we deliver the Absolute Taste food vision for all aspects of the event.
General
- Fully project lead and accountable for Williams catering
- Key client contact for Williams senior stakeholders
- Perform an event leadership role across all event functions. Providing direction and motivation to all teams
- To ensure the overall delivery and management of the catering for Williams is to the required standards
- Manage and set project timelines and milestones, ensuring project remains on target
- Be able to communicate progress clearly, accurately and transparently to key internal and external stakeholders
- Form part of the strategic team, ensuring the overarching goals of the project are achieved
- Line management and leadership of a core team of individuals and ability to manage a wider project team in a matrix style structure in operational planning, commercial, culinary, logistics and staffing teams
- Management of ‘on site’ team and ability to scale up and adapt management between pre-event requirements and on event multiple large teams
- Help with sourcing, managing and controlling both third-party suppliers for equipment hire as well as manage Williams and Absolute Taste assets
- Help to actively seek efficiencies in operational deliveries with regards to food COS, supplier networks and resource
- Manage the team and the client with regular event updates and project planning meetings including regular updates of the key project planning document
- Support the development of all operational aspects of the event and to work to strict budgets whilst striving for great customer service
- Strict contract management, reviewing all contractual obligations for both Absolute taste and Williams to make sure revenues, targets and budgets are adhered to
Budget & Finance
- Fully control and are accountable for the overall budget, alongside future forecasting and reforecasting throughout the year
- To work alongside Finance department and Head of Events for ongoing management of the Trackside Hospitality budget, including forecasting, tracking spend
- Tracking all Trackside Hospitality associated spend, including but not limited to; F&B, subcontract labour, flowers, ad-hoc equipment, flights, transport
- Working closely with the finance team to facilitate invoicing, tracking payments onto the correct codes and providing reconciliations for each race and/or project
- Working alongside the Head Chef to assist with purchasing where required and ensuring spend is in line with the budget where possible
- Follow company finance processes; raising PO’s, good receipts, submitting supplier invoices to finance
- Review and prepare budget reports for senior management
- Maintain a good knowledge of seasonal ingredients and food costs and ensure cost pressures across all areas are regularly reviewed and adapted in order to mitigate these increases
Strategy
- Work closely with Williams to research and determine the Trackside hospitality strategy, to include;
Working with other departments to ensure that the team is supporting the department wide strategic objectives
Uphold the team’s identity to include but not limited to; overall look & feel, food and beverage
Establish ranking system with the wider marketing team for guests, to enable a clear process for hosting guests
- Act as an ambassador for Absolute Taste towards our client and guests
- To be ‘the face of the Williams brand’; to embody the Williams Brand values at all times and to ensure the trackside team are doing so too
- Monitoring and maintaining overall morale of the hospitality team, paying close attention to the mental well-being of each individual team member and ensuring that they’re needs are always taken into consideration and acting accordingly
- Using key performance objectives to develop and monitor evolution of the department
- Responsible for working with internal departments, external suppliers and other 3rd parties and stakeholders to implement the department strategy
Work closely with the Content/Comms team to ensure all meetings are supported and filming opportunities are supported when applicable
Work in conjunction with the Commercial/Partnerships team to operate ‘as one’, to ensure a fluid experience for all guests
To regularly liaise with the Guest Experience team, both back at the factory and trackside, in order to ensure that you have all the required information in order to provide a best in class service to our guests and team; including but not limited to, Senior leadership team, Dorilton personnel, prospects, partners, friends of the team
- Support Head Chef with innovative and creative yet sensible menu development, giving consideration to locale specialities and availability
Onsite
- Attendance at all F1 races and test events
- Act as key member of the event delivery team as required
- Responsible for ensuring Trackside Hospitality Manager is providing quality trackside dining for race team personnel, senior management and drivers throughout the course of the race week
- To host all guests across a race weekend, offering a 5-star guest experience
- Responsibility for the management and development of the trackside hospitality programme, to include liaison with partner management team, guest experience team, race team personnel, instructing the whole trackside hospitality team concisely to ensure continuity of service standards and offering
- Calm and decisive in challenging, stressful situations
- Managing suppliers and freight alongside the logistics team; leading the OS&E set up and pack down processes
- Planning, organizing, and managing the daily operations of the hospitality staff to ensure efficiency
- Identify and implement ways to further enhance guest experience
- Ensure all records and reports are fully completed, up-to-date
Other
- Excellent client relationship building and management
- A variety of operational and planning experience for hospitality food and beverage offerings
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with all Williams stakeholders and internal teams
- Be a brand advocate for guests and ensure that all of their touch points reflect the Williams brand identity and team values
- Produce and maintain all packing lists for OS&E kit for each race alongside Logistics Host
- Use the winter to refresh kit where required and to ensure all training is undertaken by the team in accordance with UK H&S standards
- Work with the creative team on menu design, place cards etc.
- Design and continuously improve and implement processes to ensure the smooth running of the trackside hospitality team
- Ensuring all direct reports receive their probation / appraisals at the appropriate times
- Enforce adherence to regulations, quality and safety WF1 standards
- Develop and communicate standard operating procedures to all staff
- Supervising staff members and communicating the importance of customer satisfaction
- Hire qualified personnel according to WF1 standards together with Head of Events and Williams
- Ensure supplies and equipment are adequate in quantity and quality together with Head chef
- Handle customer complaints when needed
- Attend the post-event debrief with the client
- Large international event and/or big projects experience
- Organised, punctual, motivational, and with varied communication skills, (formal, informal, international)
- To be conversant with all company codes of conduct
- Strong F&B operations experience is esssential.
Benefits
25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) per annum*
Contributory Pension Scheme*
Life Insurance Cover*
24/7 telephone health & well-being support & counselling service*
Paid Sick Leave (up to 10 days) *
T&Cs apply to all of the above
This role is 09.00 – 17.30 on office days, requirement to travel to majority to F1 races throughout the year.
Salary is up to £55,000 per annum. Personal allowance whilst working on events also available.
This list is not exhaustive of all duties and responsibilities.