The F&B Service Manager is responsible for the operational leadership, financial performance, and staff oversight of all bar and café operations across the Stratford Festival’s four theatres, as well as providing support to the service events team.
This role serves as the primary owner of day-to-day bar and café outcomes, managing established revenue, labour, and cost of goods targets set by the Associate Director, Food & Beverage. The Manager supports the implementation of departmental strategy by ensuring systems, standards, and operational plans are executed consistently creating a high-quality guest experience across all locations.
The position provides visible, hands-on leadership through regular on-site presence, performance monitoring, coaching, and continuous operational improvement. While not a scheduled shift-working role, the Food & Beverage Service Manager maintains active visibility during service periods whenever possible to support teams, address issues, and reinforce standards.
Responsibilities:
- Bar & Café Operations Leadership
- Oversee the daily and weekly operations of all bar and café outlets at Festival, Tom Patterson, Avon, and Studio Theatres, as well as the Festival Theater’s Greenroom Cafe.
- Hire and train service staff to support all Food & Beverage concessions and events, ensuring ongoing oversight of guest services to ensure patron satisfaction and delight.
- Responsible for product mix, inventory management, and seasonal adjustments to offerings across all venues.
- Ensure operational readiness, service consistency, and adherence to established standards across all locations.
- Act as the senior on-site operational contact for bar and café service, addressing issues, removing barriers, and supporting teams during peak periods, including providing Manager-on-Duty coverage as required.
- Financial Performance & Accountability
- Manage bar and café operations toward established revenue, labour, and cost of goods targets.
- Monitor sales performance, labour utilization, and cost trends, identify risks and opportunities, and take corrective action where required.
- Prepare and present operational and financial updates to the Associate Director, Food & Beverage, making performance visible and actionable.
- Partner with F&B Ops Manager and Finance to ensure accuracy in settlements, invoices, inventory reporting, and financial controls.
- Inventory & Product Management
- Oversee bar and café inventory processes, including ordering, transfers, counts, variance review, and corrective follow-up.
- Support GreenRoom purchased product, as well as establishing and maintaining service standards in collaboration with the Executive Chef
- Ensure compliance with product standards related to storage, handling, portioning, and presentation.
- Collaborate with the Associate Director, Food & Beverage on seasonal product selection and menu updates, providing operational input and execution support.
- Identify opportunities to improve product mix, manage slow-moving inventory, and support overall revenue performance.
- People Leadership & Development
- Directly manage the service team members across all Food & Beverage functions, collaborating with the Manager Events as required.
- Participate in recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, and development planning for bar and café staff.
- Support disciplinary processes and performance management in collaboration with Human Resources and the Associate Director, Food & Beverage.
- Foster a professional, accountable, and inclusive workplace culture aligned with Stratford Festival values.
- Systems, Standards & Continuous Improvement
- Implement and uphold established operational systems, SOPs, and service standards for bar and café operations. Support the Manager of Events in ensuring staff are trained for the additional responsibilities of events service.
- Lead operational improvements related to service flow, bar layouts, inventory practices, and POS usage to enhance efficiency and guest experience.
- Use POS data and operational reporting to inform performance management and decision-making.
- Support pilot projects, process refinements, and operational initiatives that improve consistency and scalability across venues.
- Collaboration & Cross-Department Support
- Work collaboratively with internal departments and external vendors to ensure bar equipment, systems, and infrastructure are maintained and operational.
- Coordinate with the Food & Beverage Leadership Team to support alignment and consistency across outlets.
- Contribute to off-season planning, reporting, and preparation for upcoming seasons.
- Provide operational support to other Food & Beverage areas during the off-season as required, including events, catering, and Greenroom operations.
- Adhere to the Stratford Festival Health & Safety Commitment and Procedures, and ensure that safe work practices and policies are supported and enforced within reporting structure.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Post-secondary diploma program, typically a two year program, or equivalent, (i.e. Community college, Technical Institute or Trade School, etc.) in Hospitality Management, Business, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 1 to 2 years of related experience in hospitality operations, preferably in multi-outlet or high-volume environments.
- Demonstrated experience managing labour, inventory, and cost controls in a revenue-driven setting.
- Strong people leadership skills with the ability to coach, develop, and hold teams accountable.
- Solid financial literacy with the ability to interpret sales, labour, and cost data.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, POS systems, and operational reporting tools.
- Smart Serve certification required.
- Food handling certification is considered an asset.
Behavioural Competencies:
- Leadership: successfully guide others to maximize their capabilities to achieve a collective goal; help them to succeed and thrive
- Commercial awareness: understand how the business makes money, what customers want and what challenges there are in the industry
- Strategic mindset: consider, anticipate and prepare for various outcomes, situations and challenges; practice global and long-term thinking
- Teamwork: readily work with others towards a shared goal, actively support teammates and recognize everyone’s contributions
