Head of Food and Beverage

Retirement Villages is on the lookout for a Head of F&B to join our central team based in London, with regular travel to our villages across the UK.

The Head of Food & Beverage (F&B) is a vital role at Retirement Villages Group, responsible for developing and implementing a consistent, high-quality F&B offering across our portfolio of retirement villages. The role is instrumental in creating a vibrant, hospitality-driven culture that enhances the lives of our residents, supporting them to live and age well within our communities.

Key Responsibilities:

• By working closely with village management teams and supporting the development of our culinary and hospitality staff, you will ensure every aspect of our F&B experience meets the needs of our residents and elevates their overall living experience.
• You will lay the operational foundations for our centralised F&B framework and service standards. Working across the existing portfolio and on our new developments you will develop and roll out our RVG F&B Standards programme, partnering with internal L&D and comms, to ensure team members are trained to a high standards and are aligned with our vision for exceptional service.
• In addition to fostering a "Feel Like Home" culture that is both service-oriented and internally/externally community-focused, the role will focus on optimising F&B operations to meet quality, productivity, and cost-efficiency goals, ensuring that our services are both exceptional and contribute to the overall success and growth of our business.
• As F&B lead for the organisation, you will travel to our village sites to inspire teams to deliver excellence, offering guidance, ensuring compliance with both RVG standards and Food Safety regulations, ensuring F&B remains a central part of our community.
• This role works closely with the Development and Mobilisation teams for new sites in our Thrive collection. You will bring key insights to the design and layout of commercial kitchens, ensuring efficiency and optimal workflow.
• Within the new sites the role shapes the F&B strategy by understanding the local demographic, assessing F&B saturation, and analysing consumer trends. Your input will help determine the right concept for each location, fostering a strong internal community while creating an attractive offering for the wider external community.
• Your expertise in both Back of House (BOH) and Front of House (FOH) operations will ensure that all aspects of service run smoothly from compliance with regulations, licenses, and permits to managing F&B budgets and operational performance.
• You will also oversee the integration of F&B systems, including EFoods supply chain management, along with EPOS systems to streamline operations and support profitability.

• Proven work experience as a Head of F&B, Executive Chef, Development Chef or similar senior role (5 + years)
• Proficiency to carry out multiple assignments concurrently
• Ability to have robust conversations with culinary teams, around recipes, standards, and financials.
• Extensive food and beverage (F&B) knowledge.
• Familiarity with purchasing and stock software and EPOS tools
• Strong leadership, motivational, and people development skills.
• Acute financial management skills
• Experience of devising strategies to deliver growth and add value
• Exceptional communication skills

In return we offer a number of benefits including, Private Medical Insurance, Pension Scheme, Enhanced Annual Leave, Birthday Leave, Rewards Schemes, Volunteering and Well-Being days plus much more! Please apply to find out more!