Head Of Retail Food & Beverage - Cardiff City

Head Of Retail Food & Beverage - Cardiff City Football Club,Cardiff | Full-Time / Permanent

£Competitive Salary + excellent benefits including healthcare, wellbeing support, 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, life assurance, meals on duty, and more.

Levy UK is the food and drink partner of Cardiff City Football Club, managing and operating all the food and drink within the venue.   

As Food & Beverage Retail Manager  you will:

Provide strategic and operational leadership for both front of house retail and back of house logistics across the stadium.

Lead, develop and inspire operational and logistics teams to deliver exceptional retail, hospitality and catering services that meet client expectations and commercial targets.

Ensure the end-to end supply chain procurement, inventory, storage, transportation and equipment operates efficiently, safely and cost-effectively.

Demonstrate commercial value through strong financial governance, client relationship management and continuous improvement in line with company vision and values.

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES: 

Retail & Event Operations

• Lead and coach Operational Managers to deliver first class retail, bar and concession operations on event and non event days.
• Own matchday and event day readiness: ensure retail outlets, bars and concessions are set up, stocked and staffed to standard.
• Conduct and oversee critical walks, line and spot checks across retail areas to uphold service and quality standards.
• Monitor the customer journey; identify pressure points and opportunities; capture, act on and report client and customer feedback.
• Ensure compliance with retail licensing requirements (e.g., Challenge 25, RSA) and venue security/profit protection procedures.
• Maintain departmental maintenance logs and ensure timely resolution of facilities and equipment issues.

Logistics, Procurement & Stock Control

• Provide strategic oversight of procurement, inventory management, stock rotation and storage to optimise availability and reduce waste.
• Implement inventory control measures, schedule and govern regular stock takes; investigate variances and remediate promptly.
• Coordinate transportation and distribution of food, beverage and catering supplies across site; plan contingency logistics for peak periods and disruptions.
• Manage equipment lifecycle: maintenance, repair, replacement and asset tracking.
• Implement and enforce food safety, temperature control and storage standards.

Financial Management & Commercial Performance

• Own P&L drivers for retail and logistics operations under remit; manage costs and deliver key financial targets (GP%, COS, VPM, labour cost, waste).
• Drive top line performance (SPH, spend per transaction) through operational planning, menu and product development and service initiatives.
• Prepare and manage logistics and retail budgets; monitor expenditure and implement cost optimisation.
• Ensure compliance with company profit protection, purchasing and stock control procedures.

People Leadership & Workforce Planning

• Build and sustain high performing teams across operations and logistics; set clear expectations and measurable KPIs.
• Oversee recruitment, deployment and rostering of large volumes of casual/seasonal staff to match event requirements.
• Lead performance reviews, talent development, succession planning and training programs for managers and frontline staff.
• Foster effective two-way communication and positive team culture; act as an ambassador for company values.

Client Relationship & Stakeholder Management

• Establish and maintain strong relationships with clients, contractors, suppliers and internal stakeholders (culinary, marketing, finance, security).
• Manage client expectations commercially and operationally; present performance reporting and improvement plans.
• Support client initiatives (including community engagement and sustainability/WITY criteria) and represent the business locally. 

Quality, Safety & Compliance

• Champion Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) standards and food safety legislation; ensure HSE standards are maintained.
• Conduct regular compliance inspections and training; record, report and close out incidents and corrective actions.
• Drive waste management and sustainability initiatives to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.

Continuous Improvement & Technology

• Identify and implement process improvements and technology solutions (inventory systems, rostering, reporting) to increase efficiency and data accuracy.
• Use data (COS, VPM, yield, sales mix, stock variances) to inform decisions, forecast demand and optimise purchasing and labour plans.
• Lead post event reviews and implement action plans to improve future performance.

Event & Emergency Preparedness

• Plan and coordinate logistics for event set up and breakdown; ensure adequate resource allocation and contingency plans for supply shortages or equipment failure.
• Maintain emergency and business continuity plans; coordinate response with stakeholders during incidents.

Success measures 

• Achievement of retail and logistics financial targets (GPS%, COS, VPM, labour %)
• SPH / spend per transaction growth and average transaction value
• Stock variance levels and timeliness/accuracy of stock takes
• Wastage reduction targets and improved yield metrics
• Client satisfaction and retention scores; number/severity of client complaints
• HSE compliance metrics, incident frequency and corrective action closure rate
• Staff engagement, retention and fulfilment of rostering requirements on event days
• On-time delivery and equipment uptime

Person specification

Essential

• Significant operational experience across retail, hospitality and logistics/supply chain; demonstrable track record in multisite, stadium or event catering environments.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in a retail and beverage environment; proven experience managing logistics and procurement operations.
• Strong commercial acumen with experience managing budgets, P&L drivers and delivering financial targets.
• Proven leadership skills: ability to manage, motivate and develop shift-based teams including casual workforces.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills with capacity to manage competing priorities across site and events.
• Strong analytical skills — able to interpret COS, VPM, yield and POS data to inform decisions.
• Excellent stakeholder management and negotiation skills; vendor management experience.
• Sound knowledge of HSE, food safety and licensing requirements; commitment to compliance.
• IT literate; comfortable with inventory and rostering systems and producing management reports.
• Flexible availability to work evenings, weekends and event days; able to travel between venues as required.

Desirable

• Relevant food safety or logistics qualifications.
• Experience with major supplier negotiations and contract management.
• Experience implementing technology solutions for inventory or workforce management.
• Previous exposure to sustainability / waste reduction programmes.
• Excellent written and presentation skills with ability to influence at senior levels.

Behaviours & core competencies

• Strategic thinker with operational pragmatism.
• Results-orientation and commercial focus.
• Calm, decisive under pressure with strong problem solving.
• Collaborative and effective communicator across all stakeholder levels.
• High integrity and values-based leadership.
• Commitment to people development and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Medicash - Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children)
• Aviva Digicare - Free annual healthcare check
• Exclusive Benefits & Wellbeing site (Perks at Work)
• Entertainment discounts - up to 55% off cinema tickets
• Health & Wellbeing discounts - Discounts for Nuffield Health (20%) and Pure Gym (10%)
• Travel discounts - Discounts with holiday companies such as TUI and Expedia
• Shopping discounts - Save up to 15% at high street and online stores by purchasing Shopping Cards
• Meals on duty
• Vodaphone discounts
• Pension scheme and Life Assurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 23 days + BH's and additional day off for your birthday
• 2 days additional leave, following return from Maternity leave during first year back
• Competitive and supportive family benefits
• Day off for baby's first birthday
• Holiday purchase scheme
• On-going training & development and career pathways
• Professional subscriptions paid
• Financial wellbeing programme and preferred rates on salary finance products

As part of Compass you'll help to feed people, fuel progress and forge connections in around 6,000 venues. Join us to grow your career with the industry leader, and get competitive pay, great perks and unrivalled opportunities for learning and development, at one of the UK's biggest businesses.