Head of Food Retail (Permanent)

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.

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.
Ensure compliance with retail licensing requirements (e.g., Maintain departmental maintenance logs and ensure timely resolution of facilities and equipment issues.
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; Coordinate transportation and distribution of food, beverage and catering supplies across site; 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; People Leadership & Workforce Planning
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.
Client Relationship & Stakeholder Management
Establish and maintain strong relationships with clients, contractors, suppliers and internal stakeholders (culinary, marketing, finance, security).
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; Conduct regular compliance inspections and training; Drive waste management and sustainability initiatives to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.
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.
Maintain emergency and business continuity plans; Achievement of retail and logistics financial targets (GPS%, COS, VPM, labour %)
number/severity of client complaints
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; 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; 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.
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.
Results-orientation and commercial focus.
Medicash - Healthcare benefits, including dental, optical and therapy treatments (includes up to 4 dependent children)

• 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
• 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
• Day off for baby's first birthday
• Holiday purchase scheme
• On-going training & development and career pathways
• 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.