Retail Cafe Supervisor

The Colleges Operations Directorate forms part of the Colleges and Student Experience Division, which is responsible for providing a world class student experience to our diverse student community. 

The Colleges Operations Directorate plays an integral role in providing excellent services and facilities to support the personal development of students. The services provided by the Directorate include catering, housekeeping, reception, security and maintenance, as well as providing systems for the management of health and safety, and food safety.  

The University is embarking on an ambitious programme of retail catering developments to support our growing student population. This includes college dining halls, college bars, college cafés, visitor attractions and branded retail catering outlets. Our students are extremely important to us but we also provide catering to University colleagues, commercial guests, and VIPs including royalty.

Café Assistant Supervisors are key front-line members of the catering team responsible for leading shifts, directing the wider team,and maintaining service standards, whilst being operational throughout service. Supervisors are positive, knowledgeable, and visible to customers, and are required to be proactive when resolving any service delays during peak trading periods to deliver an effective service to customers. Supervisors expected to adopt and promote a flexible approach to working, and to undertake all of the tasks outlined below regardless of their designated shift.

Relevant experience leading a team in a service led retail environment and an eye for detail to maintain high standards and establishing brand excellence is essential.

Core responsibilities:

• Lead shifts, delegating tasks and monitoring completion across the work team
• Explain systems and procedures to new starters, providing hands on advice and guidance where required.
• Assist with the provision of ongoing training and/or coaching.
• Provide a highly responsive and/or frontline service to stakeholders.
• Respond to service users logging and recording queries and information systematically in accordance with procedures.
• Operate a system to record, dispense and distribute resources and information as required.
• Apply skills and techniques to operate and use a range of everyday task or job specific equipment, tools and resources.
• Follow a set of pre-determined tasks and objectives, with some discretion for variation, referring to team members where necessary.
• Gather and collate data and information for others to use for evaluation and decision making.
• Contribute to the tidying, set-up and maintenance of facilities, equipment and resources.
• Liaise with representatives from other teams/service areas where necessary.
• Collaborate with team members to identify work flows, timescales and where support is required.

Role responsibilities:

• Deliver a frontline service to stakeholders with team members within a defined service area for concentrated periods of time.
• Operate a range of catering tools and equipment efficiently and effectively.
• Monitor and record changes to the working environment and service processes to ensure the safety, security and hygiene of service products and services.
• Follow University identification and security procedures when dealing with stakeholders new to a service area.
• Provide direction to service users about the range of events and activities and how to access them.
• Complete necessary skills training to deliver a service in a retail, catering or leisure environment.
• Apply manual dexterity, physical effort and/or sensory skills to carry out work in a defined catering service area.
• Assist team members where necessary to review and update risk assessments.
• Respond to first-line queries from suppliers, stakeholders and contacts where necessary.
• Proactively assist the Assistant Retail Operations Manager making sure that team members adhere to food hygiene, Health and Safety legislation, policies and codes of practice.
• Assist the Assistant Retail Operations Manager with audit and stock control tasks, ordering goods where appropriate, whilst staying within par stock levels.
• Assist the Assistant Retail Operations Manager in HR and finance related activities, including recruitment, absence management, annual development reviews, roster planning and timesheets.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific Role requirements:

The post holder will be required to work any 5 days out of 7, which may include some weekends and evenings. Typical working hours are between 7.00am and 21.30pm.

Working in the catering team requires an element of physical manual handling, which can include lifting and transporting catering equipment.

The post holder will be required to work flexibly in other colleges, retail outlets and other areas within University Catering, to support holidays, sickness and changes in business demands.

Recruiting to this post

In order to progress to the assessment stage of the recruitment process, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. 

It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider the desirable criteria but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.

Please note that some criteria will only be considered for those candidates who proceed to the assessment stage.  

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails

Please ensure you upload the following documents to evidence the essential and desirable criteria or your application cannot proceed to the next stage:

How to Apply

We prefer to receive applications online.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What you are required to submit

You will need to fill out the online application form in our Recruitment Portal.  The information required is as follows:-

1. A CV

2. Covering Letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above.

Contact details

For further information please contact: Deborah Richardson ([email protected] )

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required