We are Company of Cooks, and we believe brilliant food and drink start with brilliant people. For over 25 years, we've been part of some of the UK's most loved cultural destinations, from historic palaces and botanical gardens to buzzing galleries and performance spaces, running the cafés, restaurants, bars and events that bring these incredible places to life. 

Our values - Craft, Creativity and Community - guide everything we do. They shape how we work together, how we support our partners, and how we make each guest feel welcome. If you care about food, people and doing things properly, you'll feel right at home here. 

Wherever we are, we do more than serve. We bring places to life through food, service and creativity and we're looking for a General Manager to join our team at Royal College of Physicians.  

Location: Iconic London Venue

Salary: £65,000 per annum + 10% bonus

Shift Pattern: Predominantly Monday-Friday with occasional weekends

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and oversee the day-to-day operations of the venue, including hospitality, events, kitchen, and reception services.
• Act as the primary client contact, building strong relationships and ensuring exceptional service delivery at all times.
• Drive the successful planning and execution of conferences, events, meetings, and hospitality functions, ensuring flawless delivery and exceptional attention to detail.
• Provide leadership and management to the Reception Team, Event Managers, Head Chef, and Kitchen Team, creating a high-performing and engaged culture.
• Ensure operational excellence across all areas of the venue, maintaining the highest standards of presentation, service, and guest experience.
• Manage a high-volume venue catering for up to 400 guests per day, ensuring smooth and efficient operations.
• Take ownership of financial performance, including budgets, forecasting, cost control, and revenue growth.
• Ensure compliance with all Health & Safety, food safety, and company policies and procedures.
• Produce and analyse operational reports, using IT systems and management information to drive performance and continuous improvement.
• Work closely with the Operations Manager to achieve business objectives and deliver outstanding client satisfaction.

Ideal Candidate

• A strong and demonstrable events background is essential, with significant experience in the planning and delivery of high-quality conferences, events, meetings, and hospitality functions.
• Proven experience as a General Manager, Events Manager, Hotel Manager, or in a senior Conference & Events leadership role.
• Strong background within the events, hospitality, hotel, or conference venue sector.
• Experienced in managing multiple departments, including events, kitchen, hospitality, and reception teams.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail, particularly within a fast-paced events environment.
• Commercially aware, with strong financial and operational management skills.
• Confident using Microsoft Office and venue management systems, with strong overall IT literacy.
• An excellent communicator and natural relationship-builder, able to develop trusted relationships with clients, guests, and teams.

What's in it for you?  

Working with Company of Cooks has its perks! People are at the heart of everything we do, so we've developed a range of benefits to keep you happy.  

• Personal Development and Training opportunities 
• Life assurance scheme 
• Pension scheme 
• Holiday allowance 
• Access to Healthcare Support App which includes Annual health check, Digital GP, Mental Health Consultations, Nutritional Consultations, Second Medical Opinion
• Eye care 
• A great wellbeing strategy - including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, salary finance 
• Family friendly support 
• Regular social events and communication with our leaders 
• A holiday purchase scheme 
• Volunteering days 
• Professional subscriptions 
• Recognition schemes and people awards 
• Long service awards 
• Access to some great high street discount vouchers

About Us

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.

Job Reference: com/0608/47664001/52825227/SU #CompanyofCooks