Head of Venue Operations
Deputy to the Venue Director, and a member of the venue senior leadership team, this role will oversee the day to day running of the Arena on an operational basis. Working to strict staffing budgets and retail KPIs, you will create a first-class customer experience for visitors to staged performances as well as conferences and events. Responsible for the Customer Experience and Food & Beverage teams, you will be responsible for a key income stream and will work collaboratively in order to maximise opportunity while delighting audiences and maintaining all relevant health and safety requirements.
Please note, your role may involve working with children or vulnerable people.
Key responsibilities
Customer Experience, Food & Beverage, and Front of House
- To be actively involved in the F&B operation within the arena – supporting the Customer Experience Manager, Kitchen Manager and Operations Manager to achieve an efficient operation and meeting key venue KPIs.
- To work closely with central ATG F&B colleagues to implement appropriate product ranges and staff practises.
- To ensure a sufficient system of recruitment, training and development of casual staff is established and maintained in order to create a skilled and supported workforce.
- To ensure clear and regular communication with the wider F&B casual team.
- To work with the F&B team in order efficiently manage stock within the venue – minimising wastage and maximising on sales margins.
- To work to create a first-class VIP experience in our Lounge and VIP Loges.
- To work closely with the Head of Conference & Events to support all events and hires in terms of staffing and catering.
- On allocated events, liaise with visiting merchandise companies to ensure a profitable merchandise operation, maximising on venue commissions and providing first class support to third party companies.
Event Management and Risk Management
- To recruit, train, and develop the casual Building Safety Officers and Duty Management team, ensuring appropriate rostering across all events.
- To Duty Manage performances, conferences or events as required – and to monitor the Duty Manager rota for the building to ensure appropriate coverage across all opening hours.
- On allocated complex and higher risk events, liaise with visiting companies alongside the venue’s technical team prior to their arrival to advance the show and ensure a robust schedule is in place and planned for the duration of their visit.
- To be responsible for the management of key stakeholder relationships with security and medical contractors, ensuring health and safety obligations and best practice are considered when booking contractors and building deployments for events.
- To lead on Risk Management practices within the venue, including meetings, audits, documentation, and procedural compliance.
Administration
- To oversee the Venue & Operations Administrator and ensure a paper-free system is in place for all HR and finance documentation.
- To support the Venue & Operations Administrator and venue team in regard to workforce management, payroll, invoicing, and settlements.
- To lead on allocated meetings and supporting with oversight of the Operations Calendar.
Budget and Finance
- Along with the Venue Director, prepare all budgets relating to your areas of operation and then ensure that these budgets are all achieved, reviewed, and reported on.
- To contribute to the development of the business plan and budgets for the venue, and to the reviewing income and expenditure against budget and re-forecasting process.
- Be responsible for all purchases and investment relating to Food & Beverage, Front of House, Operations and Administration.
Senior Management Team
- Deputise for the Venue Director when required.
- Be part of the Senior Management Team at the Arena, led by the Venue Director.
- Provide support, guidance and pre-actively manage personnel matters, in line with company policies.
- To provide excellent communication and relationships with visiting clients, artists and productions, welcoming visiting companies and producers as required.
- Support the Venue Director by establishing and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships with the Local Authority including Licensing, City Centre Management and Emergency Services.
- To communicate effectively with other venue Head of Departments to ensure venue goals and objectives are aligned and supported.
- Lead by example, always exhibiting the characteristics of a senior leader.
Other Duties
- At times, and as the business requires, work at other ATG Entertainment venues.
- Willingness to work unsocial hours including evenings and weekends.
- Being a primary key holder, including unlocking and securing the premises.
- Any other duties as reasonably requested to carry out commensurate with the post.
Your skills, qualities, and experience
We welcome transferable skills from other industries. If you can demonstrate many of the essential skills, qualities and experience we encourage you to apply. We are able to provide training where necessary.
Essential
- Understanding of financial management and budget planning.
- Experienced in and awareness of current safety legislation, implementation of safe systems and developing safety culture.
- Degree standard qualification in hospitality or business management, or equivalent employment experience.
- Experience of managing a large team in order to achieve targets and KPIs within a live entertainment / arts / music venue.
- Excellent written and oral communication.
- Degree standard qualification in hospitality or business management, or equivalent employment experience.
- Experience of managing a large team in order to achieve targets and KPIs within a live entertainment / arts / music venue.
- Excellent planning and organisational skills.
- Problem solving skills – ability to remain flexible and calm under pressure.
- Highly computer literate – proficient with Word, Excel, and Outlook.
- Ability to work under pressure and with a high degree of autonomy.
- Ability to develop, manage and apply systems and procedures.
- Ability to promote and represent the organisation.
- Customer service driven - Quality is at the heart of the job you do.
- A leader with the ability to support a large team while delivering results.
- Committed to promoting and offering equal opportunities.
- Extensive knowledge of event management.
- Extensive knowledge of safety and workplace legislation.
Desirable
- IOSH or NEBOSH Certificate.
- Personal License.
- First Aid at Work.
- Experience of working in a conference and events setting.
- Experience of managing a largescale catering operation.
- Experience managing and / or working with security crews.
- Ability to manage and implement change.
- Ability to effectively schedule large teams.
- Proficient in Welsh – written and spoken.
- Enjoys live music and the arts.
- Committed to raising the profile of business within the local community.
- Knowledge of building and facility management systems and proceses.
- Knowledge of the wider live entertainment community and associations.
About Us - Our values
ATG Entertainment’s values set the tone for how we work, how we treat one another, and the culture we continue to build across the UK and the wider organisation.
- THRIVE doing what we love (with passion and dynamism)
- CONNECT through every act (with collaboration and kindness)
- DARE to do different (with curiosity and courage)
- PERFORM at our best (with customer focus and ownership)
Our culture
You’ll help us uphold a positive culture around meeting our obligations, by having a positive attitude to health and safety, legal and insurance requirements and take care to understand our policies and procedures.
We are all expected to participate actively in the life of the company, and opportunities will arise for you to collaborate with others across the business. Everyone at ATG Entertainment is expected to be flexible and adapt as the needs of the business change, taking on new or different responsibilities as the need arises.
Our Corporate Social Responsibility pillars
Everyone at ATG Entertainment is expected to play their part in achieving our goals and upholding our Corporate Social Responsibility priorities:
- Inclusion: Committing to creating and upholding a positive, inclusive culture that nurtures potential and supports well-being.
- Sustainability: Playing your part in reducing our environmental impact and finding more sustainable ways of working.
- Next Generations: Encouraging the next generation in live entertainment by contributing to our outreach and training programmes, including mentoring students and trainees, and supporting our Creative Learning and Community Partnerships work.
Our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Mission Statement - A Stage for Everyone
Our stages are a platform for compelling stories – stories that are for all, by all, and of all. We shine our spotlight on our differences and believe that understanding and celebrating these differences makes us better global citizens. We are passionate about the pursuit of true diversity and equality. We strive to make our venues beacons of these ideals in our communities. Onstage and off, we hold ourselves accountable for nurturing an inclusive culture, one in which everyone can bring their authentic selves. At ATG entertainment, we provide a stage for everyone.
We recognise that we do not have all the answers; but we strive to listen, to learn and to change in order to ensure ATG Entertainment becomes a truly inclusive organisation. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from individuals from the widest possible range of backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from those currently underrepresented in our workforce.
We are a Disability Confident Committed Employer, which means that we are taking action to ensure that people with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged, and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will offer an interview or recruitment event to disabled candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they best meet the essential criteria for the role. Where we receive more applications than we are reasonably able to interview for any given role, we will retain applications for the next available interview opportunity wherever possible.
If you’d like to discuss accessibility prior to applying, please email [email protected] for a confidential discussion.
24-07-2026 at 23:59
