Create the food identity for a new Oxford Road venue, with the opportunity to build the kitchen, shape the offer and lead from day one.
Manchester Students’ Union is looking for a hands on, commercially minded Head Chef to open and lead the kitchen for our new licensed restaurant and bar at University Green. This is our most significant commercial launch in a decade and a rare opportunity to build a kitchen operation from the ground up. We support more than 48,000 students at the University of Manchester and run an established hospitality portfolio including Manchester Academy Venues, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee. Our new venue is the next step, an all day food, drink and social space trading from morning coffee through to late night drinks, serving students, University staff, gig goers and the wider Oxford Road community.
This is not a fine dining kitchen, but it is a serious commercial food operation. As Head Chef, you will help create a food offer that is fast, consistent, high quality, good value, margin aware and genuinely relevant to the people using the venue. The food needs to work across lunch, early evening trade, events, group bookings, society activity and pre gig visits. It should support the bar, suit the pace of the venue and give customers a reason to come back. Working closely with the General Manager, you will open the kitchen, set the standards, build the routines and develop the team. You will lead on food quality, kitchen organisation, food safety, allergens, ordering, stock control, waste, supplier standards and food gross profit. You will also help create the kitchen culture from day one: organised, calm, safe, supportive and proud of the food being served.
As Head Chef, you will lead and develop the Sous Chef, kitchen colleagues and student staff working in the kitchen. You will need to be confident leading service, training others, managing prep, maintaining consistency and working closely with bar and floor colleagues so the whole venue runs well during busy periods.
We are looking for a Head Chef with strong experience in a busy commercial kitchen, ideally at Head Chef, Kitchen Manager or senior Sous Chef level. You will need strong food safety knowledge, allergen awareness, experience managing food cost, stock, waste and portion control, and the ability to deliver quality and speed in a high volume environment. Experience in a bar, casual dining, student, event, music venue or city centre setting would be a real advantage.
The package is one of the things that makes this role different. Alongside a competitive salary and 40 hour contract, we offer 30 days’ annual leave, bank holidays and an additional paid Christmas closure period of around two weeks. For hospitality leaders used to intense festive trading, that is a real point of difference. Our student and event led rhythm also gives the year a different shape to many city centre kitchens, with peak energy around term, Welcome, gigs and major student moments, and a less Christmas led trading pattern than many restaurants, pubs and bars.
You will also benefit from pension contributions, learning and development, staff discounts and wider Students’ Union venue benefits.
Every pound this venue generates goes back into supporting students. So if you are a creative, commercially sharp Head Chef who wants to build a kitchen, shape a food offer people come back for, and be part of something with real purpose behind it, we would love to hear from you.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Details
Salary: £37,000 - £41,000 per year
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 40 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK. A Personal Licence is essential.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 16/07/2026
Applications close: 26/07/2026 23:59 pm
Interviews: 03/08/2026
Role Commencing: 01/09/2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to make any further changes. Please ensure you are happy with your responses before submitting.
