Café Manager – Courtauld Site Frequency Coffee
We’re Frequency Coffee, an independent specialty coffee company with eight locations, including our café roastery in Stevenage.
At Frequency, we’re passionate about exceptional coffee, fresh food, and creating welcoming spaces for our guests. As we continue to grow, opening new sites, expanding our online and offline presence, and developing our in-house offering, this is a chance to be part of shaping something special from the ground up.
What You’ll Be Doing
As Café Manager and the on-site lead for our café at the Courtauld Institute of Art, you’ll take day-to-day operational ownership of the site. You’ll ensure consistently high standards of service, coffee, food, cleanliness, and organisation.
Reporting to the Cluster Manager, you’ll be trusted to run the café within agreed budgets, procedures, and Frequency standards. You’ll be a hands-on leader who sets the tone for excellence and professionalism while fostering a positive and supportive team culture.
You’ll also build a strong working relationship with the Courtauld team and adapt the café’s operation around the academic calendar, exhibitions, events, and changing visitor numbers.
Key responsibilities include:
- Taking responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the café, including opening and closing.
- Leading and motivating the team to deliver outstanding service to Courtauld students, staff, visitors, and guests.
- Remaining visible and hands-on during service, particularly during busy periods.
- Responding confidently to staffing issues, and unexpected operational challenges.
- Supporting the recruitment, onboarding, training, and ongoing development of team members.
- Overseeing coffee and food preparation to maintain Frequency’s quality and presentation standards.
- Maintaining high standards of cleanliness, organisation, food safety, allergen management, and health and safety.
- Acting as the main day-to-day point of contact between Frequency Coffee and the Courtauld.
- Planning effectively for term-time demand, catering events, private events, and seasonal changes in footfall.
- Handling customer feedback and resolving issues calmly and professionally.
- Managing stock, ordering, deliveries, storage, and weekly stocktakes.
- Monitoring sales, waste, and stock availability to support the café’s commercial performance.
- Coordinating equipment maintenance and reporting faults promptly to minimise disruption to service.
- Completing daily and weekly reporting and communicating shop performance to the Cluster Manager.
- Maintaining Frequency’s standards at all times.
What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for someone who is as enthusiastic about people as they are about coffee and food.
The ideal candidate will:
- Have proven experience managing or supervising a café, coffee shop, or hospitality venue.
- Be confident taking independent responsibility for a hospitality operation or leading shifts without a senior manager present.
- Be an inspiring and hands-on leader who enjoys developing and coaching teams.
- Be organised, reliable, and confident managing daily operations, rotas, and stock.
- Have a strong working knowledge of food safety, allergens, health and safety, and cleaning standards.
- Have good commercial awareness, including an understanding of stock, waste, and sales performance.
- Be comfortable building professional relationships with site partners and other stakeholders.
- Have a passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences.
- Be calm and decisive when resolving operational problems.
- Be flexible and proactive, with the ability to adapt to events, changing footfall, and the needs of a growing business.
Why Join Us?
You’ll be part of a forward-thinking, supportive company where your ideas and initiative will be valued. We’re committed to quality, developing our people, and giving our site teams genuine responsibility. As Frequency grows, you’ll have the opportunity to grow with us.
We Offer
- A supportive, people-focused working environment where your contribution matters.
- Genuine responsibility for leading and developing your café and team.
- Unlimited access to great coffee on shift, plus a complimentary bag to take home each week.
- A culture of excellence and pride in everything we do.
- Staff lunch provided each day.
- Ongoing training and development to help you grow with us.
Learn More About Us
Instagram: @frequency.london
Website: frequencycoffee.com
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From £15.30 per hour
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
Ability to commute/relocate:
- London WC1X 9EW: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Hospitality: 3 years (required)
- Supervising: 1 year (required)
- Barista: 1 year (required)
Language:
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
