Cocktail Bar Manager & Events Curator
Venue: The Purple Owl, Wandsworth Town
Reports to: Directors / Owners & Venue Manager
Role: Full-time
Salary: Competitive, based on experience
About The Purple Owl
The Purple Owl is a late-night, vibrant and playful venue in Wandsworth Town, bringing together cocktails, food, DJs, live music, events, arts and crafts under one roof.
We are a venue with a difference. By day, The Purple Owl operates as a creative social space with food, coffee and arts & crafts experiences. As the day progresses, the venue transforms into a lively late-night bar, with DJs, music, cocktails, parties and events running into the early hours.
We are an ambitious business with plans to grow The Purple Owl into a sizable, high-performing hospitality operation, with a target of achieving £40,000–£50,000+ in weekly revenue as the business develops.
We are therefore looking for an ambitious Cocktail Bar Manager & Events Curator who wants to be part of that growth and play a genuine role in building the operation.
The Role
This is a hands-on management position for someone who genuinely loves cocktails, nightlife, music, hospitality, events and creating memorable experiences.
You will help take ownership of the day-to-day running and performance of the cocktail bar, leading the bar team, maintaining exceptional standards and driving sales, profitability and customer experience.
Alongside the bar management responsibilities, you will work closely with the Director and Venue Manager to develop, organise and deliver the events calendar, helping establish The Purple Owl as a destination for late-night entertainment in Wandsworth.
This is not simply a job running a bar. We are looking for someone who wants to help build something and possibily help grow a second site
Key Responsibilities Cocktail Bar Management
- Take responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the cocktail bar.
- Lead, motivate and develop the bar team.
- Maintain consistently high standards of service, presentation and hospitality.
- Ensure cocktails and drinks are produced consistently and to a high standard.
- Develop creative cocktail menus, specials and seasonal drinks.
- Manage stock, ordering, deliveries, storage and stock rotation.
- Carry out regular stock counts and minimise wastage.
- Monitor GP, margins and bar profitability.
- Drive bar sales and average customer spend.
- Ensure excellent cleanliness, organisation and presentation.
- Manage bar rotas and staffing requirements.
- Support recruitment, training and performance management.
- Ensure licensing, health & safety and operational procedures are followed.
- Be highly visible and hands-on during busy services and late-night trading.
Late-Night & Nightlife
The Purple Owl is a late-night venue 2am weekends, 1am mid-week, so the successful candidate must be comfortable managing the energy, pace and operational demands of a busy nightlife environment.
Responsibilities will include:
- Managing busy late-night services.
- Working alongside DJs and entertainment teams.
- Ensuring the bar is fully prepared for peak trading periods.
- Maintaining service standards throughout the night.
- Managing the transition from evening service into late-night trading.
- Ensuring the team remains motivated and professional during busy periods.
- Helping create the atmosphere and energy that makes The Purple Owl a destination venue.
Events & Curation
You will play an active role in developing and growing our events programme.
- Assist with creating and curating The Purple Owl's events calendar.
- Develop ideas for cocktail nights, themed parties, DJ events and live music.
- Create events around our arts & crafts offering, including creative workshops and experiences.
- Help source and coordinate partnerships and collaborators.
- Assist with private parties, corporate events and group bookings.
- Develop drinks packages and experiences for events.
- Assist with event layouts, staffing, timings and operational planning.
- Work with the marketing team to develop event concepts and promotional ideas.
- Build relationships with local DJs, creatives, performers and event partners.
- Attend and manage key events to ensure they run smoothly.
Commercial Growth
The Purple Owl is entering an exciting period of growth, and this role will be important in helping us reach our ambitions.
The business is working towards becoming a £40k–£50k+ per week operation, so we need someone who is commercially driven and understands how to build a successful bar business.
You will be expected to:
- Drive sales and revenue.
- Monitor bar performance and profitability.
- Identify opportunities to increase customer spend.
- Develop profitable cocktail and drinks promotions.
- Help grow repeat business.
- Support the development of event revenue.
- Identify new commercial opportunities.
- Monitor stock, wastage and GP closely.
- Help build systems and processes that can scale as the business grows.
Pay: £28,000.00-£32,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
