We’re looking for a General Manager to join us at The Elephant, helping us deliver exceptional guest experiences while building a rewarding hospitality career.
About This Role
As our General Manager, you’ll be responsible for the overall performance of The Elephant, bringing together exceptional hospitality, confident commercial leadership and a positive team culture. You’ll lead the hotel day to day, set clear standards and ensure every guest feels genuinely welcomed and cared for.
From inspiring and developing your team to overseeing rooms, food and beverage, events, standards and financial performance, you’ll be visible in the operation and comfortable moving between the detail and the bigger picture.
If you’re a hands-on hospitality leader who combines warmth, commercial judgement and high standards, we’d love to hear from you.
Discover Life Near Reading
The Elephant Hotel is located in the charming Thames-side village of Pangbourne, offering the perfect mix of village life and excellent connectivity. With independent cafés, riverside walks, boutique shops and a welcoming community on your doorstep, Pangbourne is a wonderful place to live and work.
The vibrant town of Reading is just a short journey away, providing outstanding shopping, restaurants, entertainment and one of the UK’s best-connected rail stations, with fast services to London, Oxford and the West Country. Surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire countryside and close to the River Thames and Chiltern Hills, you’ll enjoy an exceptional quality of life with the best of town, country and city living all within easy reach.
What We’re Looking For
Essential
- Proven experience leading a hotel, inn or comparable hospitality business at General Manager or senior operational level.
- A strong track record of delivering excellent guest experiences and consistently high operating standards.
- Confident commercial and financial management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control and performance reporting.
- Experience leading, motivating and developing managers and wider operational teams.
- A visible, hands-on leadership style and the confidence to make sound decisions in a busy environment.
- Strong understanding of rooms and food and beverage operations, with a focus on quality, productivity and profitability.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with guests, colleagues, suppliers and the local community.
- Sound knowledge of health and safety, licensing, food safety and other key hospitality compliance requirements.
- Flexible and resilient, with the ability to organise priorities and remain calm under pressure.
- Eligible to work in the UK.
Desirable
- Previous experience leading a boutique or country-house hotel with a strong food and beverage offer.
- Experience within a multi-site hotel or hospitality group.
- A record of growing revenue through rooms, dining, events and local partnerships.
- Experience managing refurbishment, repositioning or other business-improvement projects.
- Knowledge of hotel property-management, booking and revenue systems.
- Experience using guest feedback and performance data to improve standards and results.
- Relevant hospitality, business management, licensing or health and safety qualifications.
- Strong knowledge of the Pangbourne, Reading or wider Berkshire market.
Safeguarding
As part of our commitment to safeguarding and providing a safe working environment, successful candidates for this role may be required to undergo a Standard Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Any information disclosed will be considered fairly and in accordance with our Recruitment of People with a Criminal Record Statement.
Ready To Apply?
If you’re passionate about hospitality, enjoy working with great people and want to build your career in some of the UK’s most beautiful locations, we’d love to hear from you. Apply today and start your journey with Original Collection.
Pay: Up to £45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
