Cafe Venue Manager

Job Title: CafeVenue Manager (VM)
Reporting to: Operations Manager
Place of Work: York SU Student Centre, James College, Newton Way, York, YO10 5DD
Contract: Permanent
Salary: Starting at £29,609 per annum
Hours : 35 hrs per week
Holiday : 38 days per Year

Closing Date: Sunday12th July 2026 at 5pm
Interview Location: The University of York Students' Union w/c 20th July

About the Role:

We are looking for a capable and positive Cafe Venue Manager to lead our day-to-day operations and deliver an exceptional experience for our student community. The cafe is called The Kitchen and located at Alcuin College.

If you bring strong customer service skills, a level head under pressure, and a proactive attitude, you’ll find a rewarding environment here to lead a team and drive the business forward.

In this role, you will take ownership of the venue's day-to-day operation, ensuring we meet sales and profit targets without ever compromising on quality. You will be responsible for leading a safe, well-run, and vibrant venue, which includes maintaining full compliance with food safety and licensing legislation at all times.

Our operational year has a unique rhythm that keeps the role engaging:

• Term Time (30 Weeks): Our primary focus is serving our vibrant student population during the busy semester periods.
• Out of Term: When the semesters wrap up, our focus shifts toward hosting conferences, managing on- and off-campus events, and working on strategic developments for the venue.

A Rare Hospitality Benefit: Because the campus closes entirely over the festive period, Christmas and New Year are guaranteed non-working periods—a perk virtually unheard of in high-street hospitality.

Working at York SU:

At York SU we know that maintaining a great work life balance also improves our teams wellbeing, productivity and happiness, this is why we offer flexible working arrangements to suit personal needs and requirements. We have both a flexi-time work scheme and remote working policy available to staff as standard and welcome applicants to discuss their flexible requirements at the interview. (If applicable to the role)

• A full time working week is 35 hours
• You receive 38 days holiday (including bank holidays and 4 paid closed Christmas days)
• You get extensive access to discounts and benefits
• There are paid volunteering opportunities
• You have access to the cycle to work schemes and other salary sacrifice options
• We offer a generous pension scheme
• You have the chance to shape the student experience for the better

York SU is committed to equality of opportunity - we are an organisation who works very hard to ensure we appoint based on merit. We would particularly welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and/or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high number of applications, seasonal and high-peak times, we may have to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.

If you are invited to interview with us we will share our interview questions in advance so you can feel a little more prepared. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as comfortable as possible.

If you have any further questions about the position, or if you have a requirement for adjustments that would make the application or interview process more accessible, please do not hesitate to contact us on .

Please note that products containing nuts, dairy, gluten and other potential allergies are served within our venues. We however aim to support a nut free environment within our student centre by encouraging staff not to bring nut based products to work.

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