Water Margin Restaurants jobs

GENERAL MANAGER – LEADBELLY’S BAR & KITCHEN

Canada Water, London SE16
Salary: Up to £50,000 + Performance Bonus
Full-time | Permanent | Immediate Start

Run it like it’s yours.

Leadbelly’s Bar & Kitchen is looking for a charismatic, commercially driven General Manager to take ownership of our established venue in the heart of Canada Water.

We’re looking for a proper all-round hospitality operator – someone who understands great food as well as a great bar, knows their numbers and has the personality and energy to lead a busy venue from the front.

We don’t want someone who needs to be told what to do.

We want a GM who spots opportunities, uses their initiative and makes things happen. Someone who takes pride in their business and is constantly thinking about how to make it busier, better and more profitable.

If that sounds like you, we want to talk.

ABOUT LEADBELLY’S

Just outside Canada Water Station, Leadbelly’s is a vibrant neighbourhood bar and kitchen with plenty of personality.

Our business has a strong mix of food and drink, with sales currently around 60% wet and 40% dry. From cocktails, beers and major live sport to lunches, dinners and busy weekend trading, both sides of the operation matter.

We have a large front terrace, a dedicated sports area with huge screens showing the biggest live events and a food offer that is a significant part of our business.

There’s plenty for the right GM to get their teeth into – everyday food and drink trade, live sport, events, bookings, local partnerships and developing new reasons for guests to visit and come back.

Your job is to make the most of it.

THE ROLE

As General Manager, you’ll have ownership of the day-to-day operation and commercial performance of Leadbelly’s.

You’ll have the freedom to use your experience, judgement and initiative to drive the business forward.

We want someone who understands that running a successful bar and kitchen means getting both sides of the business right.

You’ll know what great food looks like and be confident working closely with the kitchen team on quality, consistency, margin and menu performance. Equally, you’ll understand drinks, stock, GP, cocktails, service and how to maximise a busy bar.

You’ll constantly be asking:

How can we grow sales?
How can we grow our food business?
What could we be doing better?
What will bring people through the door?
How do we turn first-time visitors into regulars?

And, importantly, you’ll have the independence and initiative to do something about it.

You’ll be expected to:

• Own the commercial performance of the venue, understanding the P&L and taking action to grow sales and profitability.
• Drive both food and drink sales, understanding the different opportunities and challenges across each.
• Work closely with the kitchen team to deliver consistently great food and an excellent guest experience.
• Understand food margin, menu performance, wastage, portion control and the commercial drivers of a successful kitchen.
• Maintain equally strong standards across the bar, including drinks quality, stock control and wet GP.
• Identify and deliver new revenue opportunities across food, drink, live sport, events, bookings and local activity.
• Take ownership of labour, stock, GP, wastage and other key operating costs.
• Build, lead and develop a brilliant front and back-of-house team with clear expectations and accountability.
• Be a visible, charismatic presence in the venue – for both the team and our guests.
• Recruit, train, motivate and retain great people.
• Set high standards across food, drink, service, cleanliness and presentation.
• Build relationships within the local community and identify opportunities to grow our customer base.
• Take ownership of busy trading periods, major sporting events and activations.
• Ensure excellent standards of licensing, food hygiene, Health & Safety and compliance.
• Use your initiative to solve problems and make decisions rather than waiting for someone else to do it.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

You’ll already be an experienced General Manager, or an exceptional Deputy/Assistant General Manager ready to step up, from a busy bar, pub, restaurant or similar hospitality business.

Crucially, we want someone who has operated a genuinely mixed food and drink business.

If your experience is almost entirely wet-led, this probably isn’t the right role. Equally, we’re not looking for someone whose experience is purely restaurant-focused.

We need a GM who is comfortable moving between a busy bar, a full restaurant service, the kitchen, a major sporting event and the P&L – and understands how all of those pieces fit together commercially.

You’ll be:

• Commercially driven – you understand the numbers and know how to turn opportunities into sales and profit.
• Food savvy – you understand food operations, quality, margin and what it takes to deliver a consistently strong food offer.
• Independent – you’re comfortable making decisions and taking responsibility for them.
• Proactive – you see opportunities and act on them.
• Charismatic – you bring energy to a room and people want to follow you.
• Entrepreneurial – you’ll treat the venue as though it were your own business.
• Hands-on – you lead from the floor and are comfortable across both front and back of house.
• Creative – you’re constantly thinking about new ways to drive footfall, sales and guest loyalty.
• Numerate – you’re confident with P&L, GP, labour, stock, food margin and commercial targets.
• A people leader – you know how to build a strong culture and get the best from your team.
• A natural host – you genuinely enjoy guests and understand what makes a great hospitality experience.

Experience in a high-volume operation with a strong mix of food and drink is essential. Experience of live sport, events and high-footfall trading would be a real advantage.

A Personal Licence and good knowledge of licensing requirements are highly desirable.

WHAT YOU’LL GET

• Salary up to £50,000 depending on experience
• Performance-related bonus
• The autonomy to genuinely influence how your venue is run
• The opportunity to put your own stamp on an established London business
• Free meal when working
• 50% off drinks across our other venues
• Company pension
• Employee discounts
• The opportunity to grow with an ambitious hospitality business

THIS ROLE WON’T SUIT EVERYONE.

If you want every decision made for you, this probably isn’t the job.

But if you’re a commercially minded GM who understands food, knows how to run a great bar and wants the freedom to run a business, Leadbelly’s could be exactly what you’re looking for.

Think you can make Leadbelly’s even better?

We’d love to hear from you.

Apply now.

Pay: From £50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Discounted or free food
• Employee discount
• Store discount

Work Location: In person