Cafe Manager | Marks & Spencer | Dubai | UAE Nationals Preferred

Job Requisition ID: 107798 

No two days are the same at Al-Futtaim, no matter what role you have. Our work is driven by the desire to make a difference and to have a meaningful impact with the goal of enriching everyday lives. Take our engaging and supportive work environment and couple it with a company culture that recognises and rewards quality performance, and what do you get? The chance to push the limits every single day.

As a humble family business that started on the banks of the Dubai Creek in the 1930s, Al-Futtaim has expanded to a presence in 31 countries, a portfolio of over 200 companies, and 42,000 employees. You’ll find us in industries ranging from automotive and retail, to finance and real estate, and connecting people with international names like Lexus, Ikea, and Adidas. Our team is proudly multicultural and multinational because that kind of diverse representation gives us the global mindset to grow and impact the people, markets, and trends around us.

Come join us to live well, work better, and be the best.

About the Role

The Café Manager must ensure the seamless running of the M&S Café in the most efficient and effective manner. They must deliver the highest possible standards of service, whilst being pro-active in maintaining and or improving turnover and profitability. 

Key Accountabilities

Café & Customer Management

• • Seek and maximise revenue opportunities and minimise costs
  • Consistently exceed customer expectations
  • Develop a motivated and high performing team committed to delivering clear goals
  • Protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our customers and colleagues
  • Be a change agent, constantly reviewing service delivery
  • Work closely with the existing M&S Café team to ensure a seamless operation
  • Develop a culture of actively seeking feedback from customers on a regular basis
  • Agree and implement actions to continuously improve the customer experience
  • Ensure customer requests and feedback, both verbal and written are responded to promptly and efficiently
  • Maintain and further enhance relationships within the immediate locality, namely residents, retail and office tenants
  • Create, deliver and measure promotional activities, including staff incentives
  • To provide a clear handover during shift changes and ensure each shift is reviewed and handovers/briefings are carried out
  • Ensure Bi-weekly meetings take place with key personnel both in the Café and the store to ensure the team are fully briefed and action points are recorded and achieved.
  • Make yourself aware and notify your team of any menu changes, special requirements (including menu items and dishes), outstanding orders or work tasks required prior to the commencement of service
  • Ensure all staff are well briefed on their responsibilities and are given constant supervision and motivation on all aspects of their work
  • Supervise the daily morning meetings with all staff to brief on the day’s activities, menus and events

People 

• • Develop a positive and direct relationship with all colleagues
  • Within the department, support a culture of pride, ownership and desire to exceed expectation
  • Foster a culture of flexibility
  • Ensure you respond quickly and positively to changing requirements whether within the department or outside in order to meet business demands

Health and Safety

• • Develop an awareness of the implications that H&S issues have on insurance premium
  • Understand relevant H&S legislation and the implications on the business, taking action as required
  • Ensure all departmental staff work hygienically and productively
  • Ensure a safe workplace by identifying and reporting hazards and taking corrective action
  • Review and communicate health and safety audit reports and initiate required action with relevant departments
  • Action and respond to alleged food hygiene issues, deploying all necessary resources to protect reputation and brand integrity
  • Be fully aware of fire evacuation procedures for your department and your colleagues

Operations

• • Review and communicate financial information to assist in proactive and timely decision making
  • Manage monthly stock-takes and review results and variances with relevant departments
  • Ensure that in house control systems/audit requirements are adhered to
  • Maintain/develop specific departmental control systems in order to meet or exceed food and beverage margins
  • Control costs without compromising standards and customer experience
  • Build and maintain an efficient team of employees, driving the team towards the objectives of the business
  • Develop a calendar of all key training with the Training Manager, identifying training needs and capability gaps within the team
  • Manage all employees’ performance in line with job descriptions, giving regular feedback and appraisals
  • Manage all disciplinary and grievance issues within the department in consultation with the Human Resources team, giving particular focus to the kitchen / Cafe relationship
  • Audit holiday and sickness administration to ensure consistency and accuracy
  • Ensure all staff complete an exit interview

About You

5 years experience in the Hospitality/Food & Beverage industry experience

Strong knowledge of food and its preparations, trends, competition

Knowledge of local health and safety regulations

Demonstrates good ability to work under pressure and multi-task

Strong customer focus.

Experience with, and passion for premium food outlets and cafe’s

We’re here to provide excellent service but a little help from you can ensure a five-star candidate experience from start to finish.

Before you click “apply”: Please read the job description carefully to ensure you can confidently demonstrate why this opportunity is right for you and take the time to put together a well-crafted and personalised CV to further boost your visibility. Our global Talent Acquisition team members are all assigned to specific businesses to ensure that we make the best matches between talent and opportunities. We not only consider the requisite compatibility of skills and behaviours, but also how candidates align with our Values of Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, and Excellence.

As part of our candidate experience promise, we also want to make ourselves available to you throughout the application process. We make every effort to review and respond to every application.