Tearoom Manager - Furzey Gardens

Make a difference every day through hospitality

We're looking for an experienced and motivated Tearoom & Gift Shop Manager to lead our busy, customer-focused social enterprise at Furzey Gardens.

This is a unique opportunity to combine your passion for hospitality with meaningful, purpose-led work-supporting people who are neuro disabled (including autism and learning disabilities) to develop skills, confidence, and independence in a safe and inclusive environment.

About the Role

As Tearoom Manager, you'll be responsible for the smooth day to day running of our Tearoom and Gift Shop, ensuring a high quality customer experience while driving income to support the Trust's work. You'll lead a dedicated team, create a welcoming environment for visitors, and play a key role in delivering opportunities for people we support to learn and thrive.

Key Responsibilities

Business & growth:

• Drive sales and identify opportunities to increase income
• Promote the Tearoom through social media, events, and seasonal campaigns
• Develop creative offers, menus, and fundraising ideas to attract visitors and encourage return visits
• Provide a warm, friendly and inclusive welcome to all visitors
• Maintain high standards of service, food quality, and presentation
• Support customer engagement, reviews, and overall experience

Team leadership:

• Lead, motivate and manage staff and volunteers
• Plan rotas in line with budgets and trading levels
• Support the training and development of people with learning disabilities

Operations & catering:

• Oversee food preparation, hygiene, and food safety standards
• Manage stock control and kitchen operations
• Monitor sales, costs and profitability
• Manage daily cash handling and banking
• Work with finance teams on budgets and reporting

Compliance & collaboration:

• Ensure health & safety and licensing compliance
• Work collaboratively with teams across the organisation
• Support events and other sites where needed

About you

• Experienced in hospitality, catering or food retail management
• A confident and supportive leader with strong people management skills
• Organised, proactive and commercially aware
• Able to remain calm and focused in a busy environment
• Motivated by making a positive difference
• Experience working with vulnerable adults or people with learning disabilities

Every shift you work helps create meaningful opportunities for the people we support. If you love hospitality and want your work to have real impact, we'd love to hear from you.

At Minstead Trust, we provide the following:

• 33 days' holiday (pro rata), inclusive of bank holidays
• A paid day off for your birthday
• Company pension
• Death in service insurance
• Company sick pay
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Health and Wellbeing Support Scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Blue Light Card eligibility
• This role requires weekend availability (shifts Monday to Sunday)
• We are unable to offer visa sponsorship; you must have the right to work in the UK
• Employment is subject to a satisfactory DBS check

At Minstead Trust, safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. All staff are expected to understand their role in protecting adults at risk and know how to raise concerns.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community.