ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR (BUSINESS AND FOOD OPERATIONS)
CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK
Welcome
‘From world-leading research and teaching facilities to outstanding historical and cultural assets, our estate provides the physical foundations for our reputation as a great university and destination of choice for many around the world.’ PROFESSOR SIR DAVID EASTWOOD, VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL
'Hospitality at the University of Birmingham should go beyond the simple provision of food and drink on campus and that the service should be linked to our brand, culture and values. Hospitality plays a key role in enhancing the staff, student and visitor experience. In order to address the challenges we have created a new structure and culture that supports a shared alle - giance to common goals. Associate Director (Business and Food Operations) is a key leadership role who will play a pivotal part in leading the next stage of strategic development across food and hospitality and will add value to our student experience.'
SIMON BRAY, DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS SERVICES
‘As the education market continues to change, we must ensure we are providing world-class facilities to support innovative teaching and enhance the student experience. From our collaborative teaching spaces and state-of-the-art laboratories to technology rich learning environments and accommodation, we are educating the next generation of graduates to be independent problem solvers, great leaders and influential global citizens.’ PROFESSOR KATHY ARMOUR, PRO-VICE-CHANCELLOR (EDUCATION)
‘Our resources and facilities are envied in the sector. At Birmingham, we put people at the heart of everything we do and we are committed to providing our outstanding, talented staff and students with first-class physical resources in a beautiful campus environment so that we can attract the best and brightest and that they may excel.’
PROFESSOR TIM JONES, PROVOST AND VICE-PRINCIPAL
This
is a newly created leadership role heading the food development, innovation, and delivery
team of one of the largest hospitality organisations in the West Midlands. Reporting to the Director of Business and Operations (DoBOPS), you will have autonomy and freedom to act across the Division and provide advice that will significantly influence decisions relating to the area of impact. You will work collaboratively as a member of the Business and Operations (BOPS) and Food and Beverage Team, and make a significant contribution to the development and delivery of the unit’s business plan and service vision. You will be responsible for the leadership and management of the Food and Beverage provision, determining strategy, and driving operational consistency, innovation, and exceptional quality. You will lead the strategic development and operational performance of menu design, food production, presentation, and service delivery, creating appropriate and deliverable food offers. This will involve managing a large team through intermediate managers, to deliver effective and efficient services, achieving budget, ensuring legal compliance, and ensuring exceptional levels of student, staff and visitor satisfaction both in Edgbaston and at the University’s Dubai campus.
Introduction to the Associate Director (Business and Food Operations) Role
The University of Birmingham
The
University was established in 1900, and has a pioneering history including being the country’s first civic University, the first Medical
School and the first Faculty of Commerce. The University offered the first ever sport degree in 1946 and became the first University to open a secondary school in 2015. In 2018, we also opened a new campus in Dubai, the first Russell Group University to do so. Today, the University of Birmingham is ranked in the top 100 globally and in the top 20 of all domestic league tables. The quality of what we do at Birmingham is widely recognised. The University’s prolific research portfolio has produced 2 Prime Ministers and 11 Nobel Prize winners, including 3 in 2016 for Physics and Chemistry. The University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences is ranked 6th in the world for its research.
The University of Birmingham is the largest of 5 Higher Education institutions in Birmingham with 23,000 undergraduates, 12,500 postgraduates and 8,000 staff. Our heritage as the original ‘redbrick’ is combined with one of the most compelling and ambitious agendas in Higher Education. Quite simply, at Birmingham we make things happen. The University is a founding member of the Russell Group (UK) and Universitas 21 (global) groups of research-intensive universities and its alumni population exceeds 300,000, spread far and wide across the globe. The University’s campus spans over 250 acres, nestled in leafy green Edgbaston, just three miles from Birmingham city centre. The University is home to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, housing works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet; and the 100 metre high Joseph Chamberlain Clock Tower (affectionately known as ‘Old Joe’) a prominent landmark visible from many parts of the city. We have been integral to some of the greatest scientific discoveries of recent times, such as the Higgs Boson and Gravitational Waves, and are pioneering new approaches to tackling some of the biggest global challenges facing society; from antibiotic resistance and maternal health to conflict resolution and access to education.
Leading
Campus Services
a function of c.950 staff with a turnover of over £59 million, the Campus Services portfolio includes the University’s 5,000-bed student residential villages, sporting facilities, retail and food outlets, a new on-campus hotel and conference centre and 3 day nurseries. A number of campus-wide services fall under the remit of Campus Services including: cleaning, security and emergency planning, portering, post, visitor services, transport, waste disposal and recycling. The division also has responsibility for managing conferencing and events, and managing many of the University’s attractions such as Winterbourne House and Garden. Campus Services are proud to deliver service excellence, identifying innovative and sector-leading opportunities for income generation in alignment with the University’s 2030 strategy framework. This broad remit requires a blend of strategic, entrepreneurial and commercial acumen, and strategic leadership. The successful applicant will possess a commercial outlook, excellent influencing skills, the ability to lead high quality, high volume services for students, staff, and external partners in a research- intensive University.
About the Directorate
Business and Operations – Campus Services (BOPS) is a commercial hospitality business function with a £13.5 million turnover. Our vision is to simply go beyond food and drink on campus. Our food story provides our overarching ethos that will define and drive all food and beverage concepts, operations, and delivery across the University of Birmingham. The purpose of the Food Story is to deliver a framework to align with when conceptualising, designing and mobilising food and beverage throughout the University campus. It supports the attainment of optimal wellbeing, social, ecological, operational, and commercial outcomes for the outlets themselves and the University as a whole. It is based on a very simple idea – to provide fresh, locally sourced, good food made by talented well trained teams, who provide our customers with a great experience. The food story is integral to our future success and can be defined as: ‘the overarching ethos that will drive all food and beverage concepts, operations and delivery across the University’.
"We know from discussions with stakeholders and our own staff that we need to transform into a proactive, responsive, innovative and sector leading service. We will create a service function that delivers excellent alignment to the university's vision and ethos. We will proactively work with university stakeholders and students to drive creativity and innovation across our culinary offer. Food, beverage and hospitality is at the social, nutritional and wellbeing heart of the University. This role will be a client-facing leadership role heading the commercial in-house and branded food and beverage service, and a non-food retail portfolio for one of the largest hospitality organisations in the West Midlands."
Fiona Wilkie Director of Business and Operations – Campus Services
Values and Behaviours
Working effectively with others, using guidance, support and advice as appropriate. Understanding the broader context and how your own work impacts the local team and University.
COLLABORATIVE
Continuously reflecting on individual and team practices, recommending and adopting creative approaches to make improvements. Actively seeking and participating in learning and development opportunities.
INNOVATIVE
Reliable and highly motivated. Providing consistently high levels of customer service.
EXCELLENT
Self-aware and empathetic to the impact of your behaviour on others and how others behaviour impacts you. An ability to embrace different perspectives.
INCLUSIVE
Flexible and adaptable in approach and taking responsibility for achieving individual and team goals. Seeking advice when needed, and possessing a willingness to take calculated risks when appropriate whilst learning from mistakes.
CONFIDENT
The purpose of the Food Story is to deliver a framework to align with when conceptualising, designing and mobilising food and beverage throughout the University campus. It supports the attainment of optimal wellbeing, social, ecological, operational and commercial outcomes for the outlets themselves and the University as a whole which will include its Guild of Students In summary, the Food Story will be defined by the food vision: “With a respect for the environment and a considerate approach to customer needs, our spirited team will deliver authentic, sustainable, and inclusive food experiences across campus and the local community”
The Food Story
Key Pillars
Food at the University of Birmingham is accessible, considerate and affordable. Through tolerance and consideration, we will seek to understand how our communities develop their food attitudes, behaviours and beliefs. The University of Birmingham will respond accordingly to these evolving food needs and will be driven by considerations relating to culture, religion, activity levels, allergen needs, dietary preferences and diverse lifestyle choices.
INCLUSIVE
To be authentic is to be original, genuine and honest. The food experience at the University of Birmingham will echo these values through the dining concepts, menu composition and food delivery across campus. The culinary team will engage with local food partners and subject experts to guide, discover and drive knowledge and diversity. In-house learning and development programs will deliver an inspirational food experience to continually develop a culture that encourages and fosters passion and innovation.
AUTHENTIC
The food and the University of Birmingham will remain ecologically protective and aligned with green values echoed by customers and the local community. Our kitchens will utilise latest technology applications to measure and monitor food waste and deliver farm to fork provenance through online app platforms. The University of Birmingham will nurture a sustainable workforce through training, empowerment and career pathways advancement. Finally, the University of Birmingham, supported by expert procurement partners, will continue to develop local supply partnerships and incorporate seasonal recipes in our food sourcing approach.
SUSTAINABILITY
Job Description
Role Summary Campus Services (CS) employs over 1,000 staff with a turnover exceeding £65m in the last financial year. CS plays a key role in the quality of the student, staff and visitor experience, providing services across diverse areas such as the University’s sporting facilities, catering, cleaning, conferencing, hotel operations, day nurseries, portering, post, branded and own-brand retail outlets, visitor services and attractions (e.g. Winterbourne House & Garden), student housing, transport, waste disposal and recycling. CS is a highly commercial organisation operating within the University context and has an ambitious strategic agenda, in terms of growing our service profile across both our Birmingham and Dubai campuses This is a newly created client-facing leadership role heading the commercial in-house and branded food and beverage service, and a non-food retail portfolio for one of the largest hospitality organisations in the West Midlands. Reporting to the Director of Business and Operations (DoBOPS), you will have autonomy and freedom to act across the CS and provide advice that will significantly influence decisions relative to the area of impact. You will work collaboratively as a member of the Business and Operations (BOPS), Food and Beverage Team, and make a significant contribution to the development and delivery of the unit’s business plan and service vision. You will lead the effective management of the portfolio, implementing improvements, sharing best practice, and identifying and delivering business efficiencies. This is a broad leadership and management role which will include: • driving business growth and profitability on a £11.5m business portfolio • the management of commercial real estate in accordance with the Management Agreements • managing the transition of clients and properties in and out of the business • ensuring innovation and creativity is applied to production, delivery of the food, beverage, and retail services
Main Duties / Responsibilities Strategy and Leadership
• You will create and deliver a bold, innovative and impactful strategy, including establishing appropriate Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for a Food and Beverage service in a multi-site retail service, including branded/own-brand retail outlets, as well as the strategy for large scale complex food production service areas. • You will be responsible for a significant operating budget: revenue in excess of £11.5m, and salary costs £3m and non-salary £3.5m for delivery of the service within a large and complex area. • Act as a passionate ambassador for the service working with partners internally and linking externally to build the University’s reputation and impact in this area. • Lead the development of the service, eg designing and implementing a high quality and varied retail offer across sites which provides excellent customer experience, a high-quality product range and customer choice at competitive prices. • Provide leadership for business and resource planning, business continuity and business intelligence that underpin strategic and operational decision-making with a two-year planning horizon (e.g. responsible for developing service – specific metrics, risk management, service level standards and operational planning cycle). • You will be the expert in developing the retail offer, with innovation and sustainability strategies being forefront. You will develop understanding of the consumer profile for each service activity and will ensure all services are provided to the highest specification, to meet the changing needs of a diverse consumer base. • You will lead on the evaluation, validation, review, interpretation, and effective implementation of all policies, and lead the development and implementation of new policies as appropriate.
• Using professional expertise to identify and where appropriate adopt best practice within and outside HE in the delivery of retail services.
• Engaging with senior stakeholders within the University to identify their needs and priorities to support the on-going development of the food story. • Providing effective strategic leadership for enhancing the student, staff, or customer experience through promoting an inclusive environment for students, colleagues or customers.
Quality assurance and improvement • Ensure the development and implementation of business systems and structures to underpin the effective day to day delivery of an excellent customer focussed Food and Beverage Service and the effective management of the commercial non-food retail portfolio. Ensure services, products and systems are fit for purpose, integrate appropriately with business requirements, and are aligned to changing internal and external influences. • Ensure the service complies with all relevant health and safety legislation, and relevant statutory codes of practice in relation to food hygiene, establishing effective mechanisms for monitoring compliance with legislative, quality, or procedural requirements and for dealing with complaints. • Co-create, manage, design, and implement a quality assurance (QA) policy and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), for the new BOPS teams and ensure it is integrated into the rest of the business functions. • Establish a risk management process for the service, ensuring risk assessments are developed and updated, a compliance framework is established and managed appropriately, all equipment maintenance is up to date, and staff are appropriately trained. • Oversee major change projects designed to deliver greater automation, self-service, and outsourcing, as well as to support strategy and achieve service and process improvements; conduct lessons learned exercises on completion of projects. • Proactively engage with sector peer networks, identifying best practice from other institutions in the UK and internationally, assessing performance against external benchmarks and reviewing/amending practices to ensure that the service is of the highest possible standard. • Develop and lead on process improvements; setting best practice standards and quality assurance within BOPS; promoting process improvements between teams, including those across relevant professional services and the wider university. • Evaluate service provision and recommend and implement innovative solutions to improve service quality, efficiency and continuity and introduce long term, sustainable improvements. • Identify trends that could have an impact on the BOPS financial position, recommend approaches to address these and implement solutions.
• Develop sustainability framework and embed within all business activities. • Identify areas of good practice and ensure dissemination across the BOPS. Service and Operational delivery Primary responsibility for leading all front of house Food and Beverage staff and retail including: • Managing the Food and Beverage Operations Managers, leading through them the development and implementation of systems and structures which underpin the effective service delivery of contract management, HR administration, Health and Safety and Food Safety Compliance, and finance. • Oversee the occupier delivery and mobilisation of all food and retail development projects. • Responsible for landlord and tenant experience within rent reviews, lease renewals, re-gears etc • Setting clear priorities for reporting teams and deploy teams flexibly to manage changing service demands. • Oversight of reporting on risk management and ensuring any required follow-up takes place in a timely and appropriate manner and the BOPS risk register maintenance and monitoring process is followed. • Developing, implementing, and evaluating operational plans, for example: responsibility for brand identity for the service, as required, managing the responses for the annual action planning process for budget and target setting, developing annual operating plans. Financial Management • Manage the budget ensuring resource is allocated effectively, that targets are consistent with, and led by, relevant operational plans; delegate responsibility for budgetary management as appropriate. • Ensuring that service resource planning and financial management support effective planning and decision making.
• Working effectively in partnership with the Finance Business Partner on BOPS financial matters, including budgetary control and construction of budgets. • Provide leadership for business and resource planning, business continuity and business intelligence that underpin strategic and operational decision-making with a two-year planning horizon (e.g. responsible for developing service – specific metrics, risk management, service level standards and operational planning cycle). • Prepare present tenant analysis in regard to productivity, effective rent per square foot, and compatibility with university centre’s market position. • Retail Portfolio: • Undertaking regular reviews of the local market, and identifying any rental uplift and additional income opportunities • Ensure any rent arrears arising are promptly dealt with, in line with the arrear’s management • Procedure and manage void loss by maintaining a pipeline of potential new customers General Management • Highly effective leadership of a large team through intermediate managers, ensuring the composition of teams delivers the optimum technical/professional skills, and that effective line management ensures continuous development of staff. • Creating a function with flexibility and depth, developing a ‘pool’ of talent with cross-functional skills to ensure the delivery of excellence. • Guide, motivate, and coach direct reports, supporting them to develop and deliver services to quality standards and which are aligned with the University’s requirements. • In collaboration with the Learning and Organisational Development Manager (CS), champion and drive forward the BOPS ‘Red Carpet’ behaviours and values programme. • Develop and implement a culture that promotes equality and values diversity and inclusion. • Lead staff through periods of change, communicating a clear and positive vision and acting as a role model.
• Providing effective strategic leadership for enhancing the student, staff, or customer experience through promoting an inclusive environment for students, staff colleagues or customers. • Managing prospective customers, from sign up through to the execution of tenancy agreements. Support to the Director of Business and Operations • Deputising for the DoBOPS as required • Prepare board presentations, papers, and updates to inform on BOPS’s and Customer service progress where requested • Be a member on relevant committees/groups, presenting as required and influencing decision making on financial and commercial issues
• Lead projects as and where appropriate
• To undertake works activities across all UoB campuses as requested that are commensurate with the grade and role activities to support the Division and wider UoB activities Directorate and Operations Requirements • Contracts are task-based as such hours be will required to suit the needs of the business, which will include evenings and weekends, bank holidays and closed days, based on a notional 37.5 hour week (or pro rata). • BOPS is an all year round service, you will be required to participate in and manage the Duty Manager rota, providing management cover 7 days per week / 365 days of the year, and provide emergency response as necessary across all operations. • To undertake works activities across all UoB campuses as requested that are commensurate with the grade and role activities to support the Division and wider UoB activities.
Direc
Campus
Operating Structure
Food Safety Support
Dire Business an
Dubai Campus F&B Support
Associate Director of Culinary Development
Senior Head Chef Campus
ctor Services
Pelican Procurement Support
ector nd Operations
1 x F&B Business Support Manager (Grade 7)
1x F&B Business Support Coodinator (B500)
2 x F&B Business Support Admin (B400)
Associate Director Business and Food Operations
F&B Contract Manager
Key - Operating Structure
F&B Operational Manager The Vale, Brands and Bars
F&B Operational Manager Hospitality & Events
New Role
F&B Operational
Manager In-House
3rd Party Partners
Support
Skills and Experience • Substantial managerial and leadership experience in senior roles, demonstrating achievement in a series of progressively more demanding, influential, and broad roles, including leading a complex food and beverage function in a commercially driven organisation; experience of working in Higher Education an advantage • Demonstrable experience of developing and implementing strategies for a large-scale complex food and beverage service • Substantial experience of managing large teams through others, in a variety of operations • Experience of managing and controlling budgets and resources at scale • Extensive experience in Project Management supported by continuous CPD (e.g. PRINCE2 - Practitioner) • Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal and external stakeholders.
Person Specification
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues
• Lead and contribute to the preparation of retail property strategies in respect of the BOPS’s portfolio • Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues. • Highly developed written and oral communication skills including ability to write strategy/policy documents and deliver presentations to a wide range of audiences • Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to lead, negotiate, persuade, and influence and to network nationally and internationally
• High level skills in one-to-one and group communication, persuasion, and diplomacy, in the face of potentially hostile audiences, e.g. Union negotiations • Ability to act independently, decisively, and effectively to resolve what may often be unique issues, based on experience and judgement, taking account of the wider implications to the University • Sensitivity to and awareness of public relations, commercial confidentiality, and competition issues • Ability to think calmly and clearly in crisis management situations, with associated problem solving and decision-making skills • Capacity to anticipate and prepare for significant environmental changes with the potential for wide-ranging impact
Knowledge • Educated to at least Degree level in a management related area or equivalent qualifications • Full membership of either the Institute of Hospitality or the Chartered Management Institute • A current and working understanding of Landlord and Tennant legislation • Excellent knowledge of Food Safety, Health and Safety and relevant related legislation; a health and safety qualification such as NEBOSH would be an advantage
Further information & Application process
For
a confidential discussion to learn more about the role and opportunity please contact the University’s appointed recruitment partner, Hayley Mintern of The Management Recruitment Group.
Applications should consist of a comprehensive CV (of not more than 4 pages) and supporting cover letter (of not more than 2 pages) outlining key matching experience and rationale for applying for the post. (Applications should be sent to hayley.mintern@mrgpeople.co.uk or james.gregory@mrgpeople.co.uk)
Hayley Mintern T: 020 3962 9900 M: 07530 680 184 E: hayley.mintern@mrgpeople.co.uk James Gregory T: 020 3962 9900 M: 07966 827 391 E:james.gregory@mrgpeople.co.uk
The interview will comprise of two days at the university including a technical assessment.
You can view the university’s website here; http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/
51 Eastcheap, Billingsgate, London EC3M 1JP Tel 020 3962 9900
mrgpeople.co.uk
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