Key Account Manager - School Hospitality

About the role

A prestigious school in Brisbane runs a diverse hospitality operation at Churchie, with functions, retail, a café, boarding and sporting activities. As Key Account Manager you lead a team of up to 30 people and combine client engagement, functions, food service and commercial ownership in a predominantly Monday-to-Friday role. The employer is Chartwells, part of Compass Group.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, develop and support a hospitality team of up to 30 employees, giving leaders autonomy and support.
• Oversee multiple departments and coordinate several services running at once across the school.
• Manage functions and events from enquiry and planning through to service delivery.
• Build strong relationships with the client, customers and key stakeholders.
• Work closely with the Head Chef, supporting operations and understanding kitchen operations.
• Oversee retail operations, including a high-end café outlet; barista experience is highly regarded.
• Support delivery of cleaning and laundry services with the relevant supervisor; previous experience preferred.
• Own the outlet's financial performance, including P&L, budgets, labour and operational costs.
• Maintain high standards of food safety, allergen management and compliance.
• Improve the customer experience and operational performance continuously.

Required profile

• Demonstrated experience managing a sizeable hospitality team.
• Multi-departmental operational management experience.
• Background in functions and events, from enquiry through to execution.
• Ability to move between client conversations, functions, cafés, kitchens and problem solving.
• Collaborative leadership style focused on developing people and giving the team autonomy.

Required skills

• Customer service and client engagement, with long-term relationship building.
• Kitchen operations knowledge and partnership with a Head Chef.
• P&L management and commercial confidence.
• Food safety and allergen management.
• Cleaning and/or laundry oversight experience is advantageous; barista or café experience is highly regarded.