Grind
General Manager - Up to £56k pa
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About Grind
Grind is a coffee company that was born in London, and now lives in Manchester! Since opening Shoreditch Grind in 2011, we've expanded across the city with cafés, coffee shops, trucks, and a state-of-the-art coffee roastery. Now, we’ve opened our first location outside of London, in the centre of Manchester.
Coffee is at the forefront of what we do and who we are. We are coffee specialists and have always aspired to deliver the best quality, service, and consistency of product at all our Grind locations. Each of our cafés has an incredible team serving speciality coffee, mixing cocktails, and cooking amazing food—all to the beat of a great playlist. Now, we’re looking to build another all-star team for our very first café-restaurant in the heart of Manchester, in St Michael’s Square.
Every team at every location is involved in our mission to use coffee as a force for good. Whether it’s through sourcing avocado peel straws and recycled material containers on site, creating the UK’s first home-compostable coffee pods, or using 100% plastic-free packaging, we want to be the world’s most sustainable coffee company. We set up our own charity, the Better Coffee Foundation®, to undo the damage caused by the global coffee industry by recovering ocean-bound plastic with every coffee pod, iced coffee can, and cup of coffee we sell.
About the Role
This is a key leadership role for Grind, taking ownership of our Manchester café-restaurant and creating a brilliant all-day experience for our customers. With a strong focus on brunch and daytime trade, you’ll lead a busy, high-volume operation where great food, speciality coffee, and standout service all come together. You’ll be responsible for building and developing a high-performing team, creating an energetic and welcoming atmosphere, and making sure every service runs smoothly — particularly across our busiest brunch periods and weekends.
Our current opening hours are Monday–Wednesday 8am–5pm, Thursday–Friday 8am–6pm, and weekends 9am–6pm. The site is currently focused on daytime and brunch trade, with plans to expand into evening service in the future — giving you the opportunity to help shape and grow the operation as the business develops.
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You’ll combine strong hospitality leadership with commercial thinking, taking ownership of the site’s performance across sales, labor, rotas, P&L, and key business KPIs. You’ll work closely with your AGM, kitchen, and front-of-house teams to deliver consistently brilliant food and service, while maintaining Grind’s culture and standards.
You’ll also play an important role in growing Manchester Grind within the local community, building relationships and making the site a go-to destination for brunch, coffee, and drinks.
Key Responsibilities
- Successfully lead a high volume and fast-paced restaurant
- Drive the performance of our brunch and daytime offer, working closely with the kitchen and front-of-house teams to deliver consistently brilliant food, coffee, and service while maximizing sales during key trading periods.
- Help shape the future growth of the Manchester site, including supporting the expansion into evening trading as the operation develops.
- Effectively lead a team of up to 40 employees
- Be a leader throughout and support your team with their needs
- Coordinate and plan the day-to-day, including creating schedules and ensuring shifts run smoothly, with clear daily briefings
- Schedule effectively and adjust to business needs.
- Effectively support your AGM to confidently run the business in your absence
- Recruit, hire, and successfully onboard all new team members through GRIND procedures and standards.
- Confident in delivering our steps of service in line with GRIND standards.
- Lead all teams with effective, clear, and concise communication.
- Own daily briefings, scheduling, and support the team payroll
- Establish and maintain local service provider relationships to ensure swift support
- Understand and own weekly/monthly budgets & P&L’s, while managing budgets and meeting business targets.
- Implement effective staff initiatives and strategies to improve retention and team engagement, while motivating all staff and consistently projecting a positive attitude
- Provide all teams with up-to-date and regular training, as per company standards.
- Be engaged in the team’s wellbeing through regular one-on-one’s and team meetings.
- Maintain, troubleshoot, and repair coffee machines on site through training provided by Grind
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Diversity and Inclusion
Grind is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or disability status. If there are any adjustments you need to help you bring your best self to an interview with us, please let us know.
Benefits and Perks
- NEST Pension: We offer a pension scheme to help you plan for your future.
- Financial support: Access to interest-free, short-term loans when you need them most
- Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 in tiered bonuses for referring great talent to our team
- Discounts online: Up to 40% off our retail line online.
- SpectrumLife: Access our confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for personal and professional support.
- Crew Card: Enjoy 50% off all food and drinks, plus two free coffees a day at Grind locations.
- Friends & Family Discount: Share the love with discounts for your friends and family on our website and at our sites.
- Meals on Duty: Enjoy a staff meal on shifts over 6 hours.
- Social Events: Join us for team social events to connect and have fun.
- Enhanced Maternity and Paternity: Enjoy enhanced maternity and paternity benefits once eligible.
- Wellbeing Allowance: Up to £200 annually to spend on your wellbeing.
- Birthday Treat: £20 birthday gift
Grind runs a tronc scheme, which is managed by an independent tronc master. Tronc payments are variable and not guaranteed; this number is likely to fluctuate depending on site performance and individual eligibility.
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