Group Head of Catering and Venue Services
The Bedford College Group
Group Head of Campus Catering & Venue Services
Location: Bedford (with travel to other campuses)
Salary: to £59,999 per annum, DOE | Full-time, 37 hours per week
Are you a strategic and innovative leader with a passion for hospitality and a flair for service excellence? Do you thrive on delivering outstanding experiences for students, staff, and guests alike? If so, we want to hear from you.
We are recruiting a Group Head of Campus Catering & Venue Services to lead our catering, hospitality, and events operations across all Bedford College Group locations. This is an exciting opportunity to shape and modernise the student and guest experience through creative food services, venue hire, and events across multiple sites, including our flagship venues — The Grand Hall and Trinity Arts & Leisure Centre.
What You’ll Be Doing
Leading a fresh, inclusive and student-focused catering offer that meets dietary, health and sustainability standards.
Overseeing all campus hospitality and venue services, including weddings, corporate events, and community bookings.
Managing key relationships with external vendors, suppliers, and environmental services.
Driving performance, innovation and efficiency across a multi-site team of catering and venue managers.
Collaborating with senior leadership to support Group-wide strategies, events, and operational planning.
What We’re Looking For
Significant leadership experience in catering, hospitality, or venue management, preferably in a multi-site environment.
A Level 5 qualification in Catering, Hospitality or equivalent experience.
Strong commercial acumen, budget management, and people leadership skills.
Proven ability to manage change and drive continuous improvement.
A customer-first mindset and a commitment to excellence in service delivery.
Desirable Extras
Personal licence holder
Level 4 Food Safety qualification
Experience working within education or similar complex organisations
What We Value
Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:
Valuing Teamwork – We are one team who, by working together, can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
Improving Continuously – We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
Student Centred – At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
Inclusive – We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
Open and Caring – We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
Nurturing Education Excellence – We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.
About The Bedford College Group
The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students each year.
Today, the Group includes a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College (in Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough), Shuttleworth College (land-based specialist), The Bedford Sixth Form, The Corby Sixth Form, and the National College for Motorsport. We also operate community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering.
Safeguarding Our Students
The Bedford College Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references as part of our safer recruitment process. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Further information, including our policy on the employment of ex-offenders, can be found within the vacancy documents.
Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded that it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.
Apply Now
Be part of something special. Help us deliver exceptional services that enrich the college experience and reflect our values.
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