Operations Manager

Operations & Front of House Manager

Reports to: Executive Director

Responsible for: Duty Managers, Front of House and Café Bar Volunteers

Hours: 37.5 per week, with occasional evening and weekend work required to support events.

About Aberdeen Arts Centre

Aberdeen Arts Centre is an independent charitable arts venue in the heart of the city. For more than 60 years, we have provided a home for performance, creativity, learning and community connection.

We are looking for a practical, organised and people-focused Operations & Front of House Manager to help us deliver safe, welcoming and high-quality experiences for audiences, artists, hirers, staff and volunteers.

The Role

This is a key operational role, responsible for ensuring the building, front-of-house operation, café bar, duty management and volunteer activity are well organised, safe and ready to support every event.

You will lead and support Duty Managers and volunteers, maintain clear operational systems, oversee stock and cash processes, and work closely with colleagues to ensure the venue runs smoothly day to day.

This is a hands-on role for someone who is equally comfortable planning ahead, leading a busy event, responding calmly to problems and improving how things work.

Key Responsibilities

Venue Operations and Events

• Ensure the building is safe, welcoming, clean and operationally ready for performances, room hires and daily activity.
• Maintain clear procedures for opening and closing, event preparation, handovers, security and incident reporting.
• Work with programming and technical colleagues to ensure events are appropriately prepared and staffed.
• Act as a key-holder and monitor public areas, maintenance needs and building presentation.
• Be a helpful operational point of contact for hirers and visiting companies.
• Lead defined operational improvement projects from planning through to delivery, including setting timelines, coordinating colleagues and suppliers, monitoring progress and embedding new ways of working.

Duty Managers, Front of House and Volunteers

• Lead, support and develop Duty Managers and volunteers, ensuring they are trained, confident and clear about their responsibilities.
• Support rotas, event briefings, debriefs and regular training.
• Maintain relevant training records, including first aid, fire safety, licensing and other operational competencies.
• Help recruit, welcome and retain volunteers, ensuring they feel valued as part of the wider team.
• Promote consistently high standards of customer service, accessibility, professionalism and care.

Café Bar, Stock and Hospitality

• Manage the day-to-day café bar operation, ensuring it is welcoming, commercially effective and suited to the venue’s varied programme.
• Oversee stock ordering, supplier relationships, pricing, stock control, wastage and cashing-up processes.
• Monitor café bar and retail income, providing regular sales reporting and identifying opportunities to increase income.
• Ensure café bar activity meets licensing, food hygiene and health and safety requirements.

Health, Safety and Customer Experience

• Work with the Executive Director and external providers to maintain health and safety systems, risk assessments, emergency procedures and compliance records.
• Support fire safety, evacuation and emergency-response training.
• Ensure Duty Managers and volunteers understand and follow relevant safety procedures.
• Champion an excellent, inclusive customer experience before, during and after every visit.
• Gather feedback and use it to identify practical improvements to the visitor experience, operational efficiency and income generation.

About You

You will be organised, proactive and comfortable taking ownership in a busy public-facing environment. You will be a warm and confident people manager, able to set clear standards, build positive relationships and remain calm when plans change.

You do not need to have worked in an arts venue before. Experience in hospitality, events, leisure, retail, visitor attractions, charity or community settings would all be relevant.

Experience and Skills

We’re looking for someone who can bring many of the following:

• Experience managing a busy operational, hospitality, events, retail or visitor-facing environment.
• Experience leading, supporting or coordinating staff and/or volunteers.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Experience planning and delivering practical projects or service improvements, managing priorities, people and deadlines.
• Experience of stock control, ordering, cash handling and basic sales reporting.
• Good understanding of health and safety in a public-facing setting.
• Excellent customer-service and communication skills.
• Ability to make sound decisions and solve problems calmly.
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in an arts, cultural, charity or community venue.
• Personal Licence Holder and/or experience of licensed premises.
• First aid, fire warden or health and safety training.
• Experience supporting room hire, events delivery or commercial hospitality activity.

How to Apply

Please send a CV and covering letter to ***email_hidden*** by 30th July, outlining why you are interested in the role and how your experience would help Aberdeen Arts Centre deliver safe, welcoming and high-quality experiences for our audiences, volunteers, artists and community. We recognise that no candidate will meet every requirement, and we warmly welcome applications from people with a range of backgrounds and experiences who feel they could bring something valuable to the role.