Retail & Cafe Manager at Lanchester Road Hospital

Royal Voluntary Service has an opportunity available for a Retail & Cafe Manager to join our team at Lanchester Road Hospital, Lanchester Road, Durham, DH1 5RD. You will join us on a part-time, permanent basis and in return, you will receive a salary of £13.49 per hour (FTE £24,552 per annum).

About the Retail & Cafe Manager Role:

Royal Voluntary Service operates multiple retail and café units across the country. At Lanchester Road Hospital, this currently includes a café and trolley service offering a wide range of products, including hot and cold food and drinks, alongside other items to meet the needs of our customers. Our operational model provides valuable volunteering opportunities that support the day-to-day operation of the unit, alongside a lean staff structure. As Retail & Café Manager, you will be responsible for managing this diverse workforce, including volunteers, ensuring the unit operates effectively and delivers an excellent customer experience.

As Retail & Café Manager, you will oversee the effective operation of the café and trolley service, maintaining high standards of presentation, service and compliance at all times. You will support, lead and develop employees and volunteers to deliver excellent customer service and achieve agreed KPIs, while ensuring all relevant policies and procedures are consistently followed. The Manager will work closely with key stakeholders within the NHS Trust, including the Facilities Department, to maintain positive working relationships and ensure the smooth and effective operation of the service.

Hours: 10 hours per week (2 days per week between Monday and Friday)

What you'll bring as our Retail & Cafe Manager:

• Deliver excellent, friendly, and helpful customer service
• Maximise overall customer experience
• Lead, develop, and manage a team to meet targets
• Ensure all policies and procedures are consistently followed
• Demonstrate strong communication with customers and team members
• Use organisational skills to manage tasks and resources effectively
• Utilise IT systems (e.g. Microsoft Office, email) for admin tasks
• Motivate and guide team members through effective leadership
  
  

Responsibilities

This is what you'll be doing:

Team Management

• Lead, support and develop a team of employees and volunteers, ensuring effective induction, training and ongoing supervision.
• Create a positive and inclusive team environment, providing coaching and feedback to deliver excellent customer service.
• Manage rotas, recruitment and volunteer engagement to ensure the café and trolley service is appropriately staffed.
  
  

Operational Excellence

• Ensure the café and trolley service operates in line with Royal Voluntary Service policies, health and safety, food hygiene and brand standards.
• Monitor stock, cash, sales, costs and performance, ensuring accurate reporting and appropriate action where required.
• Build positive relationships with Durham University Hospital stakeholders and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency.
  
  

Customer Service

• Ensure customers receive a friendly, welcoming and efficient service at all times.
• Respond to and resolve customer complaints promptly and professionally.
• Use customer feedback to identify learning and continuously improve the customer experience.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Work with the Retail Area Manager to achieve agreed sales, profitability, wastage and performance targets.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve sales, efficiency and customer experience.
• Support Royal Voluntary Service fundraising and wider community activities.

This is how you'll be doing it:

Enable Volunteers
Is able to demonstrate an understanding of how their role impacts and supports volunteers and their experience within the charity. Is ready to collaborate with the Volunteering Team and is willing to accept responsibility and accountability of their volunteer’s journey and experience. Is not afraid to implement changes to their approach to volunteering.

Leadership
Likes to take charge of, empowers and directs people and activities. Clearly sees the way ahead, inspires and motivates others to follow their lead in order to achieve goals.

Supporting & Managing Others
Enjoys supporting other people by getting involved and trying to help them when they have problems. Is comfortable to contribute to joint activities and enjoys teamwork. Is approachable, collaborative and dependable.

Service Delivery Focussed
Identifies and focuses on the individual needs and concerns of the customer or client. Engages and responds accordingly with a professional and high-quality service. Is committed to keeping people safe from harm.

Networking
Is able to relate to people and build effective relationships. Likes talking things over with others and works well in an environment of mutual support and information sharing. Is not afraid to direct people or ask for their help.

Analysing Information
Enjoys analysing data and seeks to identify and explores the key elements in information before making rational judgements and commitments. Utilises facts and figures when planning and reporting and is concerned about accuracy and detail.

Planning and Organising
Thinks things through well in advance and maps out future activities and resources, taking the key stages, requirements and timescales into account. Likes to monitor to ensure that things are implemented and delivered effectively.

Quality Orientation
Pays attention, is precise, checks, and completes things Focuses on getting things right and seeks to ensure that decisions and solutions minimise risk. Adheres to policy and standards.

Drive and Determination
Is ambitious and determined to succeed. Readily accepts and very much enjoys a challenge and is motivated by having stretching objectives to meet. Is energetic and works hard in order to achieve results.

Commercial Awareness
Likes to work with facts and figures to evaluate things properly. Uses commercial and financial factors when making decisions. Looks at the wider implications and is likely to try to assess the long-term impact.

Resilience
Easily bounces back from setbacks and is not discouraged for long. Doesn’t easily get hurt or upset and is generally able to manage work challenges. Can accept constructive criticism and doesn’t tend to dwell on what others may think of them.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
Values difference and sets a positive example of inclusive behaviour in all interactions and promotes practices that celebrate equality and diversity in the workplace and the communities we serve. Is an active participant and encourages others to engage effectively with charity wide inclusion activities.

Requirements

This is what we're looking for:

• Proven leadership and people management with great motivational skills
• Previous experience with managing people
• Can remain calm & professional in fast paced environment
• The ability to deliver excellent customer service
• Knowledge of EPOS systems
• Knowledge in Food Safety & Health & Safety procedures
• Excellent communications skills
• Enjoy working within a passionate team as well as working on your own on occasions
• Skilled at Organising, Delegating & Prioritising
• Flexible to the needs of the business & can attend out of hours training if required
• Knowledge and experience of general administrative processes
• Experience with email and internet is required
• Can remain calm & professional in fast paced environment
• Proficient in the use of IT systems, for example Microsoft Office, Email to a basic level
  
  

Benefits

This is all the other great things you'll be getting:

• Salary of £13.49 per hour (FTE £24,552 per annum).
• 26 days’ holiday (pro rata) plus paid statutory Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Up to 2 days paid volunteer leave a year, through our employer supported volunteer scheme
• Ten weeks’ company sick pay following successful completion of probation
• A great pension scheme
• 2 x Salary Death in Service Benefit, subject to qualification
• Enhanced Family Leave schemes
• An employee benefits package that gives access to an exclusive rewards website to get discounts and cashback online
• A 24-hour doctor line, financial support with dental/optical and other therapies
• A free and confidential employee assistance programme with up to six face-to-face counselling sessions included
• Extensive online and on the job training to ensure you will succeed in your role
• Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career
• The chance to make a positive, lasting impact that changes lives, communities and society
  
  

If you feel have the skills and experience to become our Retail & Cafe Manager please click ‘apply’ today, we’d love to hear from you!

This is the latest you'll be able to apply, providing we do not close to applicants early: The closing date for this role is 30 October 2026. However, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received.

Please do not delay your application we often get a lot!

At Royal Voluntary Service our goal is to welcome everyone and build inclusive and diverse teams. We celebrate difference and encourage everyone to join us and be themselves at work. To find out more about our commitment to EDI, visit our website.

At Royal Voluntary Service, together we can change lives, change communities and change society.