DAKOTA NEWCASTLE – HEAD BARTENDER Are you ready to help lead an exceptional bar team in Newcastle’s newest luxury hotel opening in 2025? Dakota Hotels invites a talented, passionate, and experienced Bar Supervisor to join our team as we bring the Dakota experience to Newcastle Quayside in Spring 2025. Working closely with our Bar Manager, you will be leading a team of Bar Assistants to bring the taste of Dakota to Newcastle. This role offers the unique opportunity to lead a bar team that offers unforgettable standards in service and creativity, ensuring the bar becomes a favourite destination for guests and locals alike. At the heart of this role is a commitment to delivering exceptional service, with a strong focus on engaging with guests and leading your team with inspiration and confidence. This is an amazing opportunity to be a part of a new and exciting venue coming to the city. Ideally situated by the Gateshead Millennium Bridge on the quayside, our hotel will boast 118 bedrooms including stunning 33 suites. Dakota Newcastle will host our renowned Bar & Grill, Champagne Room, Cigar Terrace, and an events space for up to 60. PRIMARY ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES You will be required to: Your role will be more Bar Floor based, however you must be an experiencied bartender being able to provide support to all areas of the bar. Host and run breakfast and lunch service, ensuring the operation runs smoothly and guests have the best possible dining experience. In the absence of the Bar Manager, c arry out managerial duties including writing b ar rotas, holiday management, working closely with other departments, and delivering training. Work to continuously develop the breakfast teams’ knowledge and provide on-the-job coaching and be proactive in implementing procedures that continually improve the service. Support management in supervising and providing direction to our bar tenders, bar floor team, and hosts, ensuring the highest standards of service provision at all times. Implement training plans and deliver on-the-job training to drive the smoothest, most polished levels of service. Carry out beverage product-based training and work to continuously improve the teams’ knowledge to better enhance the guest experience. Support the commercial running of the Bar operation including carrying out the stock take and placing beverage orders. Have a hands-on approach to service and hosting, driving standards at all times. To have a comprehensive knowledge of food and beverage menu options to be able to offer guests recommendations, including understanding the allergens present. ABOUT DAKOTA HOTELS Dakota is a growing UK-based lifestyle brand, known for our stylish hotels, bustling brasserie Grills and upscale cocktail Bars. Dakota’s story started with two boutique hotels on the outskirts of Edinburgh, in South Queensferry, and Glasgow, in Eurocentral. We have now expanded into prime city centre locations in Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester, with Newcastle opening early 2025 and more in our pipeline. Dakota is synonymous for delivering attentive and genuine guest service. We attract hard-working individuals who are passionate about working to the highest standards and have been voted within The Caterer’s Top 15 Best Employers in Hospitality for the last five years in a row. We were also featured within the Top 10 employers in the 2024 Sunday Times Best Places to Work in the UK, as well as being awarded the Spotlight Award for Best Places to Work for LGBTQIA employees. As recent winners of The Cateys ‘People Team of the Year ’, we have award-winning internal training programmes within Dakota Academy fostering continuous development and ongoing training. As a result, over 75% of our leaders have been promoted internally and, for four consecutive years, a member of our team has won a prestigious Acorn Award awarded by The Caterer to the ‘Top 30 under 30’ in the industry, demonstrating our success in developing talent. APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team. The successful applicant will have/be: A minimum of two years experience working in a bar environment and one years' experience at supervisor level or above. Experience in running services. Strong knowledge of classic cocktails, wines and spirits is essential. A minimum of two years' experience working in a 4 or 5 hotel environment. Although full training will be given, the following previous training is strongly favoured: Food Hygiene, Fire Safety, Personal License. Ability to work at pace through service times and be physically active for the duration of your shift. An enthusiastic individual who will promote our culture of positivity and always be working with an outlook of coaching and mentoring the team around them. Be task oriented with a great pride for the work they do and attention to detail. Flexible with shift patterns and available around the needs of our business. Successful candidates must demonstrate having researched our brand and a genuine desire to be part of our team. RECRUITMENT PROCESS The start date for this role will commence on 24 th February 2025, with interviews being held in January 2025. PACKAGE This is a permanent, full-time role offering 37.5 hours per week. The hourly rate for this contract is £13.50 tronc payments any cash tips. In addition to being part of a culture infused with positivity and opportunity for ongoing development, tangible benefits you could enjoy when you join our team include: –40 per cent off stays at any Dakota –25 per cent off drinks and dining at any Dakota –Access to our Employee Assistance Program which includes free private mental health support and counselling sessions video GP consultations and private prescription services access to daily rewards to be cashed out for shopping vouchers -Access to discounted gift card platform –Support from our inhouse Mental Health Champions –Additional holiday day on the first anniversary of your employment. –Family-friendly flexible working options –Meals on duty and uniforming –£200 bonus to recommend a friend to join our team –£10 bonus every time you are mentioned on Trip Advisor –Free bi-annual eye testing for users of display screen equipment –Accredited, certified compliance training given on employment such as in Food Hygiene, Alcohol Responsibility, Data Protection, and Health & Safety –Access to a suite of external, certified resources via our Learning Management System –Supportive continuous professional development culture with an annual appraisal and objectives, or a Personal Development Plan –Opportunities to undertake both internal and external training courses, including potential for in-house Apprenticeships Full terms on our benefits can be found in our Handbook.