Venue Manager

Wither Hills is an icon of the New Zealand wine industry – with our Cellar Door and Restaurant venue one of the most visited in the Marlborough region. We have an exciting opportunity for an ambitious venue superstar to join the Wither Hills team as our Venue Manager. Reporting into our Operations Manager, this role is based at our stunning Wither Hills Cellar Door & Restaurant in Blenheim.

As the Venue Manager, you will oversee all aspects of the Cellar Door and Restaurant, creating a world-class brand experience for all Wither Hills guests & best-in class hospitality offering for customers.  As a strong people leader, you will lead a highly engaged Venue team and have overall responsibility for rostering, recruiting and training staff whilst overseeing all aspects of food and beverage.

This is an exciting role, offering great visibility within the New Zealand wine industry, with an experienced and hugely passionate team to lead and be part of. Whilst your key stakeholders are based in Blenheim, the essence of this role is centred in being a Wither Hills “ambassador” and working alongside all areas of the Lion business – Marketing, Sales, Commercial and Global markets to ensure the Cellar Door and Restaurant is a true “spiritual home” for the brand.   

Your duties & responsibilities will include achieving operational deliverables in line with company objectives along with working closely with the Wither Hills brand to deliver experiences in line with our identity. You’ll be focused on enhancing customer experiences, bringing our brand/marketing campaigns to life and ensuring a positive brand interaction. 

Our Winery is at the heart of everything we offer, so a strong connection to this and other hospitality operations is essential. You’ll be tasked with finding new avenues for growth, engaging with the community and leading a motivated team from the front, mentoring them both operationally and culturally.  

We want to hear from passionate and experienced hospitality people. If you believe in creating unique, memorable and beautiful experiences for customers, we want to hear from you!

Ideal experience and skills:

• a proven ability to motivate and drive teams
• a strong background in hospitality management
• amazing organisational skills
• The ability to manage stakeholders effortlessly
• demonstrated financial acumen with the ability to budget, forecast and report on financial results

You must also hold a Duty Managers Certificate and have the right to work in NZ, it is also preferential that you hold a current first aid certificate. 

At Lion, we choose to be a leader in driving inclusion, diversity and gender parity. We have an ambitious goal to reach at least 40% representation of both men and women in all teams in all areas of the business.

Are you hesitating to apply because you don’t think you meet all of the criteria? If you believe you are aligned with our values at Lion, we’d encourage you to still click on that apply button so we can explore your unique skill set and the value you could add to one of our teams.