General Manager

Salary: £40,000 plus bonus opportunities

The Ritzy is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic General Manager who can bring the Picturehouse way of working to this exciting venue.

Picturehouse Ritzy is a 788 seat, 5 screen cinema in Brixton. The established venue has been the heart of the city’s film scene for decades.  The Ritzy features a modern and stylish café, first-floor bar and an exciting live venue overlooking Brixton. The Ritzy prides itself on being a well-known and well- loved cultural hub for Brixton.

The venue is known for hosting a diverse range of events including live music, quiz and comedy nights, weddings as well as private party hires, corporate events and film premiere receptions. In addition to a diverse programme of films, ranging from quality blockbusters to independent, classic, foreign-language and art-house, The Ritzy includes a core programming strand dedicated to championing documentaries. The cinema also shows live HD broadcasts of productions from world-class arts venues, such as the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Bolshoi Ballet, theatre productions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company Live from Stratford-upon-Avon and National Theatre Live, art exhibitions and filmmaker Q&As.

The Ritzy offers a variety of events and so managing the complexities of planning and hosting events will be an important part of the job. The successful candidate will have experience to contribute to the smooth running of the event, as well as working with clients and large teams in a customer service environment. The very highest standards of customer service and presentation will need to be maintained at all times.

Both café-bars and Upstairs at The Ritzy are an integral part of the experience here and a passion for and/or experience of an F&B offering is essential.

The Ritzy is part of Picturehouse Cinemas who operate 26 cinemas across the UK and are a stand-alone division of Cineworld PLC.

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic General Manager who can bring the Picturehouse way of working to this exciting venue.

Please note there is a requirement to work full time hours per week over any of the seven days with regular work at evenings and weekends.

Job Description

Direct report to: Regional Manager

Responsible for: Deputy General Manager

The key responsibility of the role is to ensure the smooth running of The Ritzy Picturehouse with a focus on maximising business opportunities and growing the cinema’s Membership base. Responsible for delivering business objectives by creating an environment where your people are trusted, empowered, engaged and coached to deliver the Picturehouse Experience for every customer.

You are responsible for defining, setting and implementing the strategy to grow your business in line with Picturehouse’s vision whilst maintaining its individual identity.

Main duties

• Lead and engage the whole cinema team deliver the Picturehouse Experience
• Engage with the local community to keep yourself aware of local market conditions, the community you serve and your competitors
• Develop and nurture internal and external relationships to help you achieve business objectives
• Act as the contact point for local authorities and enforcement agencies
• Manage the cinema’s marketing; maximising audiences for films and other events by increasing numbers of Members, newsletter subscribers and social media followers
• Host premieres, Q&As and other high profile events

People – You will:

• Accountability for the whole employee life cycle of all employees, with particular responsibility for your direct reports
• Ensure regular rotation of your management team’s responsibilities in order to drive their development
• Develop effective succession plans to maintain the smooth running of the cinema
• Use effective communication methods to create an environment where high performance can be developed and maximised
• Proactively deliver feedback with the appropriate balance of support and challenge
• Promote an environment of trust and shared ownership within the management team

Customer – You will:

• Create an atmosphere which allows your team to deliver the Picturehouse Experience
• Use all available data to make things better for our customers
• Engage with customers by being visible and responding to their needs
• Make sure everything is working so that our customers are not disappointed

Operational Excellence – You will:

• Ensure relevant checks and balances are in place to ensure delivery of KPI’s
• Establish practices which deliver consistent improvement in cleaning and general housekeeping
• Overall responsibility for managing the Health & Safety of your cinema and managing business risk
• Ensure all business policies and procedures are followed to expected business standards
• Liaise with the cinema’s programmer to maximise the profitability of programming and scheduling

Finance – You will:

• Continually look for opportunities to implement initiatives to grow your business and grow EBITDA
• Effectively manage the cinema P&L in line with fluctuating business
• Be aware of, and take action to mitigate, financial risks to your business
• Ensure that a commercial approach is taken across all aspects of cinema management

Along with your main duties, you will also be expected to carry out any other duties that are reasonably asked of you.

Person specification

Essential:

• Delivers results through great people management
• Experience of running a standalone unit
• P&L Management
• Proven track record of delivering operational excellence
• Proven experience of managing performance at all levels
• Customer facing experience, in particular in a cinema / food / drink service environment
• IT literate (Microsoft Office suit, industry bespoke software)
• Available to work at key business times i.e. evenings and weekends
• Flexible on location (able to travel a reasonable distance)
• Experience of managing building maintenance
• Experience of managing private hires / events
• Local marketing experience

Desirable

• Significant knowledge of Audio Visual presentation
• DPS licence holder
• An interest in and knowledge of film and Picturehouse’s programming strands

Note: This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be reviewed and is therefore subject to amendment.

To apply

Apply with a CV and Cover Letter to: jobs@picturehouses.co.uk

The closing date for this position is 13/04/2021 at 23:59