Hiring: Cafe Manager

Posted: September 19, 2022

Want to make your mark with delightful food and coffee + meaningful community in Jamaica Plain? Ula Cafe is hiring an experienced cafe manager to run daily operations and manage our incredible team at our cafe and bakery.

Ula is more than just a cafe: we’ve been a community gathering place, a meetup spot, and a favorite breakfast and lunch destination for neighbors in JP and Roxbury for years. We’re committed to serving food and coffee that are not just delicious but also ethically sourced and local as much as possible. We’re a Black-owned, woman-owned, and veteran-owned cafe with a big heart and a strong social mission, from the local art that hangs on our walls to our Pay It Forward wall.

We’re looking for a cafe manager who not only has experience running the show, but also believes in our mission and values and wants to work with our owners to create a positive, uplifting, and smoothly operating space that welcomes everyone.

We won’t lie – we get busy, so you’ll need to have a cool head under pressure, a great attitude, and a deep love for bringing our amazing community together.

Responsibilities include:

  • Promote and maintain a smooth, efficient, tight and productive operation in both front and back of house with an unfailingly positive attitude

  • Hire and manage staff, coordinate and distribute staffing schedules, and onboard new staff members. Communicate regularly with owners on staffing decisions, including highlighting risks/issues and providing recommendations. Make changes to employee handbook

  • Provide not just supervision, but leadership of our team, including identifying growth + advancement opportunities, needs and challenges, and providing mentorship and leadership

  • Work with FOH supervisors to keep operations sharp and to delegate work appropriately; clarify roles and duties for FOH and BOH staff as appropriate. Develop and implement training plans. Keep both FOH and BOH clean and orderly.

  • Conduct inventories and place orders for FOH and BOH items. Monitor merchandise inventory. Check in orders as they arrive. Communicate with owners for any other kitchen needs.

  • Maintain a standard menu and a seasonally-appropriate revolving menu that includes fresh, creative and high-quality bakery items, soups, salads and sandwiches. Develop, standardize and record recipes, establish production schedule, and maintain quality controls.

  • Train and delegate duties to the prep cooks and bakers

  • Initiate general repairs and repair & maintenance visits

  • Run errands as needed

  • Revise and restock checklists/forms; handle other administrative tasks

  • Keep track of food costs and make recommendations to help make us stronger as a business

  • Communicate often and coordinate work activities with owners and supervisors, including weekly meetings with owners

  • Assist in hosting regular team “fun” activities

Qualifications:

  • 2+ years experience managing cafes and/or limited service restaurants

  • Strong passion for good food and connected community

  • Deep knowledge of coffee science and advanced knowledge of espresso

  • Calm and focused attitude, especially when things get busy

  • Ability to work a flexible schedule based on business needs (including but not limited to, days, evenings, weekends, holidays, and as emergencies arise)

  • Able to work ten hour-plus shifts, plus ability to stand, sit, squat or walk for extended periods of time, walk up and down stairs, and carry up to 50 lbs preferred

  • A desire to not just manage but support and lead a team

  • Excellent verbal and written communicator

  • ServSafe, Allergen and ChokeSaver Certifications

  • Spanish language ability a plus

  • Baking experience a plus

Benefits:

  • Full-time salary of $50,000-$52,000

  • 401(k) 

  • Flexible schedule with no late nights

  • Health, dental and vision insurance

  • Free meals and drinks

  • Opportunity to work side-by-side with owners with the flexibility to add your own personality and vision

  • Ability to give back to a community we know and love

  • Exciting potential for growth

To apply: Send a resume and cover letter to Beth Santos, beth@ulacafe.com

Ula is an Equal Opportunity Employer.