King's College London

THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

About us:

Are you a dynamic leader with a passion for delivering exceptional catering, hospitality and events services? We are seeking a visionary Associate Director of Catering & Events to take strategic ownership of our catering, hospitality and events operations across multiple sites, enhancing the community experience while driving commercial sustainability.

About the role:

The Associate Director of Catering & Events will be responsible for developing the overall strategy, driving operational excellence, optimising revenue and profitability to ensure financial sustainability. They will lead the strategic and operational delivery of high-quality catering and conference services, tailored to meet the specific needs of the University, while ensuring an outstanding customer experience across all sites to all stakeholders.

In this pivotal role, you will set the strategic direction for all catering and events services, ensuring they are customer-focused, high quality, and cost-effective. You will lead the planning and delivery of innovative refurbishment projects, optimising the use of our spaces and maximising customer satisfaction. A key objective will be the development of a highly profitable conference business that supports both academic and commercial aspirations, while consistently maintaining an outstanding standard of service and presentation.

We are looking for a motivational and inspirational leader who can build high-performing teams across catering and events. You will empower and develop staff, promoting a culture of accountability, creativity, and service excellence. Strong change management experience will be essential, as you implement improvements aligned with departmental strategies. You’ll also be responsible for staff development, performance management, and ensuring alignment with HR best practices.

You will provide strategic leadership to drive continuous service improvement, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve commercial performance. This includes the development and monitoring of annual operating plans, service level agreements, and key performance indicators. Working closely with stakeholders, you’ll ensure transparent communication and champion new ways of working, innovation, and customer engagement through effective use of social media and feedback mechanisms.

From a financial perspective, you will lead with sound business acumen—overseeing budget setting, income optimisation, cost control, and the pursuit of new business opportunities. Market analysis, supplier management, and financial reporting will be key tools in guiding strategic decisions and ensuring sustainability and growth.

A strong commitment to community engagement and innovation is vital. You will develop services that reflect the needs of our diverse university community and support our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. Quality assurance, continuous improvement, and customer communication will be at the heart of your approach, with an emphasis on new ideas, improved menus, technology integration, and promotional activity.

As a sustainability champion, you will develop and lead the catering, hospitality and events sustainability strategy, ensuring we not only meet but exceed environmental targets. You will embed sustainable practices and promote healthy eating across all services, supported by team training and a shared ethos of environmental responsibility.

Finally, you will ensure full compliance with all regulatory and legislative requirements. You will lead the approach to risk management within Catering & Events and provide clear direction on health and safety, ensuring that operations are safe, legally compliant, and reflective of best practice.

If you are an experienced leader with a track record of driving commercial success, developing high-performing teams, and delivering customer-focused services, we’d love to hear from you. Join us in shaping the future of Catering & Events at King’s.

The role will require the post holder to be flexible with working hours to respond to business needs, this will require an element of evening and weekend working.

King’s Community Business Services operate a “one team” approach to service delivery, therefore all post holders are expected to support colleagues with an integrated team approach.

This is a full time (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you:

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.      A dynamic and visionary leader with significant experience in catering, hospitality, and/or events management across multi-site operations (£7m+) 

2.      Proven track record of delivering commercial success while maintaining high standards of service and customer satisfaction

3.      Strong relationship building skills across all levels of stakeholders and managers

4.      Passionate about innovation, sustainability, and continuous improvement in food, hospitality and event services

5.      Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and engage a wide range of stakeholders.

6.      Experience of producing and implementing successful strategy across the business

7.      A strategic thinker who is also hands-on and solution-oriented in day-to-day operations.

8.      Strong financial acumen with experience in managing budgets, forecasting, and delivering financial targets

9.      Calm demeanor, un-flustered and maintains a cool head in high stress/pressure situations

10.  Proven success in implementing change management across the business

Desirable criteria

1.      Health & Safety qualification (Must have demonstrable knowledge of H&S legislation with IOSH/NEBOSH)

2.      (Must have demonstrable knowledge of H&S legislation with IOSH/NEBOSH)

3.      Degree / Post Grad in relevant field or equivalent experience

4.      Outstanding oral & written communication skills

5.      Evidence in sharing best practices within the sector Evidence in sharing best practices within the sector 

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.