Café (FOH) Team Leader & Events Coordinator

Be the best YOU!

Being a part of Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) means you have a shared passion for supporting youth in reaching their full potential. YOU is a place where your unique background, perspectives, and talents are valued, and help innovate new program ideas to best support youth in our community.

You can make your impact here! Be part of a diverse and inclusive workplace where the work you do is truly valued. You will have the freedom to excel in your own way by serving young people and knowing you are making a difference for our community.

Come be a part of a team that works alongside youth as they work on goals and be there to celebrate when they achieve those milestones. Help us continue creating a community where youth are embraced and will thrive.

Reporting to the Manager, Food Services, the Cafe (Front-of-House) Team Leader & Events Coordinator plays a pivotal role in the front-of-house operations at YOU’s food services locations and the business development and execution of food service events. This hybrid role combines operational supervision, youth mentorship, sales development, barista support, and event management to create a dynamic, youth-focused environment.

The incumbent is responsible for supervising the Food Services Training & Catering Coordinator, front-of-house staff, site baristas, as well as youth trainees and volunteers, while ensuring customer service excellence and maintaining the highest regulatory and production standards for food and beverage production in front-of-house operations. The incumbent is responsible for leading the modelling of strong customer service skills during interactions with guests. Working collaboratively with back-of-house, catering, and food services leadership, the role supports youth development through hands-on hard and soft skills training and coaching, empowering young people with the skills needed to succeed in the hospitality sector.

In addition to overseeing day-to-day front-of-house operations at YOU’s food service locations, the Cafe (FOH) Team Leader & Events Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the completion and standards of production, while maintaining an aggressive strategy for developing and executing events for the café and related food service venues (such as the Rooftop Terrace). This role leads strategic event planning and coordination, and supervises catering coordination, growing YOU’s Food Service event portfolio and targets to provide increased trained opportunities for youth. Through a focus on guest retention, staff development, and operational excellence, the FOH Team Leader & Events Coordinator advances YOU’s mission by creating meaningful employment opportunities and community engagement for youth.

This position requires strong leadership, customer service, relationship management, and operational skills combined with a passion for youth mentorship and community impact. Training of youth is paramount, and the FOH Team Leader & Events Coordinator assists in the mentoring of skills to youth trainees, who are participating in YOU’s Food Services Youth Training Program, with specific emphasis on developing youth’s hard and soft skills and job attainment in a dynamic team environment.

This position will work closely with the Manager, Food Services and Food Services Training & Catering Coordinator, to ensure that all staff are working in line with YOU’s Mission, Vision and Values. This role works closely with other staff including Cooks, Youth Employment Services, Housing staff, team leaders, and other individuals, to best coordinate a wrap-around approach to services to achieve successful outcomes for youth.

Qualified candidates possess exceptional communication and leadership skills, work well in a fast paced and dynamic environment, and hold values that support our corporate vision of being “A community where youth are embraced and will thrive”.

Responsibilities:

The incumbent must have strong relationship management, customer service, event management, and guest retention skills, with a strong attention to detail. The incumbent must demonstrate friendliness, creativity, and flexibility in dealing with the public, youth participants and YOU staff. Additionally, the following qualifications are expected:

• The position normally requires completion of post-secondary education at a college level.
• 3-5 years related barista/restaurant / Cafe work experience
• Minimum 2 years of supervisory work experience in a food services setting
• Safe Food Handling Certification
• Smart Serve
• Recommended Education: customer service certificate, food and beverage management, event planning, or similar related
• Assets:
• First Aid
• Sales experience
• Demonstrated sales and event planning/management skills, with proven experience implementing growth strategies and running events.
• Demonstrated knowledge of guest retention and proven ability to successfully enhance guest experience, with the ability to mentor in the steps of service.
• Demonstrated ability to engage, coach, mentor, and support youth participants and staff
• Demonstrated ability to bartend, develop and train on mixology
• Demonstrated abilities in administrative tasks such as ordering, inventory, record keeping, etc.
• Knowledge of public health standards for cleanliness and hygiene in the various kitchen areas, including refrigerators and storage rooms.
• Experience with production and plating/packaging of food production, with a strong focus on café, bistro, and casual/fine dining meals of high standards to maintain the best quality food style possible.
• Experience with providing table service or working in a quick service restaurant; experience using a Point-Of-Sale system
• Demonstrated professional work habits; encourage staff to act with integrity and recognize this trait in others, and reward them appropriately.
• Experience with staff and youth training to complete work and side duties in accordance with departmental procedures and daily tasks.
• Strong communication skills include communicating additions or changes to the assignments, as they arise throughout the shift.
• Experience leading pre-shift meetings and reviewing all information pertinent to the day's business.
• Ability to adhere to all Youth Opportunities Unlimited guidelines, policies, procedures, rules and regulations.
• Demonstrated compliance with all governmental and regulatory requirements, ensuring safe food handling practices

Qualifications:

• Executes day-to-day operations and staff supervision of front-of-house at Food and Beverage locations
• Interacts with guests and members of the community, providing superior service and representing YOU
• Implements and maintains strategies for successfully achieving café event sales targets
• Implements and maintains strategies towards the Perfect Guest Experience program.
• Prepares general correspondence
• Delivers programming and youth skills mentorship
• Maintains and updates data on youth’s training competencies
• Assist in the development and implementation of the events and catering growth strategy and plan
• Prepares monthly event reports, reviews results, targets, strategies and KPI’s
• Targets, initiates and drives new event relationship opportunities
• Accountable for event sales targets, successfully generating new events through a variety of cold contact methods (i.e., cold calls/cold emails, flyers/marketing distribution)
• Accountable for event performance and revenue targets
• Develops client base, community, business, and vendor relationships for providing a robust ongoing event platform
• Coordinates events and is point person for operation during event
• Coordinates with Food Services leadership the requirements from other areas for delivery of a successful event
• Support and embed YOU’s mission, vision and values with staff and volunteers
• Supervise Food Services Training & Catering Coordinator and assist in developing the business development catering strategy and growth plan
• Supervise and lead Food Services Training & Catering Coordinator, FOH staff, youth, consultants, volunteers, and students as appropriate at Food Service Locations
• Direct reports:
• Food Services Training & Catering Coordinator
• Café Assistant & Youth Mentor (2)
• Site Barista (3)
• Pool of up to 8 Relief Barista/Server/Bartender
• Indirect Reports:
• Youth participants
• Conducts regular evaluations of the Perfect Guest Program, developing targets and strategies
• Support performance development for each staff member
• Coordinates daily duties and programming for youth trainees and staff
• Coordinates staffing coverage
• Coordinates the food safety and cleanliness program of food and beverage activities
• Consults with various staff regarding customer progress and issues arising from programming
• Participates in weekly team meetings regarding client services and programming needs, upcoming business needs, and day-to-day operations
• Answers questions regarding programming for internal YOU staff and external community services
• Works closely with the team to provide leadership and mentorship
• Works closely with community partners for program delivery
• Works closely as part of the Food Services Leadership team
• Consults and works closely with the Community Engagement and Sales team for the successful promotion of Food Services
• Promotes programming and provides tours to interested partners, clients, and internal YOU staff
• Sits on committees as it relates to programming and community building
• Assists with the training of new staff and students related to youth programs
• Participates in health and safety training, including WHMIS, and applies this knowledge in the workplace
• Reports any violations of the Health and Safety Act or the regulations, or the existence of any hazard
• Ensures all workplace incidents are reported in a timely manner in accordance with legislation and YOU policies and procedures for workplace injuries and incidents
• Other related duties, as required

Hours of Work:

• 35 hours per week, flexible schedule depending on the needs of YOU
• Extended hours and weekend work may be required from time to time