Café Manager – Heliix at Equinox London
hace 2 días
London
Join London's Fastest-Growing Wellness Café Brand Healthy Ambitions Ltd is building a multi-brand portfolio targeting the £4.7 trillion global wellness market. We operate two distinct brands: Heliix (premium wellness & longevity), Rejoove (value-conscious fitness). Currently, we run three wellness lounges in partnership with luxury US gym chain Equinox in Kensington, St James's and Bishopsgate, plus a new smoothie bar concept with Fitness First. Our mission: To serve up the world's best food & beverage offering for fitness & wellness enthusiasts. With an ambitious goal of 30 staffed sites across the UK & Europe, we're experiencing exceptional growth. We don't compromise on quality, we hire exceptional talent, we move fast, and we build relationships based on trust, responsiveness and reliability. The Opportunity Heliix is London's premier fitness and longevity café, proudly partnered with Equinox, one of the world's most prestigious fitness and lifestyle clubs. We specialise in nutritionally rich, premium food and drink designed to fuel performance, recovery, and long-term wellbeing. We're seeking an experienced, energetic and wellness-driven Café Manager to lead our in-club café team, elevate member experience, and drive operational and commercial success. This isn't your typical hospitality role - we're looking for an entrepreneurial operator who thrives in a dynamic, minimal red tape environment where proactive doers go above and beyond. If you're passionate about health, hospitality and high performance, and you want to grow with a rapidly scaling business, this is your role. What We Offer • £30,000 - £35,000 salary + Tronc, • Complimentary meals during shifts, • Full access to Equinox Gyms, • Private GP & counselling services, • Private medical insurance, • Cycle-to-work scheme (including E-bikes), • Expert training programme, including nutrition fundamentals, • 28 days annual leave, • Flexible pension plan, • Fun, dynamic, high-energy work environment, • Clear career progression opportunities as we scale to 30 sites, • Opportunities to represent Heliix at wellness events and industry activations About the Role As Café Manager, you are the driving force of Heliix: overseeing all day-to-day operations, leading and developing your team, maintaining exceptional service standards, and championing our wellness-focused mission. This is an active, site-based leadership role - you'll be on the floor, not behind a desk. You will run the café with full operational and financial accountability, including P&L management, optimisation of sales, and ensuring exceptional quality across all food, beverage, and wellness-focused offerings. You will also play a key role in implementing nutrition-led initiatives, sustainability projects, and innovative wellness activations across the club. You report directly to the Operations Manager and act as a brand ambassador, living and breathing the Heliix values of nutrition, performance, and wellbeing. Key Responsibilities Team Leadership & Culture • Lead and inspire Café Assistants and Supervisors, • Train team on nutrition basics, dietary requirements, allergens and wellness-focused service, • Create efficient rotas for peak periods (breakfast, lunch, post-workout), • Conduct 1-to-1s, probation reviews, and ongoing development, • Full responsibility (with guidance and support) for café P&L, margins, wage control, and budgets, • Analyse daily/weekly/monthly performance, • Implement upsell strategies focusing on premium wellness products and supplements, • Manage daily café operations including smoothies, meals and specialty coffee, • Ensure food safety, hygiene and H&S compliance, • Maintain strict allergen procedures and nutritional accuracy on advertised products, • Oversee equipment maintenance and cleanliness standards, • Ensure 100% completion of weekly operational KPIs (Food Alert), • Execute deep cleans every six weeks, • Provide a welcoming, educational and wellness-driven experience for Equinox members, • Offer nutritional guidance and product recommendations, • Resolve member concerns within 24 hours, • Build personal connections with regular members and support their wellness goals, • Act as a wellness brand ambassador for Heliix, • Support social media content creation, • Champion sustainability through waste reduction and eco-friendly practices Essential Requirements We're looking for someone with 2+ years of management experience in premium hospitality environments (think high-end coffee shops, wellness cafés, boutique restaurants, or luxury hotel F&B - Soho House level quality and service). Essential: You must be genuinely passionate about fitness and wellness. This isn't negotiable. You live this lifestyle and understand our customers because you ARE our customer. • 2-3+ years hospitality experience in premium/high-end environments, • 2+ years management experience with proven P&L accountability, • Genuine passion for fitness, wellness and healthy living - you live this lifestyle, • Strong financial acumen and commercial awareness, • Food Safety certification (Level 2 minimum), • Excellent leadership, communication and customer experience skills, • Proficient with POS and stock management systems, • Ability to work early mornings, evenings and weekends, • Entrepreneurial mindset - proactive, solution-focused, "whatever it takes" mentality, • Calm under pressure, highly motivated, exceptional attention to detail Work Schedule This is an active, site-based role with variable hours, including early starts and evenings. Weekend availability is essential. You'll be on the floor leading your team, not desk-bound. Ready to Join Us? If you're ready to lead London's most wellness-focused café inside the iconic Equinox clubs, and you want to grow with a rapidly scaling business that's going places, we'd love to hear from you. Please submit your CV and a brief cover note (250 words max) explaining: • Why you're passionate about wellness and how this shows up in your lifestyle, • Your most significant achievement in hospitality management, • What excites you about joining a high-growth, entrepreneurial business