Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Vacancy: Café Supervisor, Threehills Community Supermarket & Cafe, Good Food Scotland 

• Location: Threehills Community Supermarket & Cafe, 409B Nitshill Rd, Glasgow G53 7BN 
• Hours: 22.5 hours per week, worked over 3-4 days, including weekends (likely Wed-Sat) 
• Salary: £25-27,500 pro rata, dependent on experience 
• Contract: 12 months (anticipated to extend dependent on funding) 
• Start date: May/June 2025 (as soon as possible) 
• Annual leave: 25 days pro rata 
• Closing date for applications: 6pm 11th May 2025 
• Interviews: week beginning 19th May 2025 
• Reporting to: Threehills General Manager 

Please note this role is being advertised alongside a Community Chef. These two roles will work together closely to manage the Cafe & Kitchen (with support from a team of volunteers!). If you have experience relevant to both of these roles, it would be very advantageous. Please make it clear in your application which role you are applying for or if you would be interested in either/both. 

This role is generously funded by The National Lottery. 

Background 

Good Food Scotland is on a mission to end hunger in Scotland. In October 2024 we opened the Threehills Community Supermarket, which includes an affordable shopping area, a community café area and a community advice hub. It provides immediate financial relief for households on low incomes by improving access to affordable, nutritious food, while addressing some of the underlying issues which may have left them vulnerable to hunger and food insecurity. This is a flagship store and the first purpose-built community food hub in Scotland. 

About the role 

The Community Cafe is a brand new project and we’re looking for two or three people to launch and run this project between them, one Cafe Supervisor and one or two Lead Community Chefs. 

The Café Supervisor is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the café, which sits at the entrance of the Threehills store in the Nitshill area of Greater Pollok. The ideal Cafe Supervisor would be passionate about coffee and good food, an experienced barista with previous experience working in speciality coffee, as well as proven experience managing a shop including supporting and supervising other staff and/or volunteers. The role involves creating a warm and welcoming environment for those visiting the cafe and the store as a whole, as well as being a strong leader, training and supporting a team of volunteers to assist with the day-to-day running. Proven experience in customer service, food and drink preparation and a commitment to outstanding food hygiene and safety standards are a must, alongside the ability to manage inventory, supervise the cafe finances, keeping sound records and reporting sales figures regularly to the Threehills Manager. We are looking for someone who is passionate about creating an exceptional customer experience for the Greater Pollok community and is driven by building and fostering a positive community spirit in the space. We anticipate the Café being a high paced environment so you must be experienced in managing busy work environments and teams. 

The Cafe Supervisor will work closely with the Threehills General Manager and the Community Chef(s) to develop the cafe project, meaning that this role offers a lot of creative freedom to the successful candidate to really make the cafe project their own. This is a fantastic and unique opportunity for the successful candidate to take over a brand-new, custom-built cafe at the heart of the Threehills project, with huge scope to make it their own and to develop and nurture it into a thriving enterprise. 

Since this post involves working with volunteers, this post is subject to a Disclosure check and 2 reference checks. 

We would highly encourage applications from local residents with knowledge of the Greater Pollok area, and from under-represented communities, particularly minority ethnic communities. 

Main responsibilities: 

• Operations management & customer service 
  • Overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Cafe including full responsibility for opening and closing procedures. Ensuring an exceptional customer-centric experience, greeting customers, addressing their needs and concerns, taking orders. 
  • Preparing high quality speciality coffees, hot drinks and food dishes 
  • Stock management: ensuring the café is kept clean, organised, and well-stocked with sufficient supplies. Making orders to suppliers as needed and reaching out to new suppliers as required. 
  • Working closely with the Community Chef to develop a menu appropriate to a wide range of cultures and dietary needs. 
  • Taking cash and card payments, and managing use of POS system, including adding new items to till and implementing strategies to enhance customer satisfaction. 
  • Monitoring and ensuring compliance with health and safety standards and regulations, supervising a daily cleaning schedule. 
• Volunteer Management 
  • Supervising, training and motivating a team of volunteers to provide exceptional customer service, and prepare and serve high-quality hot drinks and food 
  • Supporting volunteers effectively to support skills development, role satisfaction and confidence 
  • Leading by example, demonstrating strong work ethic and commitment to good practice and fostering a positive and collaborative work environment 
  • Assisting with the recruitment and training of volunteers alongside the Threehills Manager 
  • Managing the volunteer rota for the Café, including arranging cover if needed 
• Financial Management 
  • Responsibility of cash-up procedures at beginning and end of shifts, and supervising any qualified volunteers with these tasks 
  • Decision-making on pricing across Cafe menu to ensure financial sustainability while still offering a bargain to customers 
  • Monitoring and managing the finances of the Café & Kitchen to ensure we remain within budget 
  • Analysing sales data and financial reports, providing regular feedback to the Manager to identify areas for development or improvement 
• Attending GFS staff meetings and adhering to all GFS policies and procedures 

Other duties: 

• Assist with marketing the Café on social media, including taking photos and communicating local events of relevance 
• Any other relevant duties as appropriate 

Person specification 

Essential 

• Demonstrate a commitment to and enthusiasm for the aims, objectives and ethos of Threehills 
• Driven to achieve exceptional standards of customer service, self-motivated and able to manage teams under pressure and in a demanding environment 
• Experience and/or strong interest in preparing high-quality coffees (ideally you already have some knowledge and skills in coffee extraction and latte art, although training will be provided) 
• Management or supervision of staff and/or volunteers 
• Experience preparing and supervising preparation of food and beverages to a high standard 
• Experience leading on implementing and documenting great food hygiene and food safety procedures 
• Customer-oriented attitude: friendly, approachable and personable manner, strong interpersonal and communication skills, ability to provide exceptional customer service and lead a team to create a positive customer experience 
• Outstanding teamworking skills: collaborating closely with the Community Chef is essential to this role 
• POS and I.T literacy skills (to manage POS system and monitor and manage budgets) 
• Organised and reliable approach 
• Excellent English communication skills 
• Up-to-date Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate or be willing to work towards one within the first month of employment. 

Desirable 

• Experience working in kitchens preparing food to order 
• Experience and/or interest in community development, particularly community food 
• Experience working within the third sector 
• Familiarity with speciality coffee brewing and espresso methods 
• Experience designing and updating a café menu 
• Experience supporting volunteers with a wide variety of abilities and backgrounds e.g. those with disabilities, learning difficulties, neurodivergent people and for whom English isn’t a first language 
• Skills in minority languages spoken within the Greater Pollok community (e.g. Arabic, Punjabi, Urdu) 

Job benefits: 

• Staff discount at Threehills Supermarket and Cafe, and other GFS locations 
• NEST pension contributions 
• Free lunch and coffees on shift 

Application information

Please email heather@threehillsglasgow.org before 6PM on 11th May 2025 with a copy of: 

• your CV (max two A4 pages) and 

• a cover letter (max one A4 page) OR a short video (max 3 minutes) explaining how you fit the essential and desirable criteria and why you’d like to join the Threehills team. 

• details of 2 people we can contact for a reference. 

Please also fill out the Equalities and Diversity monitoring form here. 

If you have any questions about the role or have any access needs please contact Heather at heather@threehillsglasgow.org. Note Heather is on holiday from 2nd-11th May (the application deadline). If you have any questions please ensure you get in touch well in advance of 2nd May so there is time to get back to you. 

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs