Role Backstage Front of House Crew - Cocktail Bartender

Department/Team Backstage F&B

Contract Permanent

Hours Full Time or Part time contracts available, with a minimum of 2 days per week (although a job share may be considered)

Hours scheduled on a shift basis across Monday-Sunday (Monday to Saturday initially, but we may open on Sundays as the operation develops), between the hours of 7.30am and 3am (1am initially, while assessing demand)

Shift lengths will be between 5-9 hours

Location Backstage, The Old Vic, The Cut, London, SE1 8NB

Salary £14.00 per hour, plus Tronc

Responsible to Deputy Head of Food and Beverage Operations

Benefits

• 28 days holiday including bank holidays
• Access to interest free travel schemes including Cycle 2 work and Season Ticket loans after your probation period
• Free therapy from our therapy partner SelfSpace
• Mental health support via our in-house Mental Health Champions
• Two complimentary tickets to a preview performance per production
• Pension scheme with The People’s Pension
• Enhanced sick pay
• All staff social events
• Staff discount in Penny and The Old Vic bars as well as discounts in local bars and restaurants
• Opportunities to get involved with staff clubs and working groups such as the Inclusion Working Group
• Commitment to learning, education and development

The Team

The Backstage F&B team is responsible for all Food & Beverage related activity within Backstage and The Old Vic theatre itself. The team includes the Operations Director, Head of Food & Beverage Operations, Deputy Head of Food and Beverage Operations, Head Chef, Sous Chef, Chef de Parties, KPs, F&B Duty Managers, Front of House Crew (Bartenders, Baristas and Waiting staff).

Role summary

The Cocktail Bartender, is to provide exceptional bar service to customers of Backstage, including advance cocktail mixology as required.

This role is part of our Front of House Crew – working as part of this group will require you to work multi functionally across our bars and food service in Backstage to cover busy periods as required and colleague holiday etc. We’re looking for exceptional skill in one key area: Barista, Bartending or Waiting, and we’ll support your training in the other areas.

Areas of responsibility

Bartending

• Crafting memorable drinks with precision and creativity
• Upselling to customers when appropriate, including giving recommendation of wine and food parings, and matching drinks to customer tastes
• Maintaining a high level of energy and enthusiasm at all times
• Supporting management in developing and creating our cocktail menu
• Maintaining cleanliness and organization of the bar area, including tools, glassware, and stock
• Handling cash and card transactions accurately using Point One
• Monitoring inventory levels and assist with restocking and ordering supplies.
• Maintaining a high quality of beer service, including knowledge of cellar maintenance and keg changing, and quality control to reduce wastage

Customer Service

• Acting as an ambassador for the Backstage
• Actively engaging our customers, and building rapport, to deliver quality experiences
• Always delivering the highest possible level of customer service, ensuring a friendly, safe and secure environment in which the public can enjoy their visit to Backstage
• Receiving all comments, raised by the public and following them with by immediate action or passing on to the Deputy Head of Food and Beverage Operations to investigate

Teamwork

• Collaborating with team members to ensure smooth daily operations

• Acting as a welcoming and approachable point of contact for staff and venue guests

• Representing Backstage/The Old Vic values and mission to staff and guests

• Liaising with Backstage and building management in the event of emergency evacuation

• Ensuring all Health and Safety procedures are adhered toEnsuring the highest quality and consistency with all Food and Beverage processes, reporting any issues with delivering this immediately to senior management

• Assisting with table service whenever required, and during busy periods in particular

General

• Promoting and complying with current legislation and Backstage/The Old Vic policies on Diversity, Sustainability, Culture and Health & Safety - both in the delivery of services and the treatment of others
• Assisting the Backstage F&B team in relation to continuous improvement within the venue
• Undertaking any other reasonable duties, commensurate with the level of the post to ensure the smooth running of Backstage

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and Backstage management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The post holder must be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential

• Previous experience as a Cocktail bartender
• An advanced cocktail mixologist
• Excellent knowledge of wines, spirits and beers and ability to talk enthusiastically to customers about the offering

• Exemplary communication skills

• A proven ability to provide a high level of customer service in an often fast-paced environment
• Ability to multitask effectively
• Flexibility to work mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Ability to perform manual handling tasks (e.g. lifting trays, dishes, stock and other items as required)
• Knowledge of food hygiene and safety standards (e.g. allergen awareness and Food Safety Level 2)
• Knowledge of and ability to uphold licencing law, including challenge 25
• Highly motivated with a positive and flexible approach to work and ability to adapt quickly to new information and procedures
• A proven ability to work as both part of a team and independently
• Well organised

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you (have a look at the person specification in the job description).
• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 3. Completing our application form.
• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

As a Disability Confident employer, The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview. However in the event that we have a high volume of applications all of whom meet the criteria and identify as disabled, meaning it is not practicable to interview everyone, we may apply a weighting to the shortlisting criteria, or add an additional shortlisting stage before any interviews take place. In all cases we will take care to ensure that any criteria or weightings do not disadvantage disabled applicants.

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK. 

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be two stages:

• 1st stage virtual/in person conversation
• 2nd stage virtual/in person conversation
• You will be asked to complete a work based skills assessment or challenge 

The closing date for this role is 15 September 2025. Conversations are likely to take place w/c 15 September 2025.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs. 

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.