Hospitality Manager at Ikigai

Who we are looking for

• The Hospitality Manager’s main role is to oversee Ikigai’s daily hospitality and member experience operations to deliver an outstanding member experience and journey with the Ikigai brand. You will work closely with the CEO, COO, Sales & Business Development Manager, Location Leads and the Events & Marketing Lead to develop a community-focused, healthy, professional, and hospitable environment for our members and their guests.
• You are the right person if you enjoy making someone’s day fantastic by creating an outstanding experience or interaction. You’re energized by people and work well in a team. You are a problem solver! You thrive in a busy environment where you meet all your deadlines with ease and excellence. You are super organized, multitask better than anyone, handle numerous moving parts, and prioritize like a genius. You’re compassionate, empathetic, and a great communicator and listener. You know growth only comes from embracing challenging and unpredictable days. You’re willing to get your hands dirty one minute and think big picture the next. You think about the customer in everything you do and provide incredible customer service at a moment’s notice. You. Love. People.

Goals and objectives

• This role is a healthy mix of customer experience management, food & beverage management and people management. Everything you do will be in the interest of creating and sustaining an authentic and thriving community and business. Everything.
• Emulate Ikigai’s core values and strive to achieve our mission
• Lead the hospitality team to create and achieve the following:
• A welcoming, vibrant and collaborative community environment amongst our members
• A sense of belonging in the member community
• An outstanding and memorable member and guest experience across locations, and positive brand association
• An outstanding level of customer service
• A high level of customer satisfaction and above-industry average retention

Key responsibilities

Customer Experience Management 

• Creating an outstanding member experience and thoughtfully crafted member journey across locations that facilitates and promotes a happy, healthy, cohesive and vibrant community.
• Ensure the customer experience aligns with the Ikigai culture
• Create, document and maintain hospitality and customer service standards for the organization that go above and beyond customer expectations, and drive sales and customer retention
• Develop and implement innovative programs and initiatives designed to build a thriving member community, encourage member connections, and create a strong connection to the Ikigai brand
• Design, implement and maintain a member onboarding program to create a sense of belonging, and an understanding of Ikigai’s brand, products and services, culture, community for new members
• Develop and maintain a customer experience feedback system for the organization to ensure the experiences are understood and the customer needs met
• Remain attentive to members’ and guests’ needs and wishes, taking advantage of opportunities to optimize the Ikigai experience
• Ensure all customer feedback is collected and dealt with in a personal, timely, and professional manner and customer-oriented responses are issued
• Monitor and evaluate industry hospitality trends, innovations and drivers
• Develop key customer experience metrics and meet regularly with management team to report, effectively keeping them abreast of customer experience progress towards business strategy and objectives
• Coordinate closely with the Facilities & Projects department to ensure Ikigai location facilities meet the needs of customers, are aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, promote productivity and enhance and support the customer experience
• Enhance conferencing experience & offerings for members & non-members
• Provide support and thought partnership for member events, ensuring that the events enhance member experience goals
• Collaborate with marketing and sales teams to advise on customer needs, and insights to drive sales, and promote customer experience initiatives
• Prepare and present budgets, expense reports, and performance reports during management meetings
• Use technology to drive innovations that create unimaginable customer experiences that go above and beyond expectations

Food & Beverage Management 

• Creating a member-centred experience at Roasted Truth (RT) cafes across locations as a value-add member offering and customer experience avenue for the organization.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of RT, including direct supervision of RT team
• Ensure adherence to relevant legal, health & safety regulations & guidelines
• Develop, nurture and coordinate food partnerships across locations
• Drive RT sales through maintaining high café standards, improved speed of service, offerings, and a welcoming environmen
• Ensure café aesthetic standards are maintained and the furniture and fittings are in good working condition in coordination with Facilities & Projects department for repair and maintenance needs
• Collect customer feedback for improved member experience at RT
• Coordinate with Finance and Facilities & Projects teams on inventory management, accounting, and sales data for efficient running of the café
• Work with the finance team to periodically review & set pricing for the cafe
• Lead monthly RT meeting to discuss business performance, share customer feedback, deliver short hospitality trainings, and create a sense of togetherness and teamwork
• Organize training for baristas for skills maintenance and development
• Participate in financial target setting, develop budgets and track/approve expenditure, and report during management meetings
• Develop and present monthly reports on RT operations and performance, insights and challenges and accomplishments to management

Wellness 

• Creating a culture where the member and staff experience focuses on every individual as a whole person, promoting their wellness, and boosting wellbeing, productivity, creativity, engagement and health.
• Develop wellness strategy to be included in the overall company strategy
• Infuse the 8 dimensions of wellness across the customer and staff experience
• Develop and implement wellness programs to enhance wellbeing of members and Ikigai team, including working with external wellness vendors
• Develop team trainings and workshops on wellness programs to ensure wellness is integrated in the company’s workplace culture
• Develop network of wellness champions across the organization to build and promote wellness culture
• Work with Events and Marketing department to develop promotional materials and marketing plans for the wellness programs and events that align with Ikigai’s brand with our wellness focus
• Assess performance of wellness programs through identifying wellness metrics and report on wellness at management meeting
• Work with Facilities & Projects department to ensure physical locations maintain wellness spaces such as prayer & mothers' rooms, exercise spaces
• Work with the Facilities team on sustainability projects that promote wellbeing in the workplace
• Monitor & evaluate industry best practice and trends in the wellness space

People Management 

• Oversee recruitment, onboarding, management, coaching, and performance management of the hospitality team.
• Coordinate & conduct hospitality training for teams across the organization
• Attend and lead internal and external meetings including:
  • Monthly business performance reviews and reporting on performance of the department
  • Weekly department meetings
  • Organization strategy meetings
• Plan, organize, and manage the daily operations of the hospitality team to ensure efficiency and required level of customer service
• Create and maintain the staff attendance/leave rota for hospitality team, taking into consideration team absences

Education and experience

• Education | Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business management, office administration, or a related field preferred but not required

Experience and requirements

• 5+ years' experience working in the hospitality industry
• Knowledge of the best practices and procedures for customer service and hospitality management
• Hotel, food and beverage or events experience a plus
• Ability to resolve conflict in a calm, objective, and professional manner
• Knowledge of coworking space operations a plus
• Knowledge of quality standards (e.g. ISO)
• Excellent managerial skills and the ability to lead, motivate, and communicate with staff members
• Understands of the importance of networks, human interactions, and experiences and how they come together to build a community
• A quick learner and self-starter that works well in a fast-paced environment
• An individual that doesn’t just show up to work at the office, but owns their role, and is invested in the experiences of the customers
• Collaborative and engaging, likes to work in a team, but also independent and gets the job done, no matter what is require
• Adaptable and innovative, owning mistakes and moving on
• Possesses interest & experience in health & wellness programs and initiatives

Essential Skills and competencies

• Passion and understanding for Ikigai’s mission and values
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Exceptional organizational and multitasking skills
• Highly detail-oriented
• Strong work ethic
• Demonstrates integrity, dependability, responsibility, accountability, self-awareness, work ethic, empathy, compassion and professionalism
• Creative problem-solving skills
• Ability to work in a dynamic, fast-moving environment
• Passion for entrepreneurial communities
• Proficient in computer skills
• Strong networking skills and experience building professional networks
• Strong presentation skills