Do you want to manage and develop a unique, established independent travellers' hostel in the stunning town of West Yorkshire’s Hebden Bridge? IOU is looking for a highly experienced and motivated self-starter that will take on all aspects of managing the business. We are looking for extensive hospitality experience, innovative digital marketing skills, rigorous financial management, experience in personnel and volunteer management, enthusiastic event and project management skills, and a passion for creative thinking.

Hebden Bridge Hostel Manager: Job Description 

Responsible for: Temporary staff and volunteers 

Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week, Mon - Sun 

Live In or Out

Salary: £25k-£28K 

Location: Hebden Bridge Hostel, HX7 8DG

For more info visit: ioutheatre.org

Background 

The Hebden Bridge Hostel is an established, independent, rural travellers’ hostel and a new and unique venture for IOU, a producing arts organisation based in West Yorkshire. It plans to harness the creative talents of IOU’s artistic practitioners; welcoming customers and audiences locally, nationally and internationally to engage in a new visitor offer.

IOU is a leading producer of interdisciplinary, site-specific contemporary art and has been based in Calderdale and the South Pennines for 45 years. Our mission is to make original innovative productions, support and develop artists and engage local communities and public audiences.  We take inspiration from the culture, landscape and industrial past of our home in Calderdale and the South Pennines Park, combining making skills and emerging technology.

IOU is a company limited by guarantee (Company No 1303657) and is a registered charity (no.273527), IOU is an equal opportunities employer. The Hostel will be a subsidiary of IOU. 

Hebden Bridge Hostel is an old former school house attached to the Birchcliffe Centre managed by Pennine Heritage. A real rural retreat with 33 beds and 10 bedrooms ranging from two beds to a six-bed bunk room. All bedrooms currently have ensuite facilities. The hostel has a self-catering kitchen, 2 lounge areas, and a garden. Nestled into woodland only a short walk from the town centre, the hostel makes the perfect base for hiking, sight-seeing, relaxing or experiencing Hebden Bridge's vibrant café, music, arts & culture scene. Less than 500m from the Hebden Bridge Loop on the Pennine Way, the Calderdale Way, Hardcastle Crags, Route 66, Mary Townley and Le Tour 2014 cycle route. 

A new hostel website will be launched in January 2022. 

The role is a perfect opportunity to make this business your own and embed it locally as an asset for the community. We want the manager to steer the hostel through a step change, where tourists, visitors and independent travellers are as welcome as community interest groups, with IOU’s design aesthetic and a creative approach a key part of the offer. We intend to expand the retreat market centred around health and well being to also include the creative industries, with making workshops for artists and customers.

 In the short term, the hostel will be managed in a similar way to its existing offer and in the medium term, we intend to fundraise to secure development funding that will make the hostel more accessible, refurbish the rooms, bring the outdoors in and utilise the gardens and woodlands. There is massive potential for the prospective role. 

Job Description 

The Hostel Manager will be responsible for advising on and implementing the day to day strategy for running the hostel. This includes customer care and compliance, supervising booking systems, staff management and rotas, ensuring smooth operations including laundry and deliveries, and marketing to increase bookings and make it a great success. 

You will be working with and advising the senior management team at IOU to get the Hostel re-opened and up and running. You will be responsible for all day-to-day activities related to managing the Hostel.  Through operational excellence you will ensure all guests leave satisfied and happy, having had the best experience possible staying at the Hostel. 

In line with IOU strategy, our top priority is to ensure that the Hostel is for everyone. To fully realise this ambition, we need a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve.

Responsibilities

• The day-to-day operational management of Hebden Bridge Hostel undertaking any tasks required, e.g. housekeeping, reception, food and beverage duties to ensure the customer experience is outstanding

• To be the host and face of the hostel  

• Manage catering, kitchen and compliance requirements including H&S and environmental checks

• Development and implementation of procedures, ensuring compliance with legislative and company requirements, particularly those concerned with health and safety and security of the building 

• Lead on the development and maintain positive relationships with the all stakeholders including landlord, new business contacts, potential funders and the arts and business communities 

• To lead on marketing the hostel, through website content management, social media, relationship and network development

• To build a loyal happy team of volunteers and temporary staff that share our values

• To lead on training, development and supervision of temporary staff and volunteers 

• Ensuring bed nights are booked and all targets are reached 

• All administrative tasks that are associated with the running of the Hostel including rigorous financial control with excel income and expenditure budgets or similar

• The achievement of targets across all aspects of the hostel's operation, including group bookings, food and beverage, ancillary programmes to maximise revenue whilst, at the same time, controlling expenditure.

• Creating and managing all staffing rotas 

• Main key holder and on-call

Person Specification

For the role of Hostel Manager at Hebden Bridge, you should have:

• Proven successful experience of working within the hospitality industry

• Proven successful experience in managing volunteers and staff

• Knowledge and understanding of the requirements for the effective safeguarding of vulnerable guests

• Knowledge and understanding of regulatory compliance

• Experience in managing a website and delivering digital social media content for marketing purposes

• Excellent customer service skills, including experience of handling difficult situations

• Proven ability to manage varying pressure, including peaks in workload demands

• Experience in managing money both digitally and cash

• Experience in rigorous financial control and budget management

Application Requirements

• A cover letter that responds to the job description and person specification in this pack and why the post is of interest to you
  
  

• A CV

• Deadline for submission of applications: 10am on Monday 13 December 2021

• Interviews will be held on: Thursday 16 December 2021

• Start Date January 2022 (negotiable)

We would also be grateful if you could complete the following anonymous Monitoring & Diversity form HERE. This helps us assess if our recruitment process is reaching a diverse pool of potential employees.

IOU promotes equality and diversity in the workplace. This includes not discriminating under the Equality Act 2010 and building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce in encouraging equality and diversity. 

In compliance with the Data Protection Act, IOU will treat all information contained within this form is confidential. The information you provide is for monitoring purposes only and will stay confidential, anonymous and be stored securely.