Balliol College: Job Description

Job Title:Head Butler

Department:Balliol College Catering

Responsible to:Domestic Bursar via the Conference and Events Manager

Salary: Grade 4 £19,000 to £25,000 dependent on experience.

Benefits: Leave is currently linked to the College closure period and is 25 days plus Bank Holidays. Free meal on duty when the College kitchens are open. Eligibility to join the generous Oxford University Staff Pension Scheme, which is a contributory final salary scheme. Bus pass scheme.

Responsible for:Personnel - all front of house staff, Senior Common Room, Hall, Old Common Room, and Master’s Lodgings.

Equipment - All front of house equipment fixed and moveable,

Silverware, cutlery, crockery, and glassware

Lateral Communication:

Head Chef; Conference and Event Manager; Hall Supervisor; Buttery Manager; Head Kitchen Porter; Clerk of Works; Assistant Clerk of Works; Second Butler.

Main Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Domestic Bursar, the Head Butler will be responsible for the delivery and monitoring of the service of all meals, being in attendance at College Functions, Senior Common Room Guest Nights, Consilium Dinners, Concert Nights, and large Conference Dinners to ensure an efficient and friendly service is provided.

He/she will act as a first point of contact for College Fellows therefore must be customer focused as well as service orientated with a hands on approach, and have good interpersonal communication skills.

The general duties include, but are not restricted to:

  1. Responsibility for the service of meals, wines and drinks in the Hall, the SCR, the OCR, and in the Master’s Lodgings.
  2. To ensure that dining rooms, function rooms, and pantry areas are clean and presentable ready for service, set up in accordance with the function requirements.
  3. Supervision of the cleaning and maintenance of the SCR rooms and silver. Reporting maintenance defects to the Clerk of Works and progressing these requests.
  4. Ensuring staff look after the newspapers and periodicals in the Fellows Lounge; see that old newspapers are taken for recycling.
  5. Ensuring staff collect and exchange laundry, clear and wipe tables, display menus, sign on sheets, and all other required signs.
  6. Liaison with the kitchen with regard to menus.
  7. Overseeing the preparation of items ready for service, such as the appropriate sauces, and see that food is well presented in the proper manner.
  8. Liaison with the Steward of Common Room about the rules of the SCR seeking guidance on matters of precedent relating to the use and rules of the SCR.
  1. In conjunction with the Steward of Common Room the production of seating plans and place cards.
  2. The care and maintenance of College silver, in conjunction with the Bursar and Silver Member.
  3. Production of staff rotas.
  4. Control of labour and other variable costs seeing that they are maintained within agreed budget levels. Production of the weekly Timesheets.
  5. Training and re-training of staff and staff induction.
  6. As part of ensuring that health and Safety and Food hygiene regulations are followed, the Head Butler will undertake Risk Assessments, PPE lists, and COSHH Sheets
  7. Production of weekly meal numbers and battels sheets.
  8. Any other duties as required by the College.

Experience and personal/professional qualities:

The post holder should have experience of managing people and working in the service sector.

An ability to exercise tact and diplomacy are essential in this post as are good communication skills.

The Butler needs to be able to work under pressure, cope with the unexpected and be adaptable enough to make last minute changes to plans and must be computer literate.