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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for FOH Manager

💰 $ - $

HospitalityRestaurantManagement

🎯 Role Definition

The FOH (Front of House) Manager is the primary leader of guest-facing operations in restaurants, bars, cafés, and hospitality venues. This role is responsible for delivering exceptional guest experiences, leading, training and scheduling front-of-house staff, driving sales and upsell initiatives, maintaining service standards, ensuring compliance with health and safety and liquor laws, managing cash and POS operations, and collaborating closely with kitchen/back-of-house (BOH) teams and ownership to meet revenue and profitability targets. Ideal candidates combine hands-on floor management, strong interpersonal leadership, and operational rigor.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Lead Server / Head Server
  • Bartender or Bar Supervisor
  • Assistant Front of House Manager / Shift Supervisor

Advancement To:

  • General Manager
  • Area / Multi-Unit Manager
  • Director of Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Events & Catering Manager
  • Guest Experience Manager
  • Training & Development Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and manage all front-of-house operations during assigned shifts, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery, timely seating and turnover, and a welcoming guest environment that aligns with brand standards and operational KPIs.
  • Create, publish and maintain staff schedules using labor-management tools to optimize coverage, control labor costs versus forecast, and ensure legal compliance with break and overtime regulations.
  • Recruit, interview and onboard front-of-house staff; plan and deliver structured training programs (service standards, POS procedures, upselling techniques, health and safety) to reduce ramp-up time and maintain a high-performing team.
  • Coach, mentor and conduct regular performance reviews with servers, hosts, bartenders and bussers to improve service quality, increase average check, and promote staff retention and internal career progression.
  • Monitor and analyze daily revenue, covers, average check, and other operational KPIs; prepare shift and weekly reports and implement action plans to meet or exceed sales and profitability targets.
  • Oversee point-of-sale (POS) operations and cash handling procedures, including opening/closing tills, reconciling cash drops, processing refunds/voids with appropriate approvals, and ensuring loss prevention protocols are followed.
  • Resolve guest complaints and critical service issues in real time with diplomacy and ownership, turning dissatisfied guests into repeat customers while collecting actionable feedback for continuous improvement.
  • Implement and enforce front-of-house health, sanitation and safety standards, including food safety protocols, cleanliness checklists, and coordination with BOH for cross-contamination prevention and allergen management.
  • Maintain beverage and front-of-house inventory controls—ordering, receiving and reconciling supplies (glassware, napkins, to-go containers, POS consumables), as well as working with bar managers on liquor inventory, par levels and variance analysis.
  • Collaborate closely with the kitchen/BOH management to manage covers, service timing, menu changes, daily specials and station readiness to ensure smooth service flow and consistent food quality.
  • Drive upsell, suggestive selling and menu knowledge initiatives to increase average spend per guest through staff training, scripting and incentive programs.
  • Manage reservations, waitlists and table management systems (including hosted platforms) to maximize covers and minimize wait times during peak periods while preserving guest experience.
  • Conduct regular walk-throughs and mystery-shop style audits to verify adherence to service standards, cleanliness, uniform policies and operational checklists.
  • Execute opening and closing procedures, including side work, cleaning, securing premises and completing closing paperwork to ensure operational readiness and security.
  • Coordinate with the Purchasing/GM on vendor relations, supply chain logistics, and cost control strategies—negotiating pricing, managing deliveries and resolving invoice discrepancies.
  • Enforce compliance with local liquor licensing laws, ID verification protocols and responsible beverage service practices; manage incident logs and report violations as required.
  • Administer payroll inputs for front-of-house team members (timecards, tips reports, shift differentials), working with payroll systems to ensure accuracy and timely processing.
  • Lead and support event nights, private bookings and large-party logistics including pre-event planning, staffing, floor plans, run-of-show coordination and post-event billing.
  • Implement guest loyalty and CRM activities for front-of-house including collecting feedback, managing complaints via digital channels, and working with marketing on promotions and local partnerships.
  • Analyze shift-level P&L drivers such as labor efficiency, food and beverage waste, and revenue per labor hour; recommend and implement corrective actions to drive margin improvements.
  • Support cross-functional initiatives such as menu rollouts, seasonal promotions, and corporate directives—ensuring FOH adoption through communication plans and team training.
  • Maintain up-to-date operational documentation (SOPs, opening/closing checklists, emergency procedures) and conduct periodic training refreshers to keep the team aligned on standards and expectations.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests for owner/operators and corporate teams, providing shift summaries, incident reports, and guest feedback analysis.
  • Contribute to local recruitment campaigns, employer branding efforts, and community outreach to attract talent and boost foot traffic.
  • Participate in weekly management meetings to review KPIs, forecast staffing needs, and plan promotional and merchandising activities.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency with restaurant POS systems (e.g., Toast, Lightspeed, Micros, Clover) including back-of-house reporting and cashier reconciliation.
  • Strong labor management and scheduling experience with tools like 7shifts, HotSchedules, Deputy or Homebase to optimize labor costs and compliance.
  • Cash handling, end-of-day reconciliation, and basic accounting understanding for daily sales reconciliation and deposits.
  • Inventory management and ordering experience for food, beverage and FOH supplies; comfortable performing cycle counts and variance analysis.
  • Familiarity with health department regulations and food safety certification (ServSafe, Food Handler) and knowledge of local liquor licensing rules and responsible service training (e.g., TIPS).
  • Ability to read and interpret P&L statements, labor reports and KPI dashboards to make data-driven operational decisions.
  • Competency with Microsoft Office or Google Workspace (Excel/Sheets for simple forecasting and reporting) and experience using reservation and CRM platforms (e.g., Resy, OpenTable).
  • Experience executing private events and group bookings, including contract terms, deposits, banquet orders and coordination with kitchen and event staff.
  • Knowledge of front-of-house merchandising, table management systems and guest loyalty program operations.
  • Experience with POS integrations (online ordering, delivery platforms, gift cards) and managing related settlements and reconciliations.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional guest-service orientation with demonstrated ability to de-escalate complaints and resolve issues with empathy and professionalism.
  • Clear, confident communication skills for directing teams, providing feedback, and interfacing with guests, owners and vendors.
  • Strong leadership and coaching capabilities to develop talent, build morale and maintain a consistent service culture.
  • Excellent time-management and multitasking under high-volume service conditions while maintaining attention to detail.
  • Problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to manage operational disruptions (staff shortages, supply issues, unexpected surges) effectively.
  • Sales-driven mindset with the ability to motivate teams to meet upsell targets and promotional objectives.
  • High level of emotional intelligence and conflict-resolution skills to handle interpersonal issues among staff and with guests.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced hospitality environments, with a focus on continuous improvement.
  • Team-player attitude with collaborative skills to work cross-functionally with BOH, marketing and ownership.
  • Coaching and training presence—capable of designing and delivering effective on-the-floor training sessions and SOP refreshers.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent (required).

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Business Administration, Culinary Arts, or a related field (preferred but not required).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Hospitality Management
  • Business Administration
  • Culinary Arts
  • Event Management
  • Restaurant Operations

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive front-of-house experience with at least 1–2 years in a supervisory or shift-lead role.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years of FOH management experience in full-service restaurants, bars, or upscale casual dining with demonstrated P&L, staff leadership, and event management responsibilities. Certifications such as ServSafe Manager, TIPS or equivalent are highly desirable.
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