Bar & Event Supervisor
We are looking to hire Bar & Events Supervisors to support the Exchange Team with delivering bar and catering services at events, to oversee the delivery of space hire, and act as hosts and facilitators for workshops and events organised for our Community Programme. Overall, this role is responsible for delivering reliable, high‑quality operational support across hospitality and events, contributing to the smooth functioning of Exchange and the wider Somerset House programme. In addition, you will provide essential support in event delivery, ensuring spaces are prepared to specification, rooms are set up and prepared for clients, AV requirements are met and facilitators, hirers, and guests receive appropriate on‑site support.
Key Responsibilities
Event & bar supervision:
- Manage and oversee bar and occasionally catering service at community and public facing events ensuring clients’ expectations and sales targets are met
- Supervising team during events, including pre-event briefing, delegation of tasks, assigning breaks and ensuring break cover
- Manage event bar set-up, take-down, and cleaning tasks which will include manual handling
- Management of stock, storage and delivery arrangements
- Managing event schedule, liaising with event stakeholders and clients, and responding to any issues or queries that may arise
- Responsible for ensuring the licensing and H&S regulations, and internal policies and procedures are in place and adhered to at all time
- Supervise space hire, act as the main point of contact during bookings, and ensure client satisfaction is met
- Occasionally act as a host and facilitator of workshops and community events
- Have a strong understanding of all the roles on the team and be ready to step in to cover them during breaks or busier periods. i.e Barista Duties and Bartending Duties
General Duties
- Create an inclusive environment internally and externally
- Act as a point of contact for attendees' questions and requests
- Proactively look to address any challenges that may arise and seek to optimise operations
Skills and Experience
Experience:
- Experience in supervising café and bar operations and administration, including bar and catering services at events, and pop-up bars
- Experience managing teams
- Experience in successfully managing and delivering events, ideally in creative / arts organisations / communities with procedural and process development capacity
- Experience in overseeing bookings of spaces (e.g. for photo shoots, meetings, talks, workshops)
- Experience in working with artists and creative communities
Skills:
- Excellent communication skills and a people-oriented person
- Proactive can-do attitude, flexible and adaptable to change
- Up to date knowledge of Health & Safety, First Aid, licensing, and general rules and regulations for café/bar service
- Confidence in managing event teams and making well-informed decisions in a fast-paced environment
- Confidence in engaging with events attendees and leading activities
- Ability to work independently, prioritise own workload, multi-task, and deliver to deadlines
Desirable:
- Cocktail bartending skills & Cocktail curation skills
- Barista skills
- AV/Sound Engineering skills
- Workshop facilitation skills
Benefits
Mental Health & Wellbeing
- Access to our external Employee Assistance Programme (CiC) for free 24/7 confidential advice and support, including up to 6 free counselling sessions per year where needed
Pension
- 3% employer 5% employee pension contributions *as long as criteria is met
Discounts, offers and free stuff!
- The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites
- Discount to local leisure centres
About Somerset House Trust
Somerset House hosts the UK’s largest and most exciting creative community right in the heart of London, and are always looking for new talent to join our team. We welcome 3 million annual visitors to share our unique combination of cultural events, the creative industries and history. This mix informs and powers our programme and organisational culture, making us a singular, compelling and inclusive place to visit and work.
Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging
Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging
here. We are working hard to ensure our people, our onsite community and our sector reflect, represent and include all of society.Our Commitment to Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging:
Somerset House is open to all, and we value everyone's unique skills. Somerset House Trust is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to championing equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. We are committed to equal opportunity and encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.
Where candidates are equally qualified, we will seek to prioritise diversity to help us increase representation across the creative economy and the Trust.
We anonymise all job applications to help avoid
We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email people.team@somersethouse.org.uk.
The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.
Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.
In your application, we want to hear from you in your own voice about your skills, experience, and how you align with the job expectations and desire to work at Somerset House Trust. All applications are reviewed by members of our team.
We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email people.team@somersethouse.org.uk.
The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.
Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.
And finally.... the use of AI in your applicationIn your application, we want to hear from you in your own voice about your skills, experience, and how you align with the job expectations and desire to work at Somerset House Trust. All applications are reviewed by members of our team.
While we recognise that AI tools can be helpful for tasks such as research, structuring, or formatting, applications that rely heavily on AI‑generated content can sometimes lack the depth, authenticity, and the individuality we are looking for, and may not be progressed. We therefore encourage you to use any tools thoughtfully and to ensure your application clearly reflects your personal experience, perspective, and voice.