BRIGHT PATCH CAFÉ

Café Manager

Position Description

Business

Bright Patch Café Pty Ltd

Location

Proserpine, Whitsundays, Queensland

Reports to

Owner/Director — Jameela Walker

Employment

Full-time or substantial part-time, by agreement

Review cycle

Probation reviews and annual position-description review

1. About Bright Patch Café

Bright Patch Café is an inclusive, family-focused community café where people can eat, play and thrive. The café brings hospitality, connection and accessibility together in a welcoming environment for children, families, local community members and visitors. Our approach values dignity, belonging, warmth, clear communication and genuine inclusion.

2. Position purpose

The Café Manager is the hands-on operational leader of Bright Patch Café. The role translates the Owner/Director’s direction into safe, consistent and financially responsible daily operations while supporting a respectful, accountable and well-coordinated team.

Core expectation: Create calm structure around the café’s people, service, systems and resources, while keeping the Owner appropriately informed and retaining decisions that belong to the Owner/Director.

3. Role outcomes

• Customers experience warm, timely, inclusive and consistent service.
• The café is safe, compliant, clean, organised and ready for trade each day.
• Staff understand their responsibilities, receive fair support and are held to clear standards.
• Labour, purchasing, stock, waste and discounts are actively managed within approved budgets.
• Operational information, passwords, records and business assets remain secure and accessible to the Owner.
• Emerging issues are identified early, documented accurately and escalated promptly.
• The Owner receives concise, reliable information for decisions without being pulled unnecessarily into every routine detail.

4. Key responsibilities

4.1 Daily café operations

• Coordinate opening, service and closing routines across front-of-house and kitchen operations.
• Allocate daily duties, monitor workflow and step into service during busy periods or unexpected absences.
• Maintain presentation, cleanliness, equipment care and customer-ready standards throughout trade.
• Ensure approved menus, recipes, portions, prices and service standards are followed consistently.
• Respond to customer feedback and resolve routine concerns respectfully within delegated limits.
• Coordinate approved functions, promotions and community activities without disrupting safe core operations.

4.2 Team leadership and culture

• Lead with calm, respectful and consistent communication, particularly during pressure or change.
• Provide clear shift expectations, task allocation, coaching, feedback and practical support.
• Promote a psychologically safe, inclusive and neurodiversity-affirming workplace while maintaining reasonable performance expectations.
• Monitor attendance, punctuality, conduct, breaks, fatigue and wellbeing risks; document and escalate concerns appropriately.
• Support recruitment, induction, training and probation reviews as directed by the Owner.
• Address conflict early and professionally; avoid gossip, favouritism, triangulation and public criticism of staff or the business.
• Maintain professional boundaries with staff, suppliers, customers and community contacts.

4.3 Rostering and labour control

• Prepare rosters within the approved labour budget, operating needs, employee availability and applicable workplace requirements.
• Use the approved rostering and timekeeping system; ensure changes, absences and approvals are recorded.
• Monitor actual labour against forecast trade and raise likely overspend before it occurs wherever practicable.
• Arrange lawful shift coverage and minimise avoidable overtime, split-shift pressure and unsafe understaffing.
• Verify timesheets accurately and submit them by the required payroll deadline; the Manager must never alter records to conceal actual hours worked.

4.4 Stock, suppliers and financial stewardship

• Complete stock counts and order approved products in appropriate quantities from approved suppliers.
• Monitor food cost, wastage, portion control, spoilage, credits and stock variance; implement approved corrective action.
• Protect cash, petty cash, gift cards, refunds and discounts through accurate records and authorised processes.
• Reconcile end-of-day information and promptly report discrepancies, unusual transactions or suspected loss.
• Provide agreed weekly operating information, including sales patterns, labour, stock concerns, wastage and upcoming commitments.
• Seek Owner approval before changing suppliers, committing expenditure outside budget or entering an ongoing arrangement.

4.5 Food safety, work health and compliance

• Maintain current food-safety knowledge and ensure the café has the legally required Food Safety Supervisor coverage and records.
• Implement the café’s food-safety program, allergen controls, temperature monitoring, cleaning schedules and incident response.
• Complete routine safety checks and respond immediately to hazards, injuries, near misses, equipment faults and emergency risks.
• Ensure required licences, certificates, training records and notices are current and accessible, escalating renewal dates well in advance.
• Support lawful workplace practices, including breaks, junior-worker safeguards, supervision, injury management and respectful conduct.
• Cooperate with council, regulators, insurers and authorised contractors only within delegated authority and keep the Owner informed.

4.6 Systems, records and confidentiality

• Use only approved business email accounts, devices, software, payment systems and document locations.
• Keep procedures, menus, recipes, supplier information, staff records and business documents in approved shared systems so the business retains access.
• Do not share passwords or use another person’s credentials; immediately report suspected unauthorised access or data loss.
• Ensure the Owner retains administrator access and an up-to-date access register for every operational system.
• Protect personal, payroll, commercial and customer information and comply with confidentiality obligations during and after employment.
• Create accurate, factual and timely records of incidents, staff matters, supplier issues, maintenance and significant decisions.

5. Delegated authority and decision boundaries

The Manager is trusted to run routine daily operations within approved policies, budgets and procedures. Delegation supports timely decisions; it is not authority to independently reshape the business.

Manager may act

Owner approval required

Allocate routine shift duties and sequence work.

Hire, terminate, formally discipline or materially change an employee’s role, classification, pay or regular hours.

Order approved stock within the agreed budget and par levels.

Change opening hours, menus, recipes, portions, pricing, discounts or the café concept.

Resolve ordinary customer matters within the approved service-recovery limit.

Appoint or remove suppliers, sign contracts, establish credit or make unbudgeted/ongoing commitments.

Arrange routine shift coverage within the approved roster budget.

Make capital purchases, dispose of assets or authorise building, mowing, cleaning or maintenance arrangements outside approval.

Apply approved policies, recipes, prices and procedures.

Speak publicly or to media, regulators, lawyers or insurers on behalf of the company, except immediate safety notifications.

Stop work or service immediately where safety requires it.

Change administrator access, banking, payroll, ownership records, licences, social media ownership or core systems.

When uncertain: Pause, preserve safety and business continuity, gather the relevant facts and seek direction from the Owner. Silence or delayed availability is not automatic approval.

6. Reporting and communication

• Provide a brief daily handover for material operational, staffing, safety, customer or maintenance issues.
• Attend a scheduled weekly management meeting with an accurate operational snapshot and decisions required.
• Escalate immediately: serious injury or food-safety risk; suspected theft, fraud or data breach; regulator contact; major equipment failure; significant staff conflict; legal threat; or any event likely to affect licence, reputation or continuity of trade.
• Present facts separately from opinions, record agreed actions and confirm who has authority and accountability for each next step.

7. Selection criteria

Essential

• Demonstrated experience supervising or managing a busy café, restaurant or comparable hospitality venue.
• Practical competence in service delivery, staff coordination, rostering, stock control and day-to-day problem solving.
• Strong financial awareness, including labour control, food cost, wastage and cash-handling accountability.
• Clear, respectful written and verbal communication and the capacity to lead through change without creating unnecessary alarm.
• Current Food Safety Supervisor qualification accepted in Queensland, or capacity to obtain it before or immediately upon commencement as agreed.
• Availability across the café’s operating pattern, including early starts and reasonable weekend coverage.
• Ability to use digital rostering, point-of-sale, email, shared-document and basic reporting systems.
• Satisfactory reference checks and evidence of the right to work in Australia.

Highly desirable

• Experience in an inclusive, family-focused, community or purpose-led venue.
• Understanding of neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-aware workplace practices.
• Experience supporting junior employees and building reliable procedures in a growing small business.
• First aid, mental health first aid, barista or additional hospitality qualifications.

8. Leadership behaviours

• Steady: regulates tone and priorities when the environment is busy or uncertain.
• Accountable: owns actions, corrects errors and keeps reliable records.
• Boundaried: develops warm working relationships without blurring professional responsibilities.
• Inclusive: adapts communication and support while preserving dignity and meaningful standards.
• Commercially aware: protects the café’s resources and understands that care and sustainability must travel together.
• Collaborative: brings recommendations and honest information while respecting the Owner’s final authority.

9. Performance measures

• Safe, compliant and customer-ready operation across scheduled trading hours.
• Rosters and actual labour remain within approved parameters, with exceptions raised early and explained.
• Stock availability, food cost, wastage and cash discrepancies are monitored and improved over time.
• Customer feedback and service recovery are timely, respectful and documented when significant.
• Staff receive clear direction, required breaks, appropriate support and consistent follow-through.
• Mandatory checks, records, licences, training and incident reporting are current and audit-ready.
• Operational systems remain secure, documented and accessible to the Owner.
• Agreed actions and reporting deadlines are completed reliably.

10. First 90 days

1. Days 1–14 — stabilise service coverage; confirm licences, Food Safety Supervisor arrangements, systems access, opening/closing controls, staff availability and urgent safety matters.
2. Days 15–30 — establish predictable rosters, stock routines, handovers, cleaning responsibilities, communication pathways and weekly reporting.
3. Days 31–60 — review labour, wastage, portions, ordering, supplier performance, staff capability and procedure gaps; present prioritised recommendations.
4. Days 61–90 — embed approved improvements, complete required training, evaluate team structure and provide the Owner with a practical next-quarter operating plan.

11. Employment framework and inherent requirements

The applicable industrial instrument, classification, remuneration, ordinary hours and probation arrangements will be confirmed in the letter of offer and employment contract. This position description guides recruitment and performance expectations; it is not a complete statement of contractual terms.

• Sustain attention, communication and decision-making in a busy hospitality environment.
• Move safely through kitchen, counter, dining and storage areas and complete hands-on duties, with reasonable adjustments considered.
• Work early mornings, weekends and varied hours within the agreed employment arrangement.
• Respond promptly and safely to service disruptions, food-safety concerns and emergencies.

Bright Patch Café welcomes discussion about reasonable workplace adjustments. Requirements will be considered in relation to the genuine needs of the role and the individual circumstances of the employee.

12. Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that I have read and understood this position description, including the reporting relationship, delegated authority and requirement to follow lawful and reasonable directions, policies and approved procedures. I understand that duties may evolve through consultation as the needs of the café change.

Employee name

Employee signature

Date:

Owner/Director

Jameela Walker

Owner/Director signature

Date:

Document owner: Owner/Director  |Version: 1.0  |  Date prepared: 31 August 2026

Review: on appointment and at least annually