Commercial Associate (12month Fixed Term)

The Commercial Associate will develop the strategy for Eden Court's Trading business, as well as leading on implementation to make that strategy a reality.

The Trading business is made up of three key areas:

1. Café Bar - operating 360 days a year, the Café Bar plays an important role in our offer to customers, as well as being a vital income-generator, with annual turnover of c.£540k. It serves our 150,000 theatre audiences and 45,000 cinema audiences each year, as well catering for customers throughout the day during our 7-day a week operation.
2. Commercial Hires - Eden Court's versatile and historic building offers spaces suitable for a variety of events - from meetings to conferences to weddings. Our current turnover from this area is c.£142k per annum. Front-of-House Sales - This includes ice creams, sweets and merchandise and generates income of c.£260k per annum.

We are looking for a candidate who can assess Eden Court's current performance in these areas and set a clear strategy for improvement, with a focus on increasing income-generation and improving profitability. The strategy will also assess if there are new areas of commercial opportunity.

As well as setting the strategy, this role will be hands on in implementation - working with the existing Eden Court management team to put in place the changes required to make the strategy a reality. This will involve assessing performance against key indicators and troubleshooting, where required.

Throughout this process you will mentor and support the Trading team in order to develop their skills - leaving an enhanced skill-set by the end of your 12 months in post, enabling the team to successfully drive the business forwards in the long-term.

You will work closely with Eden Court's Chief Executive and will report directly into the Trading Board. This role can be delivered part-remotely, with attendance on-site for a minimum of 1 day per week, on average.

Key Aims of the Role:

• To successfully develop and implement a strategy for Eden Court's Trading business which grows income levels and improves profitability.
• To develop the skillset of the management team, leaving an upskilled team who are able to take the business forwards.

Duties and Responsabilities:

• Develop an ambitious but realistic strategy for Eden Court's Trading business, which grows income levels and profitability, whilst being attuned to the current economic risks.
• Agree the strategy with Eden Court's Chief Executive and Trading Board.
• Take a hands-on approach to implementation of the strategy, working with the management team to ensure effective delivery, troubleshooting where required.
• Set clear financial and performance targets and monitor these effectively, motivating the team around them.
• Design and implement changes to how the Café Bar operates that improve speed of service and increase spend per head (both physical infrastructure improvements and team approach).
• Carry out actions to improve the quality and profitability of Eden Court's drinks offer, such as carrying out supplier tenders.
• Assess and provide a proposed route forwards in relation to Eden Court's food offer, assessing if introducing a profitable restaurant is viable at this time. If agreed that this is viable, take forwards implementation.
• Identify and act on opportunities to increase income generation within the Commercial Hires business, such as securing new types of business (e.g. gala dinners).
• Improve service user satisfaction levels through an improved Café Bar offer and more efficient and positive customer service, using customer survey scores to assess progress.
• Train the team so that they are able to successfully lead the business in the long-term, developing their skills in key areas such as gross profit management, as well overseeing effective external training for the team.