Area Manager

We’re looking for a leader who feels truly at home in hospitality. Someone who connects with people in a real, human way.

You’ll bring sharp operational know-how, of course. But more than that, you’ll bring a big heart. You’ll understand that culture isn’t built in spreadsheets, it’s felt in the rhythm of a busy shift, in the way a guest is greeted, in the quiet acts of Seva that make Dishoom, Dishoom.

As the Permit Room continues to grow, it feels like the right moment to welcome someone new, our first Area Manager to ever join us from outside of Dishoom.

About the Role:

You’ll lead multiple cafés, supporting our General Managers to be the very best they can be by coaching and supporting them to deliver first-class, big-hearted experiences for every guest who visits and team member who joins us.

As the Permit Room continues to grow, you’ll play a key role in shaping how we scale seamlessly, ensuring we deepen and don’t dilute along the way.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading and developing our General Managers to ensure each café runs beautifully - delivering big-hearted and first-class service standards every day.
• Partner with GM to achieve commercial success in optimising cover volume, guest experience, and cost controls.
• Drive performance across key KPIs including guest and team feedback, food and drink standards and commercial objectives.
• You’ll be in the Permit Rooms supporting teams, reviewing performance, and spotting opportunities to improve.
• Be the eyes and ears across Permit Rooms - ensuring they are running brilliantly and true to the experience we want, feeding back to relevant internal stakeholder where needed.
• Build a big-hearted and first-class culture by setting clear goals and supporting your teams to achieve them.
• Focus on team happiness - ensuring our team feel engaged and supported to grow.
• Work on and support ad-hoc projects and events as required - helping the business to continuously improve.

About you:

We’re after a true people leader, someone who lives and breathes hospitality and Seva. To thrive in this role you’ll:

• See both the big picture and the smallest details - guiding our teams to ensure we consistently deliver to the standards we expect.
• Possesses solid commercial insight and business acumen, applying a structured and thoughtful approach to all aspects of cost and control management
• Have a genuine love for creating memorable moments for both guests and team members.
• Lead with confidence and care - making smart decisions, staying calm under pressure, and always keeping team and guests at the heart of what you do.
• Thrive in a fast-growing business, relishing variety and the chance to make a lasting impact as we continue to expand.
• Find joy in helping others shine - building teams that feel proud, connected, and cared for.
• Be at home on the move, comfortable travelling across the UK (including occasional overnight stays) to stay close to our cafés, our people, and our guests.
• Above all, you lead with warmth and purpose, living our value of Seva - the act of selfless service - in everything you do.

Preferred Experience

• Proven experience leading multiple locations as an Area Manager or Operations Director within a values-led hospitality business.
• A strong track record of developing high-performing leaders and teams.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver business strategies and improve performance across key metrics.

How we’ll support you

At Dishoom, we care about supporting you and your well-being (inside and outside of work).

With this, we tend to think about our team’s well-being in four different ways:

Financial

• Private Healthcare for you and your family.
• Enhanced family leave and pay, plus specific Dishoom-walla benefits for those growing little families.
• £200 monthly to spend when dining in Dishoom each month. Beyond that, enjoy 50% off during the day and 25% off in the evening for you and up to five guests.
• Access to our savings support and financial health planning tool.
• Free weekly wage advances and emergency cash if ever needed.

Mental & Physical

• All Babus (Managers) are fully trained in mental health support & First Aid.
• Dedicated support from our confidential advice helpline - available to you or someone in your household – 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
• On demand GP appointments, free counselling sessions and life coaching through our wellness app.
• Free fitness sessions every month (including yoga and spin classes).
• Calling all cricket fans, we have our very own Dishoom Premier League (an in-house cricket tournament) where you get to compete with your team at Lord’s.

Socials

We’re a growing company and love nothing more than bringing our teams (and families) together to celebrate everyone’s hard work across the year.

You’ll be invited to our:

• Our Family Mela (summer festival)
• Our huge Christmas celebration
• A once-in-a-lifetime educational trip to Bombay, giving you the chance to experience the culture, flavours and stories that shape all that we do (over 200 people attended last year)!
• Plus, we host regular team events across our cafés.

Salary:

We’re more interested in finding the right person than ticking every box. If this role feels like a great fit for you (or almost does!), we’d love to hear from you.

At Dishoom- everyone is welcome. We are committed to having an inclusive and diverse workplace and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds, identities and experience to apply for roles with us. #LI-JC1