Head of Front of House and Operations

Job Title:
Head of Front of House and Operations

Location: Chelsea Theatre, 7 World’s End Place, London SW10 0DR

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Hours: Full-time, 40 hours over 5 days (with flexibility required around event and hire schedules, including evenings and weekends)

Chelsea Theatre is both a community centre and a theatre, offering a safe space with free activities for local residents by day and creative events attended by diverse Londoners by night. Open Monday to Saturday, the venue includes a café, bar and terrace, rehearsal studios, meeting and exhibition spaces, and a 130-seat theatre used both for our own activities and available to hire.

is for Chelsea Theatre to be a powerhouse for developing local creative talent.

is to provide a vibrant community hub that improves the wellbeing of residents and brings affordable live performance to the World’s End and Chelsea.

We are based in the World’s End, an area of social housing with some of the highest levels of deprivation in London. The team supports vulnerable people in challenging circumstances to take part in social activities from knitting to yoga to African dance.

The Head of Front of House and Operations leads Chelsea Theatre’s day-to-day visitor, event and building operations. The role ensures high standards for audiences, community users, hirers and staff; manages front-of-house and technical teams; oversees the event schedule and bar; and leads facilities, maintenance and health and safety. It combines visible operational leadership with effective planning, compliance, budget control and continuous improvement.

• Line-manage the Front of House (FOH) team and Lead Technician, setting clear standards and supporting performance and development.
• Plan and manage FOH rotas for public opening, performances, hires, events and café/bar activity; work with the Lead Technician to arrange technical freelance cover and timely event handovers.
• Lead recruitment, induction and training for FOH casual staff and relevant operational roles.
• Build a positive team culture focused on excellent service and Chelsea Theatre’s mission and values.

• Own and coordinate the event schedule across performances, community activity, hires and café/bar events.
• Ensure each event is operationally ready, with appropriate risk assessments and contractual and health and safety requirements met.

• Maintain welcoming, accessible, clean, safe and efficient front-of-house spaces, including the lobby, café/bar, terrace, foyer, toilets, cloakrooms and circulation areas.
• Oversee the visitor journey from arrival to departure, including welcome, hospitality, accessibility, signage, way finding and feedback.
• Keep FOH signage, screens, visitor communications and event information clear, inclusive and up to date, working with Marketing.
• Ensure the FOH team can use the CRM and box office system (Seven Rooms) to find hirer information and process in-person bookings and payments.

• Lead day-to-day facilities management, keeping all public, staff, performance, hire and back-of-house spaces safe, secure, clean, accessible and operational.
• Manage the cleaning contract with our cleaning contractor, including schedules, service changes and cleaning-product orders.
• Plan preventative and reactive maintenance, prioritising faults and repairs to minimise disruption.
• Appoint, brief and manage contractors and specialist suppliers, including plumbers and electricians; oversee site access and confirm satisfactory completion.
• Maintain facilities records, service schedules, inspection logs,…