Job Description

Are you passionate about pizza? Do you know your negronis from your natural wines? Does great hospitality make you happy?

ACE Pizza opened in Victoria Park in summer 2025 and quickly became one of East London's busiest neighbourhood restaurants. Serving more than 50,000 pizzas in our first year, we're building something ambitious: a hospitality business centred around exceptional food, genuine community, and a culture where great people can grow.

After an incredibly successful first year in Victoria Park, we are on the lookout for a sharp, experienced hospitality leader to drive the ongoing success of ACE Pizza’s flagship bricks-and-mortar restaurant.

Ideally, you have multi-site experience but perhaps find yourself stuck too far up the corporate ladder, spending more time looking at spreadsheets than people. If you are missing the excitement, autonomy, and raw energy of a flourishing independent business—and want to get back to running a brilliant floor—this is your chance.

📍 Location: Victoria Park, Hackney, London.
💰 Pay: £36,000 - £38,000 basic (+ £18,000 - £22,000 tronc & bonus scheme)
‍👩 Reports Directly to The Founders
⏰ Hours: 45 hours per week, flexible shifts, evening and weekends standard
📅 Start Date: August

Why Join ACE Pizza?

Work directly with the founders of one of East London's most exciting independent restaurant businesses.
Genuine autonomy and influence.
A growing business with ambitious plans.
A team that cares deeply about hospitality, food, and culture.
The chance to help shape the next chapter of ACE Pizza.

As General Manager, you will take full operational ownership of the venue, working in close collaboration with our Head Chef and senior Front of House team. This is a highly practical, floor-based leadership role. While appropriate admin and desk time is allocated to manage the business, you are a visible, hands-on presence during service, leading by example where it matters most. You will run a tight ship, providing the team with clear direction and structure, seamlessly managing the day-to-day so the Directors can focus on the bigger growth picture.

What You’ll Do:

Build a culture people want to be part of. Create an environment where people feel supported, challenged and proud of their work. Champion training, development and progression, helping team members grow into future supervisors, managers and leaders. We believe great hospitality businesses are built by developing great people, and this role will play a huge part in shaping the next generation of talent at ACE Pizza.
Take ownership of the numbers. Monitor and optimise GP %, stock levels, wastage, and wage percentages, identifying opportunities for incremental improvements every day.
Approach every operational challenge with resolutions, not problems to be passed up the chain. You will actively foresee hurdles before they arise and think ten steps ahead, even when deep in service.
Lead from the front. You are an active, energetic presence on the floor, motivating the team, engaging with guests, and driving flawless standards in real-time.
Nurture exceptional, consistent standards across food, drink, service, and guest experience, sweating the small details while keeping a firm handle on the bigger picture.
Oversee day-to-day compliance, ensuring total adherence to Health & Safety, licensing, and food hygiene regulations.
Manage both Front of House & Back of House teams, fostering a strong, collaborative culture, and handling rotas, leave, and individual performance.
Engage deeply with P&L, sales data, and budgeting to enable growth. Ensure accurate cashing up, financial recording, and banking procedures.
Champion the ACE brand. Help create memorable events, build relationships within the local community, and ensure every guest leaves wanting to come back.

Annual Leave & Benefits:

30 days annual leave - 2 extra days!
1 additional community impact or stage day every year
Increased employer pension contribution after Y1
CODE Hospitality membership for industry discounts
Free food, tea, coffee, and filtered water on shift
ACE Pizza uniform and merchandise allocation (50% off at other times)
50% off food & drink (off shift)
Funded training
Bi-annual team socials

Tips and service charge:

100% of monthly tips and gratuities shared fairly by end of following month via third-party troncmaster Grateful

Job Requirements

What We’re Looking For:

Proven experience in a senior leadership or multi-site role within quality, high-volume hospitality. You understand corporate structural discipline but are eager to apply it practically in an independent, fast-moving environment.
A hands-on, practical operator who thrives on the restaurant floor and loves the buzz of service, but has the organisational discipline to execute admin efficiently.
An exceptional grasp of the financials—you know how to balance rota and stock to protect the bottom line without compromising quality.
A naturally progressive thinker who plans ahead, works with absolute clarity, and is inherently solutions-focused.
A proven coach and developer of people. You have a track record of building strong teams, spotting potential, and helping people progress. You're as passionate about developing future hospitality leaders as you are about delivering great service.
Comfortable working with all stakeholders, from customers and suppliers to local authorities.
Able to run a business autonomously. You are comfortable taking full ownership of the day-to-day operations and problem-solving independently, while communicating effectively with the Directors on high-level strategy and commercial targets.
Strong digital and technological skill sets, comfortable with industry-standard software such as Lightspeed, Sevenrooms and their equivalents.
Right to live and work in the UK.