Café Manager/Operator | Weekdays Only | Substantial Performance Bonuses

Location - Melb CBD

Hours - Full Time | Monday to Friday | Daytime Roster

Start Date - Flexible for the right candidate

Unique Opportunity

We’re looking for an experienced café operator to take full responsibility for a small, weekday-only coffee shop and materially grow sales and profitability over the next 6–12 months.

We're working towards the sale of our business and we're excited to collaborate with a confident, capable manager ready to take a good cafe to its full potential.

This is not a standard café manager role - it's a goal-oriented position with significant Performance Bonuses designed for you to share in the value you create.

We own multiple venues and will have more opportunities & new projects for the right operator upon the sale of the shop.

The Objective

Grow sales by 25–50% within 12 months and improve the café’s value ahead of exit.

We will offer autonomy along with support & resources where needed.
Ultimately how you hit targets is up to you.

Our Shop

Is a compact, coffee-led, primarily take away operation in Melbourne's CBD.

It runs with a small team and has good transaction volume and a loyal daily customer base.

Our attention has recently been pulled into other projects so the shop has significant untapped potential, meaning targets are well within reach with focused leadership.

The Role

Offers:

• A chance to run a café like it’s your own (test ideas without financial risk)

• A clean, weekday-only operation with a small team

• Full ownership of operations, menu optimisation, staffing, and standards

• Performance-based bonuses tied to real, measurable improvement

• An exciting opportunity and a project with a clear finish line (exit-focused)

• Coaching & collaboration with owners with 10+ years experience running venues.

Core Responsibilities

• Take full ownership of day-to-day café operations

• Deliver sustained profit growth and margin improvement

• Increase average spend through menu improvements, pricing, and retail decisions

• Maintain disciplined labour and cost control

• Build simple systems that hold standards without owner involvement

• Prepare the business for a clean, attractive sale

This will be a hands-on role including time on the coffee machine.
Applicant must have 2+ years experience in specialty coffee.

Compensation & Structure

This is a performance-based operator role.

• Base salary: $65,000
  (Reflecting the current size and simplicity of the operation)

• Upside: Meaningful performance-based bonuses linked to sustained profit improvement over next 6–12 months.

Operators who deliver strong results can earn six figures+.
Operators who do not improve the business will earn the base.

For the right person who proves they can operate independently and deliver results, there is a clear pathway to expanded responsibility across a second café with greater scale and versatility, along with higher remuneration.

Who This Role Is For

Successful applicant will have:

• Proven experience running or materially improving a café or small hospitality business

• Strong commercial instincts and comfort working with numbers

• A track record of execution & the ability to work independently

• An interest in building value, not just managing shifts

• An ability to build relationships with both staff and loyal daily customer base

To Apply

Please include in your cover letter

1. A few sentences: of how you’ve previously improved sales or profitability in a café or hospitality business

2. One Sentence: Which lever you’d prioritise first in a small, weekday café - average spend, transaction count, or cost control + why?

Why This Is Different

We've designed this role for someone who wants to have a real crack and be treated like an owner/partner.

If that excites you, we’d love to hear from you.

Employer questions

Your application will include the following questions:

• Which of the following statements best describes your right to work in Australia?

• How many years' experience do you have as a Cafe Manager?

• Do you have experience working towards targets and KPIs?

• How many years' experience do you have as a barista?