Bar Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a bar manager. Feel free to use our bar manager job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a bar manager.
Who is a Bar Manager?
Bar managers are responsible for planning, directing, and controlling a bar’s activities. People who are creative, responsible, and accountable are more productive and happier. The bar manager is responsible for scheduling great employees. This includes supervising, allocating, and planning the bar’s daily operations.
Employee empowerment includes giving training and delegating tasks to employees. It is essential to fully understand what the job entails. This will allow you to decide whether this is the career for you.
A good bar manager can calm down overworked staff and overserved customers. They create a pleasant atmosphere in your bar or restaurant and ensure that everyone is safe, comfortable, and satisfied.
Your bar manager ensures that your establishment is a reflection of the environment you want. This includes the type of drinks you offer, the music you play, and the decor. They will keep your customers coming back, and make sure that your bar is a cool place to visit.
Bar Manager Job Description
Below are the bar manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a bar manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Performing oversight functions on food menus and drinks.
- Determining the work schedules of employees.
- Keeping the bar clean and well-stocked.
- Monitoring customer behavior and sales.
- Monitoring and maintaining a budget.
- Maintaining drink recipe documentation.
- Planning special events
- Purchasing liquor and other supplies.
- Supervising bartenders and barbacks as well as bouncers, waitstaff, and/or kitchen personnel.
- Employing, training, promoting, and, when needed, fires staff.
- Choosing music and books bands. Providing input on marketing and decor, including social media.
- Establishing and maintaining relationships with vendors.
- Using point-of-sale technology to track sales and manage bar and restaurant operations.
- Assisting in managing the business side of the bar. This includes negotiating supplier contracts, maintaining a liquor license, ordering supplies, taking inventory, reordering supplies, budget management, and setting goals.
- Providing exceptional service to customers
- Creating schedules and quickly resolving conflict to ensure that the bar is open during peak hours.
- Establishing and enforcing safety and quality controls.
- Ensuring that licenses are up-to-date and comply with current legislation
Other important tasks include:
- Manage Inventory
A bar manager’s most important task is to decide which beverages to order based upon what has been sold. Next, he/she negotiates with suppliers to purchase those beverages. This is known as bar inventory management. Bar managers can see which drinks are most popular and profitable by doing this consistently and accurately. These are two essential things you need to know if you want to have a successful bar.
Bar managers can either use a bar inventory spreadsheet or automate the process using liquor inventory software. This task can be performed daily or weekly depending on how busy the bar is. Bar managers should not wait for an item to run out before ordering more. It is up to the bar manager to make sure that the bar is always stocked, whether they do it themselves or have other staff assist.
- Hiring, training, and supervising staff
Bar managers are responsible for creating bartender interview questions and hiring bar staff. The bar manager does not train new employees, but they do choose the trainers and oversee the creation of training materials for bar staff.
After they are trained and arrive at the bar, a manager supervises their work each shift. The bar manager will have written the shift schedule, assigned stations, and prepared staff for each shift. They will also need to be able to spot a bartender who is stealing.
- Be an example
Successful bar managers understand that they aren’t just managing their staff; they’re also leading them. Leaders set an example by their behavior and decisions. Managers should be willing to put their hands up and take on new challenges, such as bussing tables or bartending. This shows everyone is valued and makes the bar manager more accessible to guests and bar staff.
- Bar Safety and Cleanliness
A clean bar will impress your guests. Staff will be more productive if the bar is well-organized. Bar cleaning and maintaining a clean bar is a team effort. The bar manager is responsible to assign tasks to staff, create cleaning schedules, acquire bar and restaurant cleaning supplies, as well as ensuring that all tasks are completed by the end of each day using a checklist.
- Marketing
Bar managers and supervisors have a lot of responsibility when it comes to getting customers in the door. This includes everything from happy hour promotion ideas, bar management, and managing the bar’s social media accounts.
- Keeping a budget
Here is where bar managers’ business acumen shines. The bar owners must set a budget to cover all expenses. Bar managers need to have all expenses under their budget to keep the bar profitable. Every new hire, every operational decision, and every marketing tactic must be viewed through the budget lens. A good bar manager will maximize resources and minimize spending. They will also keep the restaurant’s accounts in good shape by staying within budget.
- Establish relationships with clients
Bar business success is dependent on regulars. They not only bring in revenue to the bar during slow seasons but they also refer friends and help generate new business. It’s crucial to establish close relationships with all guests, particularly regulars. They will appreciate your being able to introduce you to them and their names. It’s a good idea to know what their order is and their name. You’ll be loved by them. You can also offer your customers a discount or a free drink as a bar manager to keep them happy. They will appreciate the little things. They’ll be back for more.
Qualifications
Each employer has its requirements for bar managers. Employers may not be as concerned about the experience of a job candidate in bartending or food service management. However, some employers might prefer to hire someone who has completed formal education in management, food service, or other aspects of bartending, drinks, and wine.
Education Options
- Academic Education
Vocational schools and community colleges offer associate’s degrees in hospitality or food service management. These programs can be helpful for graduates looking to become bar managers. Bachelor’s degrees are available at four-year universities in hospitality and restaurant management. These degrees are not required for employment, but they can be useful, especially if you’re applying for a job at a restaurant, bar, or hotel chain.
- Vocational Education
Many bartending schools incorporate bar management education in their standard curriculum. Many schools offer continuing education in management and bartending, as well as programs in bar management.
Experience
Bar managers often learn the business from their bartenders and servers. If someone is familiar with working in a restaurant or bar environment, they may be more successful in finding work as bar managers.
Licensing
Although licensing requirements can vary depending on the jurisdiction, they may include a background check as well as completing a training course about alcohol serving. Managers and other employees at bars serving food may be required to complete training in safe food handling.
Certification
Bar industry professionals often offer certification programs for bar managers. These require that students complete a class, then take a certification exam. Bar managers can also be certified in food safety and safe alcohol service. Bar managers may be required to have food safety certification or alcohol service certification by a certifying agency that has been approved either by the liquor commission, or the health department.
You can become a bar manager by getting a vocational certificate, or an undergraduate degree in the same field. Bar managers often have previous experience as bartenders or servers. A food safety certification or alcohol license is required to start working.
Essential Skills
- Organizational Skills
These words are a perfect example of Benjamin Franklin’s. They also apply to bar management. For bar managers to be successful, it is important to have excellent organizational skills.
Why? Bars can be chaotic places with many things going on at once. Bar managers need to be able to communicate exactly what is required to ensure smooth operations. A great customer experience is the ultimate goal for any hospitality business.
Multitasking is a key aspect of an organization. Bar managers will have to manage multiple situations at once daily. Imagine a customer complaining, a new bartender not knowing where to look, and a vendor calling to discuss details of a large order. It would be enough for anyone to run for the hills. Bar managers must be able to prioritize and multitask while still maintaining a professional attitude.
- Excellent communication skills
Communication is a key skill that a bar manager must have. This includes their team, senior management, customers, and vendors. In a high-octane environment like a bar, confusing and long-winded communication won’t work.
Non-verbal communication is also important. Bar managers need to be aware of how their customers are speaking. Only 30% of communication is verbal. To avoid potential problems, bar managers must be able to observe customers’ bodies and communicate with them. Bar managers can make sure that customers feel at home and welcome in their establishment by learning non-verbal communication and cues.
- Passion and dedication
The bar manager job is not just a 9-5 job that lets you coast through your workday. To succeed, bar managers must love what they do. You were called in sick and need to work extra hours. It’s no problem. Do you need a quick solution to your plumbing problems? Let’s talk to Siri and solve your plumbing problem!
Bar managers who excel are eager to learn and experiment to make their bar better.
You will be able to get through the tough times that are part of the industry if you have passion and dedication. Customers and team members will quickly notice if the manager isn’t passionate about the job.
- Resistance to stress
You may be surprised to learn that job stress is associated with poor customer service. Simply stated, happier employees will provide better customer service.
For any position in management within the hospitality industry, it is essential to be able to act under pressure. Perhaps the bar gets overcrowded and the most sought-after liquor runs out. Even in stressful situations, the best bar managers keep their cool and remain composed. They learn from every case to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
- Numeracy
It’s not easy to manage numbers. A great bar manager needs to be able to see numbers. They are responsible for managing inventory and the cash flow of the bar. They must have a good understanding of business management principles and cost control. It is not easy to communicate the numbers with stakeholders.
- Customer service skills
It is cheaper to retain existing customers than to search for new ones. While you should aim to expand your customer base, make sure your existing customers are satisfied!
Talented bar managers will read customers like a book, and be able to make customers happy.
- Training and hiring
Bar managers are responsible for training and hiring their staff. This should be a top priority. Why is this so important? It is important because with 75% of staff turnover in bars and restaurants, it will be easier to avoid having to rehire and all the paperwork that comes with it.
How to Become a Bar Manager
Although this job doesn’t require you to meet certain requirements, it can help to have some credentials that will increase your chances of landing the job. These steps will help you become a bar manager.
- Pursue a relevant certificate or degree
Consider earning a vocational certificate or degree after you have earned your high school diploma. These credentials will help you to learn and improve your skills. This will give you the knowledge you need to be successful in this field. Although community colleges and vocational schools offer associate degrees, four-year universities offer bachelor’s degree programs.
You can also go to bartending school if you are a potential bar manager. This school provides a combination of traditional and bar management education. Although not mandatory, it can help improve your candidacy for a job at a major hotel chain, restaurant, or bar.
- Gain entry-level experience
Many bar managers have worked as servers or bartenders in a restaurant or bar. You can learn soft skills in the foodservice industry that you can apply to your role as a manager. You can use this experience to show potential employers your skills and impress them.
- Get a certification or license
You may need an alcohol service license or certificate, or permit depending on where you live. These requirements can vary from one location to the next, but they usually require you to pass a background check as well as a course in how to responsibly serve alcohol. These credentials are not mandatory, but they can help you improve your candidacy, give you relevant knowledge, and increase your credibility in the profession.
Where to Work
Bartenders can be found in bars, restaurants, clubs, or other establishments that serve food and drinks.
Bar Manager Salary Scale
A Bar Manager’s average annual salary is $45,501. The average salary for a Bar Manager is between $14,000 to $93,000 depending on the location of the bar, the size of the bar, and the experience of the bar manager. A bar manager working in large cities can earn more than one who manages smaller bars. Some Bar Managers work part-time or hourly, while others are full-time salary earners
