Hospitality Job Coach
Who We Are
People First is an independent customer-led charitable organisation that has worked in Cumbria for over 35 years.
We are passionate about our values of equality, respect and inclusion. We provide a wide range of support and information services across Cumbria, Lancashire and the North East, all aimed at helping people to live informed, respected, healthy and fulfilled lives.
Purpose of Job
As a Hospitality Job Coach, you will work as part of our new Workington Café Team to create a welcoming, inclusive and high-quality experience for everyone who visits our café.
A People First Café is a unique place that brings together excellent hospitality and hands-on work experience for people with learning disabilities. Each of our spaces follows a coaching model where our staff work side-by-side with people with learning disabilities, sharing skills and mentorship to deliver an excellent service whilst developing work-ready skills.
This role combines customer service, coaching and mentorship. You will work directly alongside learners, helping them develop the confidence and practical skills needed to succeed in hospitality settings whilst ensuring our customers receive a warm, friendly and professional service.
You will focus on customer experience, food and drink service, maintaining high standards throughout the café and supporting learners to build workplace skills that can help them move towards future employment opportunities.
This is an ideal role for someone who enjoys working with people, takes pride in delivering great customer service and is passionate about helping others to develop and succeed.
The Department: A Café with a Difference
We're very excited to be launching our new café in the heart of Workington's Harbour, with a planned opening date in November 2026.
Located within Harbour Place, Riverside's new supported living development, the café will provide a welcoming space for residents, visitors, local workers and the wider community to enjoy freshly prepared food and drink.
With initial opening hours of 8.30am to 1pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the café will serve a range of hot and cold meals, snacks and refreshments in a modern and welcoming environment. The project has been designed to create meaningful learning and employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities and other disabilities across West Cumbria.
As a Hospitality Job Coach, you will play an important role in helping learners gain confidence in customer-facing environments. Working alongside them every day, you will model excellent customer service, support the development of hospitality skills and help create a café that customers want to return to again and again.
This is a unique opportunity to help establish a new social enterprise from the ground up, creating a café that becomes known not only for excellent service and a warm welcome, but also for its positive impact within the local community.
The Person
You must believe in People First's values of inclusion, fairness and kindness and be committed to creating opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
The successful candidate will have experience working within a hospitality, customer service or retail environment and be confident interacting with a wide range of customers.
You will be approachable, encouraging and naturally supportive. You'll enjoy helping others to learn and develop whilst maintaining excellent standards of customer service and professionalism.
You will understand the importance of creating positive customer experiences and be able to balance the needs of the business with the learning and development needs of those you are supporting.
Ultimately, you'll be someone who enjoys working with people, takes pride in creating welcoming environments and wants to help others build the skills and confidence they need to succeed.
Qualifications
- Relevant hospitality, customer service or retail qualifications and/or experience.
- Level 3 Food Hygiene certification or a willingness and ability to achieve this during induction
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
- Experience working within hospitality, customer service, retail or another customer-facing environment.
- Excellent customer service skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to support and encourage people with learning disabilities.
- Understanding of food hygiene, cleanliness and safety requirements.
- Experience handling payments and operating tills.
- Strong teamwork skills.
- Positive and proactive approach.
- Ability to remain organised and professional in a busy environment.
- Ability to maintain high standards of customer service and presentation.
Duties Will Include
- Welcoming customers and creating a warm and positive atmosphere.
- Serving food and drinks.
- Supporting learners to develop hospitality and customer service skills.
- Demonstrating excellent customer care and professional standards.
- Supporting the day-to-day operation of the café.
- Maintaining cleanliness, hygiene and presentation standards throughout the café.
- Assisting with opening and closing procedures.
- Handling payments and operating till systems.
- Supporting learners to build confidence, independence and workplace skills.
- Working closely with the Café Manager/Chef and wider café team to ensure a high-quality customer experience.
Other Duties
- The duties outlined above are not intended to be exhaustive and may change as the needs of the organisation alter in line with current agendas.
- Due to the developing nature of our organisation, we require staff to remain highly flexible in their approach and work to meet the changing needs of projects.