Bar Manager

About the role

Tahu Restaurant & Bar is looking for an experienced Bar Manager to lead our bar operation at Midway Beach in Gisborne. We are looking for an established leader to join our team before Summer.

Tahu is a sizeable, busy restaurant and bar with a large, purpose-built bar overlooking the ocean. We trade across lunch, dinner and bar service, with seasonal peaks, functions and high-volume services through summer. The bar is an important part of the wider operation, and we need someone who can manage it commercially while also being a strong hospitality leader on the floor.

This is not a role for someone who only wants to work behind the bar. We are looking for a well-rounded hospitality manager with strong Maître D’, Duty Manager or shift management experience, who is comfortable taking responsibility for the wider venue when required.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and develop the bar team

• Running busy bar and restaurant services and supporting the wider FOH team.

• Acting as Duty Manager and taking responsibility for the venue during shifts.

• Maintaining strong service, presentation and product standards.

• Managing beverage stock, ordering, stocktakes, wastage and cost control.

• Managing relationships with suppliers.

• Working with management on beverage offerings, pricing, margins and menu development.

• Creating bar rosters and coordinating with other departments

• Training staff in beverage knowledge, service and responsible service of alcohol.

• Working closely with the FOH Manager, Head Chef and wider management team.

• Using business systems and reporting to understand performance and identify areas for improvement.

About you

• Previous experience as a Bar Manager, Assistant Bar Manager, Maître D' or senior hospitality shift manager in a busy restaurant or bar
• Strong experience running shifts and leading a team through high-volume service
• A current New Zealand Manager's Certificate, or the ability to obtain one
• Strong knowledge of bar operations, cocktails, wine and beverage service
• Good understanding of stock management, beverage costs and margins
• Experience using hospitality management software such as Loaded, Droppah and PayHero
• Confidence working with reports, budgets, rosters and operational information
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to manage both staff and customers
• A hands-on management style — this is an operational role and you will regularly work alongside the team
• Floor experience is important. Barista experience is useful but not essential

About us

Tahu Restaurant and Bar is located upstairs at the Midway Surf Club on Gisborne’s beachfront, with uninterrupted views across Midway Beach and the Pacific. Tahu was recognised in the Good Cuisine Good Food Guide 2026 and has featured in other national media such as Air New Zealand's Kia Ora Magazine. It is one of three beachfront restaurant locations in the North Island. Tahu is part of Oneroa Limited, a hospitality group operating Tahu and The Kiosk, owned by a local family.

The venue includes a large restaurant, dedicated bar and substantial outdoor deck space. Our bar was designed as a central part of the venue rather than an add-on, with the space and infrastructure to handle busy services, events and high summer volumes.

We are continuing to strengthen the systems, people and management structure behind the business, and this role will have genuine responsibility for how the restaurant and bar operates and develops.

Your contribution to the business will go well beyond making drinks — from team development and service systems through to cost control, beverage strategy and the overall guest experience.

Benefits

• A full-time management role in a large, nationally recognised hospitality venue
• A well-equipped, purpose-built bar and strong existing product offering
• The opportunity to lead your own department while working as part of the wider management team
• Scope to influence menus, systems and the future direction of the bar
• A beachfront workplace in Gisborne, Tairāwhiti
• Competitive pay package dependent on experience, expertise, and fit