Restaurant Manager

Rodd & Gunn Cellar & Wine Bar | Little Collins St

Our subterranean haven brings together the best of wine and dining, paying homage to the original Cole's Cafeteria. Beneath our Little Collins Street store, you'll find two distinct yet connected experiences - the Cellar, dedicated to showcasing our wine collection, and the Wine Bar, a vibrant Italian-inspired dining space. The venue is energetic, dramatic, and inviting: a place where bold wines and genuine hospitality come together with personality and pace.

We're looking for a hospitality leader with a passion for wine who can bring this space to life, delivering exceptional guest experiences while maintaining strong operational discipline and a guest-first mindset.

The Role

We are seeking a floor and wine-focused Cellar Manager to support the ongoing success of the Rodd & Gunn Cellar & Wine Bar. This role is responsible for leading daily service, conducting wine tastings, developing team capability, and maintaining operational standards, culminating towards creating memorable guest experiences.

Central to this position is a commitment to service excellence and genuine hospitality. The role requires warmth, passion, and a desire to connect with people, ensuring the Cellar continues to be one of Melbourne's most engaging hospitality experiences.

Responsibilities include:

Leading daily dining operations across lunch and dinner service periods

Training and mentoring a high-performing front-of-house team with compassion and understanding

Delivering warm, engaging, and consistently professional guest experiences

Supporting the Head Sommelier towards maintaining an engaging wine-retail space

Driving floor presence during service and leading from the front

Leading the implementation of a new wine tasting program

Maintaining venue standards, compliance, and operational excellence

Managing labour, rostering, and service efficiencies

Working collaboratively with the Kitchen, Bar, and Leadership teams

Contributing to sales growth, guest retention, and venue performance

To be successful in this role, you will need:

3+ years' experience in a leadership role within premium hospitality environments

A genuine passion for wine, hospitality and the guest experience

CMS and WSET qualifications will be highly regarded

Strong leadership and people development skills

The ability to lead from the floor while maintaining attention to detail

Excellent communication and problem-solving capabilities

Commercial awareness and operational discipline

Current Victorian RSA certification

The Company

Rodd & Gunn is one of New Zealand’s iconic brands. With a reputation for service excellence and only sourcing the best quality products, Rodd & Gunn has established itself as an industry leader in retail in New Zealand, Australia, USA and UK. This is your opportunity to become an integral part of Rodd & Gunn as continues its journey to become a true lifestyle brand.

The flagship building on Little Collins St aims to be one of Melbourne's preeminent venues and follows the high standard of The Lodge Bar venues in Queenstown, Auckland and Brisbane.

At Rodd & Gunn our people are everything. We employ only those we trust can embody our four cornerstone values - Pride, Loyalty, Honesty and Playfulness. These values are written into every part of our business and guide all our actions and decisions on a daily basis. We strive to build a happy, motivated and productive environment where our people are focused on respecting each other, the brand, the product, the customer and their role within our business.

Benefits

Working within a world-class lifestyle brand

Attractive salary package plus gratuities

Stable and consistent five-day roster, Tuesday-Saturday

Ongoing in-house training and professional development

Career progression opportunities within a growing hospitality group

50% discount on Rodd & Gunn retail clothing

30% discount across The Lodge Group venues

Employee Assistance Program providing 24/7 wellbeing and mental health support