Retail Hospitality Manager

About the Role

Hill Farmstead is not a typical taproom, and this is not a typical retail management role. People travel a long way to be here, some from the next town over, some from the other side of the world. For most of them, what they experience in this building is the entire relationship they will ever have with this brand. That makes the person who runs the floor one of the most important hires we make.

We're looking for a proven leader to run our taproom and retail operation: the team, the guest experience, the inventory, and the systems that keep it all running to a standard worthy of what we produce. This is a hands-on leadership role, not a back-office one. You'll be present on the floor, setting the tone, and building a team that can elevate from "getting it done" to genuinely excellent.

This posting describes the full ambition of the role. Where you enter and what you're paid depend on what you've already demonstrably done, not on potential alone.

Scope and Compensation

We are hiring one person, and we've defined two versions of the role. Which one you're offered is determined by your track record:

Retail Hospitality Manager: $65,000. Full ownership of floor operations: team leadership (5-10 team members based on seasonal needs), scheduling, guest experience, inventory, procurement, POS, and documentation. The right fit at this level has led a retail or hospitality team with real accountability and can show it.

Director of Hospitality: $80,000. Everything above, plus ownership of our events program (onsite festivals, private functions, offsite events, brand partnerships, etc.) and the broader guest-experience calendar. This level requires a demonstrated history of running an operation of comparable complexity: multi-location or high-volume single-location leadership, P&L or full inventory accountability, and events you have personally built and executed, not just worked.

The $80,000 tier is reserved for candidates whose accomplishments we can verify. The Director of Hospitality position is open to those with verifiable experience in this area, not to those looking to grow into this role. Our hiring process includes a practical working exercise and detailed discussion of specific things you've built, fixed, and led. If your experience is strong, this process will work in your favor.

What You'll Own As Retail Manager

• Direct leadership of the taproom and bottle shop operations: staffing, scheduling, coaching, and upholding the standard for how guests are treated from the moment they arrive, in compliance with state and federal alcohol-service and employment regulations.
• Inventory, stocking, and procurement: ordering, forecasting, and vendor coordination, done with real rigor, attention to detail, and an eye for optimization.
• Curating and updating the daily taproom menu: setting bottle and draft offerings, descriptions, and pricing, and keeping signage and guest-facing materials up to date.
• POS operations and daily administrative reporting, including tip reconciliations, time card reports, end-of-day sales reports, and visibility into costs and cash flow.
• Building a team, not just staffing a shift: developing people, giving direct feedback, coordinating release tastings and product education, and moving your team from basic execution toward real hospitality.
• Acting as a steward of this place: maintaining the standards, checklists, and procedures that keep the space running at that level and resolving guest issues and feedback—in person and virtually, including the main email point of contact—so every guest touchpoint reflects the brand.
• Partnering closely with other departments and leadership, including the CEO, COO, and Chief Experience Officer (CXO). This role has real ownership of its domain and real responsibility to the business as a whole. We're looking for someone who leads their area with autonomy while staying connected to the bigger picture, not someone who runs it as a silo.
• Food vendor recruitment, coordination, and scheduling.

What You’ll Own As Director of Hospitality

• Everything included in the role and responsibilities of Retail Hospitality Manager.
• Onsite events: Creation and ownership of Hill Farmstead's onsite events and guest-experience calendar—special events, private functions, live entertainment, private tastings, rehearsal dinners, and special culinary experiences, etc —from concept through execution, staffing, run-of-show, and post-event accounting and reporting, upholding the standard the space holds on high-traffic days.
• Offsite events: plan and execute Hill Farmstead's presence at regional and national festivals and brand partnerships, handling travel, booth setup, staffing, product shipments, and licensing compliance so the brand shows up off-premise the way it does at home.
• Event Systems: manage the audience ticketing and booking interface, including existing Tock reservations and eTix ticketing systems
• Growth and positioning: research new concepts to grow traffic and revenue, including ideas for Vermont's shoulder seasons, and partner with the CXO and
• Director of Quality to keep events aligned with the brand's identity and market position.
• Cross-departmental partnership: collaborate with the CXO and hospitality team on execution, and contribute to monthly newsletters spotlighting events, community initiatives, and brewery stories.

What We Need to See

Strong applications will point to the following:

• Several years of progressive leadership in retail or hospitality, with concrete outcomes you can name: a team you built, a process you fixed, numbers that improved because of decisions you made.
• Experience in beer, wine, spirits, or another elevated/specialty retail environment where the product knowledge and the guest experience both mattered.
• Real command of the operational and analytical side: ordering, forecasting, POS systems, documentation, and the math underneath all of it.
• A track record of developing people, with team members who got better, and ideally got promoted, under your leadership.
• Steady, direct communication and strong follow-through, including under pressure and through disagreement.
• A real sense of hospitality, the kind that comes from feeling connected to a place and a community.
• Reference contacts who can shed light on your practical experience and skills.

In your application, tell us about one operation you made better: what it looked like when you arrived, what you changed, and how you know it worked (250-400 words). Applications that skip this will not advance.

Schedule, Compensation, and Benefits

• Full-time, salaried, on-site at our Greensboro Bend, Vt., taproom.
• Working days are Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday service is staffed by your team. You're accountable for making sure it runs well (staffing it, hiring for it if needed, and stepping in when coverage falls through), but it is not a standing sixth day on the floor.
• Benefits include Health Insurance (MVP), Health Savings Account, 401(k) with matching up to 5% (Roth optional) upon one year of employment, Life Insurance,
• Short- and Long-Term Disability and AD&D coverage, Beer Allocation and Discounts, paid vacation, and separate PTO (personal and sick days) granted pro-rated at the start of employment, all as outlined in the Employee Handbook.
• Start date: Target date flexible for the right candidate. We move quickly for strong individual.

Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Tell us about one operation you made better: what it looked like when you arrived, what you changed, and how you know it worked (250-400 words).

Work Location: In person

Salary : $65,000 - $80,000