Sooke Harbour House is one of British Columbia’s most iconic boutique hotels and culinary destinations. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, our restaurant celebrates the flavours of Vancouver Island through seasonal cuisine, exceptional service, and genuine hospitality.
We are looking for an experienced, service-oriented Server Shift Lead to join our Food & Beverage team. This position combines hands-on serving responsibilities with additional leadership duties during assigned shifts, supporting the Director of Food & Beverage and helping ensure consistent service standards across the restaurant.
Reporting to the Director of Food & Beverage, the Server Shift Lead provides attentive, professional, and personalized food and beverage service while taking a leadership role on the floor during assigned shifts.
The Server Shift Lead acts as a point of support for the Front of House team, helping coordinate service, maintain standards, resolve guest concerns, and ensure effective communication between the dining room, bar, kitchen, and hotel teams.
This is a working leadership position. The successful candidate will maintain their own section and actively participate in service while helping guide the team and oversee the overall flow of the shift.
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Welcome guests and provide friendly, attentive, and professional service.
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Maintain a serving section and perform all regular Server responsibilities during service.
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Present menus, answer questions, and confidently make food, wine, and beverage recommendations.
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Accurately take guest orders and enter them into the POS system.
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Serve food and beverages efficiently while maintaining Sooke Harbour House service standards.
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Anticipate guest needs and ensure concerns are addressed promptly and professionally.
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Process guest payments and maintain accurate cash-handling procedures.
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Act as the Front of House shift lead when assigned.
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Support the Director of Food & Beverage with the execution of daily restaurant operations.
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Assist with pre-shift meetings, including daily features, menu changes, allergies, VIPs, large parties, events, and operational priorities.
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Coordinate sections, breaks, side duties, opening and closing responsibilities.
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Monitor the flow and pace of service and make adjustments as required.
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Help ensure appropriate communication between FOH, BOH, Front Desk, and other departments.
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Provide direction and support to Servers, Bartenders, Hosts, Support Staff, and other FOH team members during service.
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Lead by example and help maintain a positive, professional, and accountable work environment.
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Monitor service standards throughout the shift and provide real-time coaching where appropriate.
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Assist team members with challenging guest situations and escalate significant concerns to the Director of Food & Beverage or Manager on Duty when required.
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Support appropriate guest recovery while ensuring incidents and resolutions are communicated to management.
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Ensure allergies, dietary restrictions, special occasions, VIPs, and guest preferences are properly communicated and handled.
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Help ensure the restaurant is fully prepared and presented to standard before opening and maintained throughout service.
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Assist with restaurant opening and closing procedures.
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Ensure required side duties and closing responsibilities are completed before team members leave.
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Support accurate POS procedures, cash handling, payment processing, and end-of-shift reconciliation.
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Assist with private events, weddings, large parties, and special functions.
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Monitor restaurant cleanliness, organization, table settings, service stations, and overall presentation.
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Identify operational, maintenance, supply, or service concerns and communicate them to management.
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Support responsible labour management by monitoring business levels and communicating staffing needs or opportunities for early cuts to the Director of Food & Beverage.
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Ensure compliance with Serving It Right requirements, food safety standards, and company policies.
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Minimum 2 years of serving experience in a full-service restaurant, hotel, or similar hospitality environment preferred.
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Previous supervisory, shift lead, or senior server experience is considered an asset.
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Strong knowledge of food, wine, spirits, and professional dining service.
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Excellent communication, organization, and guest-service skills.
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Confidence providing direction and support to team members during busy services.
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Strong problem-solving skills and ability to remain composed under pressure.
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Ability to balance leadership responsibilities while maintaining an active serving section.
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Positive, professional, and collaborative leadership style.
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Flexible availability, including evenings, weekends, holidays, weddings, and special events.
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Serving It Right certification required.
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FoodSafe certification is considered an asset.
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Competitive hourly wage plus gratuities
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Additional leadership experience and development
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Employee discounts
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Ongoing training and professional development
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Opportunities for advancement within the Food & Beverage team and organization
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A supportive and collaborative work environment
At Sooke Harbour House, hospitality is about creating meaningful connections and memorable experiences for every guest. Our Server Shift Lead plays an important role in bringing that philosophy to life—not only through exceptional personal service, but by helping the entire team deliver a consistent and elevated guest experience.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Server who is ready to take on additional leadership responsibility and develop toward future supervisory or management opportunities while remaining actively involved in guest service.
Apply today and become part of the next chapter of Sooke Harbour House.
