About Us

At The Big Group , we are all about the essence of true hospitality, made for the 21st century. From sourcing ingredients, training our staff, and curating the details, the great Art of Australian Hospitality is its ability to flex from formal to relaxed, ultra-contemporary to authentically multicultural, and to show everyone a good time. When it comes to our team, Fun is Fundamental! We believe that a dynamic and enjoyable work setting is key to delivering exceptional service. Our team is passionate, energetic, and dedicated to creating memorable experiences for our guests while having a great time doing it!

Our Venues

Our venues Ormond House, Luminare, Glasshouse and State Library Victoria (SLV) provide stunning event spaces for corporate dinners, conferences, cocktail parties, private occasions, weddings, milestone celebrations, and everything in-between. In addition, we also have a Production Kitchen in North Melbourne to support the volume of events within our venues.

Position Overview

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Head Barista to lead the coffee offering across our Biblio and Guild Cafés at State Library Victoria .
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who genuinely loves coffee, thrives during a busy service and gets just as much satisfaction from developing great baristas as they do from pouring the perfect coffee.
You will spend the majority of your week on the coffee machine, setting the standard for quality, speed and presentation while bringing great energy to the café. Working closely with our Front of House Manager, you will take ownership of coffee quality, barista training, equipment standards, stock and the overall coffee experience.

Main Duties

- Lead our coffee offering – Be the benchmark for coffee across Biblio and Guild, delivering consistently excellent beverages with beautiful presentation, detailed latte art and exceptional attention to quality.
- Develop brilliant Baristas – Train, coach and support our Barista team,



setting clear expectations around brew specifications, speed, consistency and service while helping people continually develop their skills.
- Own the coffee machine – Spend the majority of your week on the tools, leading by example during busy service and creating a fast, organised and positive environment behind the machine.
- Keep quality and consistency high – Monitor beverage quality throughout service, ensure coffee equipment and grinders are maintained to a high standard and address maintenance issues quickly.
- Manage the coffee operation – Stay on top of coffee, consumables and product ordering, preparation and stock levels to make sure the team has everything it needs for a successful service.
- Support the wider café team – Hospitality is a team sport. When required, you will jump in to run food, clear tables, assist customers, wash dishes or support the FOH Manager to keep service flowing.

Skills and Experience Required

- Serious coffee knowledge – You have strong specialty coffee knowledge and the technical skills to consistently produce exceptional espresso-based beverages in a high-volume environment.
- A trainer as well as a Barista – You enjoy sharing your knowledge and know how to coach Baristas at different skill levels, giving clear feedback and building confidence and consistency.
- Speed without sacrificing quality – You understand that great coffee needs to be both excellent and efficient, and you know how to organise your station and team to perform under pressure.
- Strong leadership skills – You lead by example, communicate clearly, set expectations and create an environment where people want to perform at their best.
- A genuine hospitality mindset – You are comfortable talking to customers, building relationships with regulars and sharing your passion and knowledge of coffee without losing sight of the overall customer experience.
- Team first mentality – You are not someone who says, "that's not my job." You are happy to jump in wherever needed and understand that an exceptional café experience comes from the whole team working together.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 Head Barista (Biblio & Guild Cafes) (Melbourne)
🏢 The Big Group
📍 Melbourne