Lead Barista - FT

Barnes & Noble•Fremont, CA

About The Position

A Lead Barista is an integral member of the Barnes & Noble café team, providing hands-on leadership and guidance to maintain compelling product presentations and ensure the efficient operation of the Café. The role supports baristas, addresses concerns, helps prioritize resources, and creates a welcoming environment for colleagues and customers. The Lead Barista is expected to model reliable, positive, supportive, customer-focused behavior, remain open to learning, and help others develop their skills. The position requires mastery of Barnes & Noble barista operational competencies, including drink making, food preparation, merchandising, register service, deliveries and stocking, cleaning, and presentation standards. The Lead Barista coaches café colleagues in these areas and also supports bookstore presentation and maintenance, loss prevention, and a safe and secure store environment. As expertise develops, the Lead Barista takes on further café responsibilities, including accurate food and beverage ordering, inventory and waste reporting, customer recommendations, sales initiatives, training support, and maintaining food safety, hygiene, and sanitation standards. The role involves physical activity, including prolonged standing, repetitive bending, lifting, and extensive walking. The employee may work in other stores when needed and able, supporting the wider Cluster. The position complies with company policies and procedures, with opportunities to advance along the career path as skills develop.

Requirements

Enjoy being a barista.
Demonstrate reliable and punctual attendance for scheduled shifts.
Be flexible and responsive to store needs, including filling scheduling gaps when able; stores are open early mornings to late evenings every day, including weekends and most holidays.
Bring a positive, proactive, hardworking, and reliable approach, and inspire others by example.
Be supportive and considerate of colleagues and cheerful and helpful with customers.
Show aptitude and willingness to learn new skills and knowledge and apply them appropriately while guiding and supporting others.
Demonstrate curiosity, initiative, and ambition to develop a bookselling or café career.
Act as a resource for baristas and booksellers, resolving concerns and raising issues to leadership.
Master operational competencies in drink making, food preparation, merchandising, register service, deliveries and stocking, cleaning, presentation, and café safety practices.
Be able to perform prolonged standing, repetitive bending, lifting, and extensive walking.

Responsibilities

Provide hands-on leadership and guidance to café colleagues, setting a positive example and supporting baristas with questions or concerns.
Maintain reliable and punctual attendance and fill scheduling gaps when able to support store needs.
Prioritize resources and barista support to keep the shift on track.
Model and coach best practices in drink making, food preparation, and the use of café tools and processes.
Coach the café team in merchandising, maintaining a full and vibrant bake case, adjusting displays, and meeting cleanliness and presentation standards.
Guide baristas in visual merchandising and maintaining counter and floor retail fixtures, keeping the Café neat and tidy.
Coach baristas to improve customer conversations, register speed, and register accuracy.
Support baristas in receiving and unpacking deliveries and stocking accurately and efficiently, following FIFO practices.
Support execution of daily and weekly cleaning tasks to keep the Café clean and tidy.
Support the bookfloor team in maintaining presentation standards.
Coach the team on loss prevention procedures, spotting theft, and de-escalating challenging situations and problematic behaviors to help maintain a safe, secure bookstore.
Place food and beverage orders accurately and on time, using available tools and resources to keep the Café in stock.
Complete and submit accurate monthly inventory and waste logs on time.
Coach the team in providing effective food and beverage recommendations to customers.
Lead and support café sales objectives, including new LTOs, café promotions, and Membership, and share relevant information with customers and colleagues.
Use café training tools and resources to help baristas broaden their experience.
Apply knowledge of café safety, hygiene, and sanitation guidelines and procedures to maintain standards.
Comply with all company policies and procedures.