Join White Rabbit Hospitality as Assistant Manager – Rao's at Rusacks, St Andrews

This summer, the world's most famously hard-to-book Italian restaurant leaves New York for the first time in its 130-year history and lands in St Andrews. We're looking for an Assistant Manager to help run Rao's at Rusacks, a once-in-a-career residency overlooking the 18th hole of the Old Course.

White Rabbit Hospitality operates Rusacks St Andrews, a luxury Marine & Lawn property and one of the world's most storied golf hotels. From May to September, Rusacks hosts Rao's, the legendary East Harlem institution famous for its ten tables and impossible reservations. You'll lead floor service at a residency with global attention.

This isn't a role where you inherit a system and tick over. You'll help build the operation from the ground up inside the intimate underground space that becomes Rao's at Rusacks, setting standards, training the team, and managing a guest list of international travellers, golfers and returning Rao's regulars from New York.

Our values shape how we hire and lead: Hospitality is at our Core, We Do the Right Thing, We Pursue Excellence and We are all Entrepreneurs. The ethos is simple, work hard and be kind.

Our Values – In Every Service

• HOSPITALITY IS AT OUR CORE - lead the floor with warmth and build the family-table atmosphere Rao's is famous for.
• WE DO THE RIGHT THING - look after the team as much as the guests, and hold the standard when no one is watching.
• WE PURSUE EXCELLENCE - obsess over timing, table layout, wine pour and the goodbye at the door.
• WE ARE ALL ENTREPRENEURS - think commercially and treat the residency like your own business.

What Will You Be Doing?

• Leading dinner service alongside the General Manager, owning the floor from pre-service brief to handover.
• Recruiting, training and inspiring a small, hand-picked FOH team to deliver the Rao's experience authentically.
• Managing reservations, VIP communications and the guest journey from booking to farewell.
• Driving covers, spend per head, wine sales and add-ons without ever feeling salesy on the floor.
• Owning stock, ordering, par levels and supplier relationships for bar and floor.
• Overseeing compliance, allergens (Natasha's Law), food safety, licensing, H&S and right-to-work.
• Running cash-up, reconciliation, tronc and weekly reporting to the GM.
• Stepping up as duty manager and leading by example on every shift.

What Do You Need?

• Proven experience as an Assistant Restaurant Manager or Senior FOH in a premium, quality-led restaurant.
• Understanding of Italian or Italian-American cuisine, wine and service, or genuine passion to learn fast.
• Confident floor leadership and presence to manage a busy room under pressure.
• Commercial literacy: covers forecasting, GP, wage percentage, stock variance and weekly P&L.
• Strong reservations and guest-management instincts (SevenRooms, OpenTable or similar).
• Personal Licence (or willingness to obtain), Level 2 Food Safety, and working knowledge of allergen compliance.
• Flexibility to work evenings, weekends and across the full May–September residency.
• The right to work in the UK.

What We Offer

Aside from an OTE hourly rate of £16.90 we provide:

• Staff discount across all White Rabbit Hospitality venues.
• Wagestream, flexible access to your earned pay before payday.
• Structured training and clear progression through our group-wide development pathways.
• Cycle-to-Work scheme and employee assistance programme.
• A unique line on your CV: helping launch Rao's first ever international residency.

This is a seasonal residency with year-round consequence. The right person will use Rao's at Rusacks as a springboard into permanent leadership across Rusacks or the wider White Rabbit Hospitality group. We invest in the people who invest in us.

Ready to Lead Something Extraordinary?

Apply now to become Assistant Manager at Rao's at Rusacks with White Rabbit Hospitality, St Andrews, Fife.