Seasonal · September to New Year · Southampton city centre · 16-20 hours a week
Events & Celebrations Host
Padharo means "welcome". This autumn we're hiring the person whose whole job is welcoming people in.
From Diwali through Christmas to New Year, our dining room is at its busiest and best. We're looking for one warm, confident, organised person to fill it with celebrations: office Christmas parties, Diwali gatherings, birthdays, family get-togethers and full-venue events. You'll be out in the city and on the phone rather than stuck at a desk, introducing Padharo to offices, community groups and organisers, and looking after every enquiry from first hello to booked-in.
What you'll do
- Get out and meet people: offices, business parks, the hospitals, community and cultural groups, anywhere a Christmas or Diwali party might be brewing.
- Turn enquiries into confirmed bookings: reply quickly and warmly, find out what the group wants, recommend the right menu, take deposits and pre-orders.
- Know our menus, group options and dietary range inside out, so you can answer anything on the spot.
- Keep everything organised: log every lead, chase final numbers, hand clean details to the kitchen so nothing gets missed.
- Sell the occasion, not just the table: bigger groups, add-ons, full-venue hire where it fits.
You'll need (this is the whole list)
To be comfortable walking into a business or community space you've never set foot in and starting a warm conversation. It's the one thing we can't teach.
Warmth. Likeable, never pushy: you carry Padharo's name everywhere you go.
Organisation. You follow up, you remember the details, you don't let a booking slip.
Clear, friendly spoken and written English, and confidence on the phone.
To be genuinely at ease with people of every community, including approaching the local Indian and Hindu community about Diwali and family celebrations.
Some weekday daytime availability, because that's when offices answer the door.
Helpful, but honestly not required
If the list above sounds like you, apply. These just add weight: a background where you approached people (charity fundraising, promotions, events, recruitment, lettings, retail, hospitality); your own way around the city; existing local contacts; curiosity about Indian food and the festive calendar; experience with any booking system.
The pay, in plain terms
£12.71 an hour, guaranteed, for every hour you work. On top of that, £1.50 for every guest you book in, uncapped, paid on group bookings of ten or more that dine with us, with milestone bonuses as your confirmed bookings build. In a busy December week, our own sums put a good host at the equivalent of £25 to £35 an hour. Holiday pay and staff meals on shift included.
The practical bits
16 hours a week to start, rising towards 20 as the festive season builds. Fixed-term contract (PAYE) from mid-September to early January. Based at Padharo, 100-102 East Street, Southampton, with your patch being the city around us.
How to apply
Send a CV and a short note, a paragraph is enough, telling us about a time you approached someone cold and won them round.
Email both to jobs@padharo.co.uk by Friday 21 August.
We read and reply to every application. Interviews happen the following week.
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