Barista job description template
The job as a cafe actually runs it: the grinder dialled in before the first order, a queue worked at speed, and the bar left ready for whoever opens tomorrow. Filled in for a small cafe, and yours to change.
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| Position | Barista |
| Reports to | Cafe manager, and the owner when the manager is off |
| Employment type | Casual, with hours offered week to week and a roster published every Thursday |
| Where the work happens | The coffee bar and the floor, including the outside tables in fine weather |
| Hours and roster | Between 6:00am and 3:00pm, Monday to Sunday. Weekend mornings are the busiest shifts and are part of the job. |
| What the job involves | Dial in the grinder against a test shot and adjust it through the day as the beans change. Make espresso based drinks to the cafe standard. Texture milk for flat whites, lattes and takeaway cups. Take orders and payments, and call them clearly to the kitchen. Keep the bar clean, the group heads flushed and the machine backflushed at close. Restock beans, milk, cups and lids before the next shift needs them. |
| A typical shift | Open at 6:00: machine on, hopper filled, grinder dialled in against a test shot, bar set up and the first pot of filter down by 6:20. Serve the commuter run from 6:30 to 9:30, restock milk twice through it. Quiet stretch from 10:00 for cleaning, waste log and a break. Second rush from 11:30. Hand the bar over clean at 14:30 with the grind noted for the afternoon. |
| Skills and experience | Worked a two group machine in a busy cafe. Can texture milk to order and keep pours consistent. Stays accurate with a queue and a noisy floor. Friendly with regulars and quick with newcomers. |
| Tickets and certificates | Any food handling training the business requires, which is set by the business rather than by the role. |
| Physical demands | On your feet for the whole shift, lifting milk crates and bean bags, and repeated tamping and steaming. |
| Pay and award | Paid at the rate in your letter of engagement. Cafe work is usually covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award or the Restaurant Industry Award, and the award’s own coverage clause decides which one applies to this business. The classification in that award decides the rate for this role. |
| How the job is reviewed | A chat at three months on coffee quality, speed at the bar and how the handover is left, then once a year. |
| Review date of this description | Reviewed each March, or sooner if the menu or the machine changes. |
What is in the file
- Template, blank, with each section down the side and room for the answer.
- Example, the same sheet filled in for Harbourside Coffee.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Change the example wording to what your cafe actually does, especially the hours and the opening routine.
- Read the duties beside the classification definitions in the award that covers your business, because the classification sets the rate.
- Give it to the person before they start, and again if the job changes.
- Keep a copy with their other employment documents.
Common mistakes
- Duties written for the busiest day only, so the quiet morning jobs go unsaid
- A description that promises hours the roster cannot give, or leaves weekend work out
- Copying a classification from another business rather than reading the award
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
In Roster Flow the same job carries a job title, the venues the person works at, and the availability they keep by the hour, so a barista’s opening shifts land on the people who can start at six.
Questions
What is on the barista job description template?
13 sections down the side, running from position to review date of this description. The example beside them is filled in for Harbourside Coffee: what a barista does, the shifts it involves, and where the rate comes from.
Does the barista job description template work anything out for you?
No. It is a document with 13 sections to answer in your own words, not a calculator. Nothing on it is a formula.
Can I use the barista job description template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open barista-job-description.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with barista-job-description.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the barista job description template ready to use as it is?
The barista job description template is a starting point for Harbourside Coffee or any business like it, to adapt rather than sign. The wording was checked against the official sources on 22 September 2026, it is not legal advice, and it has not been through a workplace relations professional.