Duty manager job description template
The person holding the keys on a Saturday night: briefing the shift, moving people where the room needs them, deciding the calls that cannot wait for the owner, and locking up.
| Section | What it says |
|---|---|
| Position | Duty manager |
| Reports to | Venue manager |
| Employment type | Full time, 38 ordinary hours a week averaged over a roster cycle |
| Where the work happens | The whole venue: the bar, the bistro, the gaming room and the beer garden |
| Hours and roster | Five shifts across the week, a mix of openings and closes, including at least two weekend nights. The roster is published a fortnight ahead. |
| What the job involves | Brief the shift and set sections before doors. Move staff between areas as the room fills and empties. Handle guest complaints and make the call on refunds within the limit set by the owner. Refuse service and manage incidents, and write them up in the incident log. Check the floats, do the banking, and balance the tills at close. Keep the venue compliant with its licence conditions on the night. Lock up, set the alarm and leave the handover note for the morning. |
| A typical shift | On at 16:00: safe checked, floats out, sections set, shift briefed by 16:45. Doors and steady trade to 19:00, then the bistro rush and the band from 20:00. Two incidents logged and one refund approved. Last drinks at midnight, floor cleared, tills balanced, safe locked, alarm set and the handover note written by 1:15am. |
| Skills and experience | Has run shifts in a licensed venue. Keeps a room calm, decides quickly and writes it down afterwards. Comfortable telling somebody they have had enough. |
| Tickets and certificates | A Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate, and the approved manager or licensee qualification the state requires for the person in charge of a licensed venue. Gaming requirements apply where the venue has machines. |
| Physical demands | On your feet for the shift, late finishes, noise, and dealing with people who have been drinking. |
| Pay and award | Paid at the rate in your letter of engagement. Venue supervision is usually covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, or the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award in a club, and the award’s coverage clause decides which. The classification decides the rate, and any annualised arrangement is written down separately. |
| How the job is reviewed | A monthly one on one with the venue manager, and a formal review every six months. |
| Review date of this description | Reviewed each March, or when the licence conditions change. |
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 The Anchor Hotel.
- How to use, with the steps and the mistakes below.
How to fill it in
- Write down what this person can decide alone, in dollars and in situations, because that is the job.
- Name the qualification your state requires for the person in charge, and record its expiry.
- Say how hours are averaged if they are, and keep that consistent with the letter of engagement.
- Agree what the handover note has to cover before the first shift.
Common mistakes
- Responsibility without authority: a manager who has to phone the owner about a twenty dollar refund
- Leaving the incident log and the banking out, which are the parts that matter after the night
- An annualised salary arranged in conversation and never written down or checked against the award
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
Roster Flow records who approved a timesheet change, a swap or a correction, so the decisions a duty manager makes on the night are still readable on Monday.
Questions
What is on the duty manager 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 The Anchor Hotel: the person who runs the shift: the floor, the till, the incidents and the close.
Does the duty manager 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 duty manager job description template in Google Sheets?
Yes. Open duty-manager-job-description.xlsx from Google Drive, or use File, then Import, then Upload with duty-manager-job-description.csv. The document and its example come across either way.
Is the wording in the duty manager job description template ready to use as it is?
The duty manager job description template is a starting point for The Anchor Hotel 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.