The Brand

Hoppers was founded by JKS Restaurants and Karan Gokani in October 2015. The first Hoppers in Soho was inspired by toddy shops, home cooking and roadside stalls of Sri Lanka and South India, and served its namesake Hoppers alongside Dosas, Kothu, Short Eats, Rice and Roasts. The acclaim soon followed with reviews from London Evening’s Standard’s Fay Maschler and the late Sunday Times critic A.A. Gill who applauded Hoppers for its “seductive, comehither menu” and “spectacular, impressive, authentic, confident and swaggering kitchen”.The restaurant went on to secure its Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year.

Following the success of Hoppers Soho, a second Hoppers at Marylebone’s St Christopher’s Place, themed around the iconic Tropical Modernist movement of the late Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, opening in September 2017. Hoppers King’s Cross, the third and largest of the three restaurants opened in February 2020 inspired by the much-travelled coastal journey from Colombo, the island’s capital, to the historical Dutch town of Galle.

In the past eight years Hoppers has won several awards and is recognised as one of the leading South Asian restaurant brands in the UK and internationally. Over the coming years, Hoppers has plans to grow across the UK and Internationally providing numerous opportunities for its team members to develop and take on new and exciting roles.

The Role

The People Manager is responsible for overseeing an operational region of the business, providing comprehensive HR support and strategic guidance to site managers while implementing impactful people initiatives. This role bridges business strategy and people operations, requiring both operational understanding and the ability to deliver empathetic, efficient HR services aligned with company values. The role is pivotal in driving engagement, development, and excellence across the Hoppers sites.

Duties Include:

• Support the operational region by being the first point of contact for all local HR & L&D matters
• Directly, support and coach the management team to continually improve the effectiveness of the People function
• Adopt a hands-on a visible approach to people matters across the sites
• Oversee and deliver monthly people metrics and dashboard data to regional leaders
• Advise and coach the sites on ER matters, interpreting and advising on employment law, and escalating where required
• Communicate and promote benefits to operational teams
• Manage the birthdays, long service awards reporting and benefit uptake in region
• Drive HR initiatives such as employee engagement, reward & recognition, wellbeing and ED&I and other relevant projects
• Responsible for 100% compliance with statutory HR requirements
• Support with maintenance of the Company’s skilled worker license, including supporting managers when they identify the need to sponsor a worker and maintain awareness and compliance with relevant health and safety legislation
• Ensure all employees attend and receive Site Induction and Onboarding
• Ensure all employees receive probation chat and thereafter on a regular basis including appraisals
• Drive attendance for Learning & Development sessions
• Responsible for driving career pathways completion in region
• Deliver and build training sessions relevant to the needs of your region

The successful People Manager will have:

• At least 2 years HR generalist experience as a HR advisor or above, hospitality experience is preferred but not a requirement
• Excellent communication skills, and the ability to connect with all levels in the business and motivate colleagues with creative and innovative employee experiences 
• Engaging communicator, comfortable leading training sessions for all levels of the business
• Effective organisational skills; able to prioritise tasks and self-manage a workload, with an eye for detail
• Excellent personal presentation with a warm and welcoming personality

Benefits & Culture

Our team is the most important part of our business, translating our passion for genuine hospitality to our guests every day. We are proud to work with industry-leading talent and recognise the importance of offering our teams the tools, guidance and experience necessary to build confidence and grow.

We encourage you to bring your whole self to work and celebrate the skills and characteristics that make you unique. Your commitment to be kind and work hard comes with a range of benefits such as:

Treat Yourself

• Up to 50% off dining across JKS Restaurants
• Retail & Takeaway Discounts
• Code App Membership

Look After Yourself

• Discounted Gym Membership
• Wagestream – stream your pay earlier
• Company Donations for your involvement with Charities
• Employee Assistance Program
• Access to Financial Advice
• Wedding Gift & New-born Care Package - Celebrating your big occasions

Progress Yourself

• Access to our fantastic L&D Calendar
• A personalised learning & development plan to develop your skills and knowledge
• Career progression with a fast-growing, critically acclaimed restaurant group.

Be Yourself

• Additional holiday for every year with us (rising to 33 days)
• Employee referral scheme - paying up to £600 per referral
• Staff parties & long service awards

The Group

JKS Restaurants was founded by siblings Jyotin, Karam, and Sunaina Sethi in November 2008. Since its inception, the group has received critical acclaim and industry recognition, including 7 Michelin stars, 4 Michelin Bib Gourmands, a restaurant ranked among the World’s 100 Best Restaurants, and a spot in the Sunday Times Best 100 Places to Work 2024.

The JKS portfolio currently features Michelin-starred restaurants such as Trishna, Gymkhana, Kitchen Table, Sabor, and Lyle’s, along with cult favourites Hoppers, BAO, Brigadiers, Berenjak, Plaza Khao Gaeng, Speedboat Bar, Bibi, and Ambassadors Clubhouse. Pubs include The Cadogan Arms, The George and The Hound.

JKS Restaurants offers a unique opportunity to pursue a career in fine dining or to develop within trend-focused casual cuisine, with opportunities across all disciplines for those looking to advance their careers within a people-focused, collaborative hospitality group.