Meredith Music Festival Staff Diner Manager/Chef

The Meredith and Golden Plains Music Festivals take place near the town of Meredith, halfway between Ballarat and Geelong. Meredith has been running since 1991, with sibling Golden Plains starting in 2007.

The Staff Diner feeds a few thousand workers across the festival weekends, with the manager responsible for ensuring tasty and healthy food is available at all hours of the day. You’ll oversee staffing, rostering, food service operations, and compliance, whilst creating and maintaining a welcoming and supportive experience for all workers.

The successful candidate will begin work around the 15th of October and be required to be onsite from December 3 through to December 14 (not required on-site December 5 and 6) for Meredith, and March 1 through to March 9 for Golden Plains.

Anticipated Hours across both festivals: 120 off-site (work from home) and 160 on-site. 

Hourly Pay Rate: Live Performance Award Level 7 ($41.64), with penalty rates across the festival.

Key Responsibilities Staffing & Team Management

• Recruit, onboard, and manage staff
• Develop and maintain staff rosters in line with award conditions and breaks
• Foster a welcoming and supportive team environment

Operations & Site Management

• Oversee setup, daily operation, and pack-down of the Diner
• Monitor site readiness including cleanliness, prep, and service flow

Food Service & Compliance

• Menu development to meet dietary requirements
• Ordering
• Ensure adherence to all food safety, allergen, and OH&S protocols

Roster, Payroll & Administration

• Manage shift allocations, staff requirements, and pay approvals
• Respond to staff enquiries via designated communication channels

About You

You’re an organised and adaptable leader who thrives in fast-paced environments. You bring:

• Qualified and experienced chef
• Experience managing teams in hospitality, events, or large-scale catering
• Strong rostering and organisational skills
• Experience developing menus and ordering
• Solid understanding of food safety and compliance requirements
• Confidence handling staffing challenges in dynamic settings
• A supportive leadership style that fosters a positive team culture