Katerina Iliopoulou Email & Phone Number

I joined Imperial College Union as a Venue Operations Manager, heading up the Venues team. I was recently promoted to the role of Head of Commercial Services, overseeing the Venues, Events and Partnerships and Retail teams. I am responsible for the overall management and continual business development of the Union’s bars, catering and retail offerings, as well as the events & partnerships operations to deliver full commercial potential and maintain a high standard of licensed trade venues and events service to our members. As part of my role, I deputize the Director of Commercial Services and work very closely with the Senior Management Team and the Union’s elected officers, in order to develop and operationalize a long term commercial strategy for the organization.

Alongside my full-time position, I decided to work in Profit Protection in order to have a greater understanding of the hospitality industry and to gain experience in larger scale events and services. My duties as a Profit Protection Compliance Manager include completing compliance checks based on strict corporate guidelines and ensuring that all financial procedures are followed to prevent profit loss. I also contribute to the training of new team leaders via on shift training, explaining all financial and health and safety procedures. Through this role, I manage to work closely with a variety of different departments, such as the Health Compliance Officer of the organization, and further develop my knowledge on the food and beverage sector.

Responsible for the Strand campus commercial outlets for King’s College London Students Union. Managing a strong team of 2 permanent staff and 50 student staff across two venues, a bar and a café. I am the designated premises supervisor for our bar. I have established a close working relationship with different teams of the union, assisting in campaigns such as Freshers Week, Elections, Varsity and One World Week. I am currently part of a project team reviewing our EPOS system and I am leading in a project looking into our staff training. I communicate financial information to senior management on a weekly basis and have been involved in writing and presenting papers to our senior leadership team.

Egham

After my graduation, I was offered a full-time position in Royal Holloway Students’ Union. I am currently one of the trading services managers, overlooking the food and beverage offering across two different sites, which include a burger restaurant (Tommy’s Kitchen), a late-night venue (SU Venue) and a bar (Medicine Bar). I directly line manage 2 full time staff members and over 180 casual staff members. I am responsible for their recruitment, training and progression in the organization. Last year, I was in charge of a full menu revamp across all sites, which consisted of items which are currently popular in the market, while ensuring that they deliver the business the highest possible bottom line contribution. I am responsible for the stocktaking procedures of the organization and for keeping our EPOS system and related functions up to date. I have also been a part of the planning committee for our annual Summer Ball, planning and staffing the bars, being a link between internal and external stakeholders and overseeing the operation on the night.

As a Duty Manager I have to make sure that all the relative licensing laws are applied and provide support and assistance to deputy managers in the operational running of RHSU Bars and Venues with capacities up to 1200 customers. I also monitor, organize and train student staff. I am responsible for making the shift rotas and new staff recruitment. Other responsibilities include: stock control, marketing, health and safety, finance, administration. I have obtained a personal license which allows me to authorize the sale of alcohol from a licensed premises.

After only 5 months of working as a member of the security staff in the Student’s Union, I was promoted to a supervisor. My responsibilities include allocating duties to my team, being the point of contact between customers and management, making sure that everything that happens complies with the licensing laws and allocating time and resources accordingly. Furthermore, I assist the on-duty managers by ensuring that money and stock are safe at all times. Organizational skills and excellent customer service are the two basic characteristics I have developed throughout the years, which enabled me to take this role.

As a security officer, I had a duty of care for all the guests in our venues. So, my responsibilities included removing overly intoxicated customers for their own safety and preventing arguments from taking place. Part of the training I received for this position was MAYBO, a certified conflict management training. This position helped me develop my customer service skills further, since I had to deal with customers on regular basis. It also helped me built up my confidence and made me familiar with the laws and rules surrounding duty of care and club premises licensing.

London, United Kingdom

As a food and beverage host, I got trained in food safety and health and safety rules. I worked in the fish and chips restaurant, starting as a cashier and moved to be one of the main chefs in the kitchen. This role gave me a thorough insight in customer service and taught me to follow strict corporate guidelines, since our department worked in accordance to every restaurant in Merlin Entertainments.

Athens

During my gap year, I worked as an English teacher in a school of English in Athens, Greece. I taught a variety of different levels and students aging from 5 to 17 years old. During my time as a teacher, I participated in several seminars regarding ways of teaching and different psychological approaches towards the students.

Athens, Greece

As a library assistant, I was responsible for registering new books and creating catalogues of them. This role helped me develop my organizational skills and allowed me to understand the way libraries are organized and the way they function.

Athens, Greece

During my time as a laboratory assistant in an immunology lab, I acquired practical skills which I am developing further as an undergraduate now. It was the first interaction I had with the world of biology and the one that made me get further involved with biology.

Athens, Greece

As a trainee in a maternity hospital, I got to watch operations such as caesarean sections and interact with the patients during the recovery period. I also got the opportunity to see the way doctors operate and the way the nursing staff assist in operations.

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Biology, General

A Biology degree combines theoretical knowledge of the basic and more advanced principles of Biology, as well as practical skills acquired.

High School Diploma, Various

Biology, Chemistry, Science, Mathematics, Greek Language