General Manager Recruitment, Melbourne
A General Manager placement in hospitality is rarely just about hospitality skills. We're screening for someone who can run the commercial side of a venue, P&L, rostering, supplier relationships, as well as the floor itself.
What we look for in a General Manager
A General Manager carries the whole venue: the numbers, the people and the guest experience. These are the things we test for before anyone reaches your shortlist.
How we screen-
Owns the P&L, not just the dashboard
Revenue, cost of goods, labour and wastage are numbers they have been accountable for, not reports someone else sent them. They can explain what moved a week's result and what they did about it.
How we checkWe ask them to walk us through a real month: what went wrong, which lever they pulled, and what the number did next.
-
Across every department
Floor, kitchen, bar and events all answer to a GM. We look for someone who has managed each of them, so no part of the venue is a blind spot.
How we checkWe test for gaps department by department and confirm the scope of each role with referees.
-
Negotiates directly with suppliers
A GM who has sat across from suppliers protects margin in ways a spreadsheet never shows. We want someone who has renegotiated terms, not just placed orders.
How we checkWe ask for a specific negotiation, what changed in the terms and what it was worth to the venue.
-
Has hired, managed and exited senior staff
Building a leadership team means making hard calls about people. They should be able to talk through each of those calls honestly, including the ones that went wrong.
How we checkReferees are asked how they handled performance and exits, not just whether they were well liked.
-
Knows stable from turnaround
Running a venue that works and fixing one that doesn't take different leaders. We look for someone who has done both and knows which one your venue needs.
How we checkWe match their track record against the situation in your brief before they are shortlisted.
