Hotel Development General Manager Cape Town

**HOTEL DEVELOPMENT & PRE-OPENING GENERAL MANAGER - CAPE TOWN - R75000 to R85000 - Negotiable depending on skill and expertise**

We are currently recruiting for a **HOTEL DEVELOPMENT / PRE-OPENING TECHNICAL GENERAL MANAGER **who will be responsible to direct the opening development and progress of the Hotel and manage overall standard and service implementation and improvement. This role will have dual reporting responsibilities to both Operations and Commercial structures in the line with requirements for each new project.

Must be prepared to travel extensively.

The role involves determining key success criteria for achieving business plan goals & will include key responsibilities such as:
Roles & Responsibilities:

- To conduct pre-opening meetings with Owners, management company & Project team and provide them with necessary inputs
- Prepare and present pre-opening process presentation to Owners and hotel operations team, explain the various stages and nuances of pre-opening, including the standard requirements and compliances that are required
- Create and establish the property on defined target markets, business management and develop and fulfill the defined business plan at a hotel & company level
- Design effective and successful sales, pricing, distributions and yielding strategies to achieve and enhance profitability
- Be fully involved operationally with high visibility in the day to day business of the hotel
- Set effective systems and controls to ensure the consistent smooth running of departments
- Actively participate in the development of all key managerial positions and manage effectively labour turnover, recruitment & employee development within budgeted parameters
- Create, maintain and encourage excellent public and employee relations
- Establish a proactive approach to the selling, marketing and merchandising of the full portfolio of activities throughout the Hotel
- To ensure that the project and the operation team comply to all pre-opening processes, operational brand standards, insurance requirements etc.
- Must ensure that the planning of all BOH areas are completed on time and in accordance with operational requirement, coordinating the same with the project Planning consultant
- Coordination with all other disciplines within the Hotel Group to timely execute pre-opening support, e.g. requesting to start the recruitment process for general manager.
- Solely responsible for conducting the General Manager orientation for upcoming properties, ensuring that there is a fair amount of understanding in terms of the brand statutory requirements and all reporting formats
- Using corporate templates for all pre-opening documents, which includes list of operating supplies, insurance checklist, pre-opening budget etc.
- Develop the pre-opening budget for each hotel along with HR and Commercial Services
- To coordinate with Technical Services and Development team to ensure uniformity in pre-opening reporting numbers, and regularly update project status
- Re write any deviation from the standard SOPs for the Group that might have to be altered due to the operational requirements of the new hotel or lodge
- The GM may also be deployed to any of the Group hotels to assist if required

**Requirements**:

- At least one hotel pre-opening of an international chain hotel
- At least 3 years in a General Manager, Deputy Hotel Manager position, Director Rooms Division or Director Food & Drinks position.
- Profound computer knowledge with MS office (Excel, Word, Power Point).
- Sound knowledge of Hotel departmental organization and operational workflow, with capabilities for reviewing architectural drawings during project planning phase and to provide valuable input to optimize back and front of house planning.
- Financially knowledgeable about typical hospitality ratios and KPI’s, capable to establish pre-opening budgets and assisting the pre-opening teams to establish the operational financial planning and operational budget.
- Commercial knowledge for coordinating together with corporate commercial team and the pre-opening team the formulation of hotel launching campaign and the business plan. Understand the positioning of the Brand, services provided and how customer needs can be met and be capable of closing business.
- Leadership and communication skills to lead pre-opening general managers together with the teams.
- Presentation skills for conducting kick-off meetings for Owner, GM orientation and brand orientation for pre-opening teams.
- Ability to proactively prioritize needs, self-management, put first things first and effectively manage resources and time.
- Negotiation skills to understand the cost/benefits of prospective business and vendor contracts and negotiates contracts which result in mutually beneficial outcomes.
- Understanding the strategic impact of brand positioning, brand architecture how products and services offered compare within the competitive market for targeted market