Job Description
The Opportunity
Our client—a leading national hospitality group—has acquired a landmark venue in Melbourne’s North and is currently executing a massive, full‑site renovation to turn it into their flagship large‑format venue in the region.
We are searching for a high‑energy, commercially sharp General Manager to take full operational ownership of this high‑volume, single‑site business. This is an incredible opportunity to steer a major venue launch from the ground up—driving massive food and beverage trade while maintaining oversight across modern gaming and retail bottle shop operations.
As a visible, front‑of‑house General Manager, you will lead directly from the floor. You’ll be as active during peak trade windows as you are managing P&L performance, labour efficiency, venue compliance, and local community engagement. You will also have total freedom to recruit, induct, and build your own venue team ahead of the grand re‑opening.
The Candidate
- Minimum 3 years General Manager / Venue Manager experience running high‑volume, large‑format pubs, taverns, or entertainment venues.
- Direct operational knowledge and oversight of gaming room operations (supported by an onsite Gaming Manager) preferred but not essential.
- Leadership Style: A modern, and high‑energy leader who thrives on the floor, inspires frontline teams, and upholds exceptional venue standards.
- Launch/Refurb Experience: Prior venue launch, re‑branding, or major refurbishment experience will be highly regarded.
Benefits
- Base Package: $135,000 – $145,000 + Super.
- Incentive Structure: $15,000 – $20,000 bonus structure tied directly to Sales, EBITDA, and Gaming performance.
- Career Growth: Executive support and long‑term career pathways within an expanding national hospitality group.
- Flagship Project: Lead the re‑launch of a flagship venue asset with full recruitment and operational control.
What’s in this for you?
- Abroad career opportunity: to showcase your leadership talents and retail prowess within a progressive and stylish women’s fashion brand with quality, trend, value and service at its core
- An opportunity to be part of a family‑owned business that looks after their most important asset, their people. So much loyalty and trust has been fostered amongst its team
- Your senior team of reports, right across the retail disciplines are talented and highly capable and are all ready to warmly welcome their new leader into the business
- The package: is set to attract, reward and retain one of the markets best
- The offices: are design led and collaborative, and are based in the inner South East
Your prospective employer
Crafted for the contemporary Australian woman, this trusted women’s fashion brand designs and retails adored garments that blend functionality, femininity and appeal, like no other. Their ranges are unsurpassed; with success anchored in their timeless designs, classic styling, magnificent fabrics and superb cuts that are all retailed from prime locations right across the country. With an exciting growth agenda, this role presents as a fantastic opportunity to bring retail operational excellence, an eye for style, a love for product, a clear vision, ‘first class’ leadership and a passion for developing a strong sales and service culture and to take this business from ‘great to greater.’ Such exciting times ahead!
Key responsibilities and expectations, growth potential and the flat hierarchy open to allow you to take ownership immediately.
What will you do in an average week?
- Working to your strengths, you will provide over‑arching leadership of the business, ensuring decision‑making is made with the core organisational values of honesty, integrity, ethics and respect at the forefront.
- Be accountable for the day‑to‑day general management of the business to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness of its operations including stores, merchandise, production, marketing, people management and expense management, all to maximise sales and profitability.
- To be contributing and delivering on a cohesive company strategy and vision, ensuring its clearly communicated and articulated in a precise and engaging way to all internal and external stakeholders, ensuring ongoing alignment.
- You will directly oversee your senior team across all functions of the business, keeping them aligned to the company strategy and providing them with leadership and development opportunities.
- You will act as the custodian of the culture and heartbeat of the organisation to ensure the business remains an ‘employer of choice’.
Here’s what it will take:
- Proven GM level experience in a ‘like for like’ role within a small to medium retail organisation. Those candidates ready to step up into this level of role will also be strongly considered providing they have GM/senior level experience of a retail function as well as experience across other multiple organisational functions.
- A variety of industry backgrounds will be considered although it’s highly likely you will have experience in soft goods (textiles and/or apparel). Essential will be a strong sense of style, an eye for product and a senior retail leader who is effortlessly ‘on trend’.
- A deep passion for retail, product, sales, service, people and delivering sustainable results. You know effortlessly how to translate a ‘vision’ into day‑to‑day retail operational excellence and achieve results that are sustainable for the long term.
- Are proven in your ability to articulate a clear vision and to create and develop a strong retail sales and service culture. You develop, plans, targets and timelines that will take a business and its team, from its current state to its next level of accelerated growth ensuring high levels of customer services is always at its core.
- A customer‑centric mentality and a retailer at heart. You have unquestionable passion for retail and a high level of interest to visit stores regularly to ensure you fully across, the heart and pulse of the business. You inherently believe that customers come first every time and a retail business exists to create ‘customers for life’.
- An understanding of the nuances of a family business, its therefore unlikely you will come from a pure corporate background.
- A leadership style that will naturally listen, learn and build relationships in the first instance. You are also pragmatic and measured in your approach to decision‑making and advice‑giving.
- Have sound business acumen and have managed significant P&Ls. You therefore have a deep understanding of the financial levers across all areas.
- Have strong exposure to market influences and inhabit a strong knowledge of demographics, competitor activity and environmental factors.
- Are authentic, calm, humble and down to earth. This oozes from your every pore.
- You take a non‑hierarchical approach. i.e. are just as comfortable getting your hands dirty as much as you are at performing at the strategic and high‑level business and relationship management aspects of the role.
- You are professionally mature. You inspire confidence, are incredibly commercial, you have endless drive, determination, resilience and persistence and you have a high level of commitment that inspires others. You are always ‘in it for the team.’
Key responsibilities and expectations, growth potential and the flat hierarchy open to allow you to take ownership immediately.