General Manager

Cutting Edge Recruitment; Jeddah; On-site; SAR 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Accommodation & transport

Duty meals

Open a new dining concept

Leadership role

Career growth

Job summary

Cutting Edge Recruitment is seeking an experienced General Manager to lead the opening of a 45-seat Nikkei handroll bar in Jeddah. You will own pre-opening, opening, and ongoing operations, building the team, establishing standards, and driving guest experience with energy and precision.

The role requires hands-on leadership in a high-volume, intimate setting, with strong P&L awareness, recruitment skills, and a passion for hospitality. English fluency and strong communication are essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years in a GM, Restaurant Manager, or senior leadership role.
• Experience running a busy restaurant with strong service standards.
• Pre-opening and opening experience is preferred.
• Genuine passion for hospitality, food, beverage, and guest experience.
• Good understanding of P&L, costs, labour, and day-to-day restaurant operations.
• Strong leadership and team-building skills.
• Calm, confident, and decisive during busy service.
• Good communication and professional English.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational preparation and opening of the restaurant.
• Develop and implement SOPs, service standards, opening checklists, and operating procedures.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training, and team development.
• Coordinate with culinary, operations, procurement, marketing, and ownership teams to ensure opening readiness.
• Establish service sequences, guest journey standards, and operational systems.
• Support soft-opening activities, training services, rehearsals, and final operational preparations.
• Identify potential operational challenges before opening and implement solutions.
• Take full ownership of the restaurant’s daily operation.
• Maintain exceptional standards across service, hospitality, cleanliness, presentation, and overall guest experience.
• Lead service during peak periods and remain highly visible on the floor.
• Ensure the restaurant operates with pace, precision, consistency, and strong communication.
• Maintain all food safety, health, hygiene, licensing, and company standards.
• Manage stock, ordering, inventory, waste, and operational controls.
• Ensure equipment, facilities, and guest areas are maintained to the required standard.
• Create a warm, energetic, and memorable guest experience.
• Build strong relationships with regular guests and VIP clientele.
• Be proactive in resolving guest concerns and protecting the brand’s reputation.
• Understand the importance of a bar-led dining experience and ensure team creates genuine interaction with guests.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve service, hospitality, and the overall dining experience.
• Take responsibility for sales, profitability, labour, cost control, and operational performance.
• Monitor KPIs and implement corrective actions where required.
• Manage labour scheduling and productivity while maintaining service standards.
• Control food, beverage, and operating costs.
• Minimise waste and ensure disciplined inventory management.
• Work with ownership to develop initiatives that increase revenue and guest frequency.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Hospitality

Problem-solving

On-floor presence

Job description

General Manager — New Nikkei Handroll Bar | Jeddah

Be the driving force behind a new era of Nikkei dining in Jeddah.

About the Opportunity:

An exciting new dining concept is preparing to open in Jeddah, bringing a contemporary Nikkei handroll bar experience to the city.

With approximately 45 seats, an intimate bar-led dining room, and a highly focused food and beverage offering, the concept is designed around energy, precision, personality, and exceptional hospitality.

This is not a traditional large-format restaurant. The experience is intimate, fast-paced, highly interactive, and built around the relationship between the guest, the team, and the bar. Every detail matters — from the welcome and service rhythm to the quality of the product, the energy of the room, and the execution of every handroll.

We are looking for an experienced and commercially driven General Manager to lead the opening and establish the operation as one of Jeddah’s most exciting new dining destinations.

The Role:

The General Manager will have overall responsibility for the restaurant’s pre-opening, opening, and ongoing operations.

Working closely with the ownership and senior leadership team, the GM will build the operational structure, recruit and develop the team, establish service standards, drive financial performance, and ensure the concept delivers a consistently exceptional guest experience.

This is a hands‑on leadership role suited to someone who genuinely enjoys being on the floor, understands high-volume service in an intimate environment, and knows how to create energy without compromising standards.

Key Responsibilities:

Pre‑Opening & Launch

• Lead the operational preparation and opening of the restaurant.
• Develop and implement SOPs, service standards, opening checklists, and operating procedures.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, training, and team development.
• Coordinate with culinary, operations, procurement, marketing, and ownership teams to ensure opening readiness.
• Establish service sequences, guest journey standards, and operational systems.
• Support soft‑opening activities, training services, rehearsals, and final operational preparations.
• Identify potential operational challenges before opening and implement solutions.

Restaurant Operations

• Take full ownership of the restaurant’s daily operation.
• Maintain exceptional standards across service, hospitality, cleanliness, presentation, and overall guest experience.
• Lead service during peak periods and remain highly visible and engaged on the floor.
• Ensure the restaurant operates with pace, precision, consistency, and strong communication.
• Maintain all food safety, health, hygiene, licensing, and company standards.
• Manage stock, ordering, inventory, waste, and operational controls.
• Ensure equipment, facilities, and guest areas are maintained to the required standard.

Guest Experience

• Create a warm, energetic, and memorable guest experience.
• Build strong relationships with regular guests and VIP clientele.
• Be proactive in resolving guest concerns and protecting the reputation of the brand.
• Understand the importance of a bar‑led dining experience and ensure the team creates genuine interaction with guests.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve service, hospitality, and the overall dining experience.

Commercial Performance

• Take responsibility for sales, profitability, labour, cost control, and operational performance.
• Monitor key restaurant KPIs and implement corrective actions where required.
• Manage labour scheduling and productivity while maintaining service standards.
• Control food, beverage, and operating costs.
• Minimise waste and ensure disciplined inventory management.
• Work with ownership to develop initiatives that increase revenue, guest frequency, and profitability.

People & Culture

• Recruit and build a high‑performing restaurant team from the ground up.
• Establish a strong culture based on hospitality, accountability, teamwork, and pride.
• Coach and develop managers, supervisors, bartenders, servers, and support teams.
• Set clear expectations and hold the team accountable to agreed standards.
• Create a positive working environment that attracts and retains strong hospitality talent.
• Lead by example and be a visible presence throughout service.

Brand & Business Development

• Work closely with ownership and creative/marketing teams to build the restaurant’s reputation in Jeddah.
• Support events, collaborations, launches, and promotional initiatives.
• Develop strong relationships within the local hospitality and lifestyle community.
• Bring ideas, market awareness, and commercial thinking to the evolution of the concept.
• Help establish the restaurant as a leading destination within Jeddah’s contemporary dining scene.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate will have:

• • At least 3 years in a GM, Restaurant Manager, or senior leadership role.
  • Experience running a busy restaurant with strong service standards.
  • Pre‑opening and opening experience is preferred.
  • Genuine passion for hospitality, food, beverage, and guest experience.
  • Good understanding of P&L, costs, labour, and day‑to‑day restaurant operations.
  • Strong leadership and team‑building skills.
  • Calm, confident, and decisive during busy service.
  • Good communication and professional English.
  • Strong organisational and problem‑solving skills.
  • A hands‑on approach and willingness to be present on the floor.

The Personality:

We are looking for someone who is:

Energetic. Commercial. Guest‑focused. Detail‑oriented. Hands‑on. Charismatic. Calm under pressure.

The right person will understand that a 45‑seat restaurant can be every bit as demanding as a much larger operation. They will know how to create an atmosphere, control a service, motivate a team, and ensure every seat in the room is maximised.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary package.
• Accommodation and transportation support.
• Duty meals.
• Opportunity to lead the opening of a completely new dining concept in Jeddah.
• Significant influence over the culture, team, and operational identity of the restaurant.
• Career growth within an ambitious hospitality operation.
• The opportunity to build and lead one of Jeddah’s most distinctive new dining experiences.

If you are an ambitious hospitality leader who thrives in high‑energy environments and wants to build something from the ground up, we want to hear from you.

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