General Manager — Airport Hospitality Venue
Lead a fast-paced airport hospitality business where speed, consistency, and commercial discipline define success. This role calls for a decisive, analytically strong General Manager with direct authority over budgets, hiring, terminations, labor deployment, operating controls, service standards, and financial performance.
The ideal candidate understands the unique demands of airport hospitality: compressed guest timelines, fluctuating passenger volume, security and access requirements, limited storage, high throughput, and zero tolerance for inconsistent execution. This leader combines executive financial discipline with a highly visible operating presence.
The Mandate:
Deliver a distinctly Alaskan guest experience at airport speed while optimizing EBITDA, revenue capture, labor productivity, food quality, safety, and leadership stability.
Role Scope & Leadership Expectations
- Own the location P&L, budget, forecast, operating plan, and recovery initiatives
- Exercise direct hiring and termination authority within company policy and approved staffing plans
- Lead front-of-house managers and partner closely with kitchen leadership
- Optimize throughput, queue management, table turns, check average, product availability, and service reliability
- Maintain airport, security, lease, access, safety, and operating compliance
- Build management depth and a resilient workforce able to perform through variable passenger demand
Airport Operations Leadership
- Direct all daily service, bar, culinary coordination, guest flow, and retail/grab-and-go activity within the approved operating model
- Align staffing and production plans with flight activity, passenger volume, seasonality, irregular operations, and peak travel periods
- Establish clear opening, transition, peak-period, closing, recovery, and disruption procedures
- Maintain disciplined communication between front-of-house, kitchen, airport stakeholders, and support departments
- Ensure product availability and operational readiness despite security, delivery, storage, and access constraints
- Own EBITDA, revenue, labor, cost of sales, controllable expenses, and budget variance
- Use sales-per-labor-hour, transactions, check average, throughput, mix, waste, and availability trends to adjust execution
- Build accurate forecasts and staffing plans aligned with passenger patterns and business demand
- Protect cash, inventory, purchasing, discount, void, comp, and approval controls
- Identify revenue opportunities that improve capture rate without compromising speed, quality, or brand trust
- Recruit, select, onboard, coach, evaluate, and separate employees and managers with HR
- Set clear expectations for urgency, hospitality, attendance, safety, product knowledge, and cross-functional teamwork
- Develop shift leaders and managers capable of independent decision-making during peak activity and irregular operations
- Manage performance consistently and document corrective action promptly
- Create a respectful, inclusive, and accountable workplace
Guest Experience & Service Reliability
- Design execution around travelers' limited time while preserving genuine hospitality and product quality
- Monitor ticket times, line length, order accuracy, service recovery, and guest feedback
- Empower leaders to resolve concerns quickly and appropriately
- Maintain a polished, clean, brand-consistent environment throughout all operating hours
Compliance, Security & Risk
- Maintain compliance with airport badging, access, delivery, security, alcohol service, food safety, sanitation, and workplace safety requirements
- Ensure prompt reporting and investigation of incidents, injuries, claims, cash discrepancies, and compliance concerns
- Coordinate equipment, maintenance, and facility needs with airport stakeholders and Facilities
- Maintain inspection readiness and documented completion of corrective actions
Required Qualifications
- 6+ years of progressive hospitality leadership, including leadership in a high-volume, complex, or time-sensitive operation
- Demonstrated P&L, budget, forecasting, labor management, and profitability responsibility
- Experience leading managers and exercising hiring, performance-management, and termination authority
- Ability to obtain and maintain all airport access credentials and required certifications
- Availability for early mornings, late evenings, weekends, holidays, and operational disruptions
- Legal authorization to work in the United States
Preferred Qualifications
- Airport concession, travel hospitality, high-volume restaurant, hotel F&B, or multi-unit experience
- Bachelor's degree in hospitality, business, operations, or a related discipline
- Experience with passenger-volume forecasting, constrained logistics, secure deliveries, and high-throughput service
- Food protection, alcohol service, safety, or hospitality leadership credentials
- Financial Acumen — interprets operating statements, forecasts, margin drivers, and capital decisions
- Enterprise Leadership — balances immediate operations with long-term brand, talent, and org priorities
- Talent Builder — selects strong leaders, sets expectations, coaches, and develops succession depth
- Operational Discipline — builds repeatable systems and uses data to drive consistency
- Executive Communication — communicates complex issues with clarity and sound judgment
- Integrity & Stewardship — protects resources, confidential information, safety, and trust
- Paid time off and paid sick leave per company policy
- Medical, dental, and vision plan options
- 401(k) eligibility (employer match discretionary)
- Employee discounts and complimentary manager meals
- Relocation, travel, or signing incentives may be available depending on candidate location and business need (subject to a written repayment agreement for early departure)
- Ongoing leadership development and career-growth opportunities
This role requires frequent standing and walking in an active airport restaurant, regular presence in dining, bar, kitchen, storage, and receiving areas, and extended computer and reporting use. The position may require movement of supplies and rapid response across the operation. Airport security screening and access requirements apply. Reasonable accommodations available for qualified individuals.