Hospitality Operations Manager (Contract) - Orlando, FL

The Wilkinson Firm; Orlando (FL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Wilkinson Firm is looking for a Hospitality Operations Manager to help build an ops engine that turns staffing into an operating partnership. You would oversee the ops playbook, manage event logistics, and coordinate performance across multiple markets.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in hospitality operations with extensive experience in large-scale events.

This is a non-exclusive role, allowing you to maintain your current position while partnering with us.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in hospitality operations with significant floor leadership.
• Experience in large events and multi-event weeks.
• Understanding of operations versus staffing volume.

Responsibilities

• Build the ops playbook with various standards.
• Manage dispatch and logistics for events.
• Coordinate high-stakes event operations and post-event reconciliation.

Skills

Hospitality operations experience

Floor leadership

BEO fluency

Run-of-show fluency

Bilingual English/Spanish

Job description

A note from the founder

Most staffing agencies do not have operations. They have a phone tree.

A client books a 400-person plated dinner. The crew shows up. There is no run-of-show. No BEO walk-through. No coordination with the venue captain. No pre-shift briefing. No post-event reconciliation. The agency calls that "operations".

You have run real banquet floors. You know what operations actually looks like. Run-of-show built backward from the kitchen. Pre-shift on a clipboard. Radios charged. Backup crews on call. Diagram in your back pocket. Post-event debrief the same night.

We started The Wilkinson Firm Premium Hospitality + Event Staffing because the staffing side of this industry forgot operations was the job.

This seat is for the operators who never forgot. Who can scale that discipline across crews, markets, and event nights.

What we are building

A staffing model that runs like a banquet floor.

• Every event with a run-of-show, BEO walk-through, and crew briefing before service
• Captain-led floor leadership built into the model
• Backup crew protocols on every booking above 200 covers
• Post-event reconciliation: hours, performance notes, no-shows, recovery moments
• Crew dispatch and logistics that hold across multiple markets

The operators we serve - hotels, venues, caterers, convention centers, wedding planners - book us because the discipline shows up before the staff does.

Where we are right now

We are 14 months in.

• PHES active in the field
• Captain-led model proven on early engagements
• Building the ops infrastructure that scales it

You would help build the ops engine that turns a staffing firm into an operating partner.

The relationship we want with you

This is not a job. It is a working partnership.

You stay in your current role. Banquet manager, F&B director, catering ops director, convention center ops, large venue operations, retired GM with floor depth. You join us non-exclusively.

You build the ops playbook. You hold the standard across markets. You become the voice operators trust when they call PHES with a high-stakes booking.

What you would actually do

• Build the ops playbook: run-of-show templates, BEO walk-through standard, pre-shift briefing standard, post-event reconciliation standard
• Dispatch and logistics across multiple markets for crews, captains, backup staff
• High-stakes event operations: 500+ cover plated dinners, multi-day conferences, hotel pre-opening F&B, large weddings
• Crew performance management: floor observations, captain coaching, recovery protocols
• Operator-side coordination: BEO review with client, venue captain handoff, vendor sequencing
• Post-event reconciliation: hours, performance, incident reports, learnings into the next booking
• Co-author content under your name on hospitality ops at scale

Who we want

You have 10+ years in hospitality operations with significant floor leadership.

• Hotel banquet manager, F&B director, catering operations director, convention center operations
• Branded hotel or independent property at scale (Forbes / AAA Diamond / luxury independent)
• BEO fluency. You read one and see the whole night in your head.
• Run-of-show fluency. You build them backward from fire times.
• Crew dispatch and logistics across multiple events / venues in the same week
• Bilingual English / Spanish a strong plus

You believe the difference between a $50K event and a $500K event is operations, not staffing volume. You have lived inside that difference.

Who we are not for

• Ops managers whose only experience is single-property single-event
• Someone who has never run a multi-event week with overlapping crews
• Someone who thinks operations is logistics software and a spreadsheet

Before our conversation — take a look at the firm

You might be the right person for this seat. You might know the right person. You might be a future client or a future referral. Either way, here is where we live.

• Premium Hospitality + Event Staffing: hospitality.thewilkinsonfirm.com
• Main firm: thewilkinsonfirm.com
• HR Advisory practice: hr.thewilkinsonfirm.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thewilkinsonfirm

If this seat is not the right fit for you, you may still know:

• A hotel, venue, catering operator, or convention center that needs a real operating partner, not a staffing vendor
• A wedding planner, DMC, or PCO whose vendors do not run real ops on event night
• A CMHC, FQHC, IDD agency, or behavioral health system that needs HR advisory built around clinical reality
• A federal contractor or agency that needs MBE-certified workforce delivery

We grow by referral. If anything here resonates, share it with someone who might need what we do.

How to start the conversation

Email: [e-mail]
Subject line: Hospitality Operations Manager - [Your Market]

In your note, tell us:

1. Your primary market
2. The largest event you have run point on, the property, and the cover count
3. Your fluency with BEO, run-of-show, and crew dispatch
4. One sentence on the operational discipline you think most staffing agencies have lost

We respond within 48 hours. We do not ghost.