Project Director

Wish You Were Here Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Wish You Were Here Group is a fast-growing hospitality collective operating 15 full-service venues nationwide. We seek a Project Director to own the master schedule, project budget, and critical path across multiple openings in the US.

You'll collaborate with Design, Culinary, Beverage, Operations, HR, and Marketing teams to ensure openings are on time and on budget, while coordinating procurement, permitting, and handoff to operations.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of relevant project management experience.
• Based in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Arizona or South Florida.
• Willing to travel to project sites as needed.
• Willing to work in office as required.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the master project schedule, from design through permitting, construction, FF&E, and opening.
• Hold the full project budget across hard costs, FF&E/OS&E, soft costs, and pre-opening, managing contingency and change orders.
• Contract and manage the AOR, MEP, GC, expeditors, and specialty consultants; run RFPs, negotiate contracts, and chair OAC meetings.
• Own the permitting and licensing path through health, building, fire, and liquor approvals to TCO/CO.
• Coordinate every department's deliverables into one schedule and hold the cross-functional team to its dates.
• Oversee procurement, warehousing, and install logistics against the construction timeline.
• Lead the handoff from construction to operations, including punch list, commissioning, training access, and soft-open readiness.

Skills

Project management

Scheduling

Budget management

Stakeholder coordination

Travel readiness

Job description

Compensation: $90,000 – $110,000

Wish You Were Here Group is a fast-growing hospitality collective operating 15 full-service venues nationwide. We're in an exciting phase of expansion, with new openings underway in Texas, Florida, California, and Arizona, and over $30 million in capital currently invested across five active construction projects. We're looking for a Project Director to take ownership of these builds and help shape what's next.

The Opportunity

As Project Director, you'll be the primary project lead for each new unit. Working alongside our in-house Design, Culinary, Beverage, Operations, HR, and Marketing teams, you'll own the master schedule, the project budget, and the critical path, turning the work of every department into a restaurant that opens on time and on budget. Department heads own their disciplines; you own the sequencing, the tradeoffs, and the decisions that keep everything moving.

What You'll Do

• Build and own the master project schedule, from design through permitting, construction, FF&E, and opening
• Hold the full project budget across hard costs, FF&E/OS&E, soft costs, and pre-opening, managing contingency and change orders
• Contract and manage the AOR, MEP, GC, expeditors, and specialty consultants. Running RFPs, negotiating contracts, and chairing OAC meetings
• Own the permitting and licensing path through health, building, fire, and liquor approvals to TCO/CO
• Coordinate every department's deliverables into one schedule and hold the cross-functional team to its dates
• Oversee procurement, warehousing, and install logistics against the construction timeline
• Lead the handoff from construction to operations, including punch list, commissioning, training access, and soft-open readiness

What You Bring

• Minimum 2 years of relevant project management experience
• Based in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Arizona or South Florida
• Willing to travel to project sites as needed
• Willing to work in office as required

Wish You Were Here Group is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.