Assistant General Manager

The Yacht Club is a waterfront dining, drinking, and events destination – a full New York City block in the sky – on the 10th floor of Chelsea's 1930s masterpiece of industrial architecture, the landmarked Starrett Lehigh building.

Reports to: General Manager

The Assistant General Manager should possess proven experience in managing high-volume and upscale establishments. This individual must demonstrate exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, coupled with a comprehensive understanding of health and safety regulations and best practices.

Working closely with the General Manager, the AGM will be responsible for scheduling and managing service staff effectively. They excel in problem-solving on the fly and are adept at fostering team cohesion between the back of house and front of house and achieving set goals. Self-disciplined, self-taught, and self-motivated, they thrive in fast-paced environments and make sound decisions under pressure, prioritizing the guest experience above all else. Flexibility is key, as they must be available to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

Operational Oversight

• The ideal candidate will serve as a positive and influential figure within the restaurant, prioritizing the success of the business, leading by example, consistently boosting morale, and actively enhancing their team's performance. Act as a restaurant figurehead at all times and assume ultimate responsibility when the GM is not present.
• Always act in the best interest of the venue and company. Apply professional judgment; taking accountability for your decisions and outcomes that affect staff, costs, and/or service quality. Ensure consistency and superiority in food/drink preparation, quality, and service.
• Maintain a constant leadership presence on the restaurant floor, ensuring staff are adhering to service standards, touching all tables and engaging with guests.
• Conduct thorough daily checklists for Department of Health walk-throughs, rigorously enforcing sanitary practices and policies for food handling and overall cleanliness to meet Department of Health standards. Promptly correct any identified violations. Additionally, ensure full compliance with all state and local regulations.
• Strictly follow and enforce the safety protocols outlined in the safety plan. Identify potential safety hazards and/or maintenance issues and communicate to GM.
• Foster a constructive rapport with the kitchen leadership team and ensure back of house compliance with health codes, proper food preparation and handling techniques, and safety protocols. Maintain vigilance over sanitation standards, personal hygiene, and health regulations.
• Monitor food and beverage quality and presentation at all times. Address all issues promptly and log all issues in the manager log.
• Maintain a detailed daily manager log encompassing both positive and negative aspects across all departments, serving to keep the venue leadership team, as well as the director and executive team, well-informed.

Team Leadership & Development

• Set a leading example by punctually arriving for work, maintaining a professional appearance, smiling and encouraging staff, remaining focused, and actively engaging in service throughout the entirety of their shift.
• Build a comprehensive understanding of our operating systems for human resources, reservations, scheduling, and staff communications, and employ them in accordance with company policies.
• Administer a daily staff line up to ensure all staff are present, dressed appropriately, and up to date on all service and safety related issues.
• Ensure all employees adhere to company standards, policies and protocols with a professional stance and zero-tolerance approach; taking disciplinary action when identifying uniform infractions, tardiness, negative attitude, untidiness, health and safety infractions. Properly documenting ALL infractions and issuing coachings and warnings when necessary.
• Maintain steps of service, and initiate service audit situations to keep the service team engaged and focused on following proper steps of service. Use role play during lineups to train and retrain the service team. Provide coaching and/or additional training to staff not achieving proficient service standards.

Guest Experience

• Promptly addressing any guest concerns with courtesy and professionalism, striving to resolve them to the guest's satisfaction. Adhering to company protocols for offering complimentary items with the primary objective of ensuring guest satisfaction. Escalating significant issues to upper management as needed

Financial Management

• Handle cash according to strict company operating guidelines.

Scheduling & Staffing

• Assume full accountability for the server department under guidance from the GM. This includes ensuring the roster meets staffing requirements, managing and maintaining the department's schedule, adhering to related deadlines and guaranteeing all staff members are trained in accordance with Crew standards, while consistently implementing ongoing training protocols.
• Assists with hiring under the direction of the GM ensuring GM final approval.
• Conducting proactive reviews of daily and weekly staff schedules, maintaining regular communication with your GM to make necessary adjustments aligned with anticipated business demands. Utilizing sound judgment to make staffing decisions during shifts, effectively managing labor costs.
• Responding in a timely manner to employee messages and communicating with staff via company approved communication channels only.

Inventory & Vendor Management

• Take weekly OS&E inventory by midnight on Sundays, and submit needs to GM.

Continuous Improvement

• Master and implement established service protocols for all hourly staff while ensuring strict adherence to these protocols at all times. Training staff to consistently exceed expectations and achieve a standard of excellence.
• Participate in all essential management meetings and provide a comprehensive analysis of your department.

Tier 1

• At least 3 years of successful experience in an Assistant General Manager role overseeing annual revenues of $3 million or more
• Experience managing a team of 30+ hourly employees, showcasing adept leadership in a high-volume environment
• Proven track record of recruiting and training Front/Service Managers, providing strategic oversight, and effectively delegating tasks
• Familiarity with back-of-house operations, coupled with a proven history of cultivating strong relationships with kitchen management and staff
• Demonstrated proficiency in successfully opening a new restaurant
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and P&L management
• In-depth knowledge of industry regulations, health and safety standards, and compliance requirements
• Strong technology systems experience including proficiency in Toast POS, Resy, and scheduling systems
• Inventory expertise. Financial comprehension of variance analysis, ordering and organizational practices.
• Commitment to working a minimum of 50 hours per week, with flexibility to adapt to the operational needs of the business
• Proven track record of consistently fostering staff development and training initiatives to enhance overall guest satisfaction
• Exceptional problem-solving and decision-making skills. 
• General understanding of prevalent HR concerns and best practices in manager-to-employee relations

Tier 2

• At least 1 year of successful experience in an Assistant General Manager role overseeing annual revenues of $3 million or more
• Experience managing a team of 20+ hourly employees, showcasing adept leadership in a high-volume environment
• Proven track record of providing strategic oversight, and effectively delegating tasks to Front/Service Managers
• General knowledge of back-of-house operations, coupled with a proven history of cultivating strong relationships with kitchen management and staff
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and P&L management
• Demonstrated proficiency in inventory management, ordering and procurement.
• In-depth knowledge of industry regulations, health and safety standards, and compliance requirements
• Commitment to working a minimum of 50 hours per week, with flexibility to adapt to the operational needs of the business
• Proven track record of consistently fostering staff development and training initiatives to enhance overall guest satisfaction
• Exceptional problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Comprehends the dedication and time commitment required to open a restaurant.

Tier 3

• At least 1 year of successful experience in an Assistant General Manager or comparable role overseeing annual revenues of $3 million or more
• Experience managing a team of 15+ hourly employees, showcasing adept leadership in a high-volume environment
• Proven track record of providing strategic oversight, and effectively delegating tasks to Supervisors or Captains.
• Proven history of cultivating strong relationships with kitchen management and staff
• History of keeping labor costs within budget and maintaining an elevated level of service.
• Demonstrated proficiency in inventory organization and counting..
• In-depth knowledge of industry regulations, health and safety standards, and compliance requirements
• Commitment to working a minimum of 50 hours per week, with flexibility to adapt to the operational needs of the business
• Proven ability to train hourly staff to enhance overall guest satisfaction.
• Exceptional problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Comprehends the dedication and time commitment required to open a restaurant.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the functions of this job, an employee must walk, stand, or remain stationary during entire the shift. Employee must be able to continuously reach, bend, lift, carry, stoop and wipe with the potential for slipping or tripping. Employee must frequently wash their hands and lift or move up to 35 pounds.

We were raised in the hospitality industry and have come to believe that the highest calling is treating people well, making them feel at home, and communing over good food and drinks. It brings us all together. 

We believe everyone should work in an environment where they are well compensated, culturally enriched, and treated with respect. Across the spectrum of our workforce, our employees take home industry leading income.

SL F&B Management LLC DBA The Yacht Club Management Group NYC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.