Senior Project Manager

About FOC 

Friend of ChefⓇ is a full-service hospitality advisory firm working at the intersection of culture, commerce, and experience. We partner with leading cultural institutions, museums, and hospitality brands to develop, position, and activate exceptional hospitality experiences. From early concept and development through opening and operations, we help our clients leverage hospitality to enhance the visitor experience, strengthen cultural relevance, and drive long-term commercial value. Our work brings together creative vision, operational expertise, and strategic thinking to deliver ambitious projects with lasting impact.

About the Role 

We're looking for someone who understands the complexities of hospitality development and knows how to keep multiple teams and priorities moving forward. The ideal candidate is highly organized, proactive, detail-oriented, and confident navigating sophisticated clients and stakeholders. This is an opportunity to take real ownership of exciting projects and play a key role in shaping exceptional hospitality experiences.

Responsibilities 

• Drive complex hospitality projects from concept through development and pre-opening, with a focus on cultural institutions, hotels, and luxury dining.
• Build and manage detailed critical paths across all workstreams, including design, construction, operator selection, procurement, and operational planning.
• Turn big ideas into actionable plans, establishing clear priorities, critical paths, deliverables, and accountability across project teams.
• Anticipate challenges, identify roadblocks, and keep projects moving forward across multiple engagements.
• Support the development of exceptional dining concepts within cultural institutions, corporate buildings, and other high-profile destinations.

• Navigate complex institutional environments, balancing creative vision, operational requirements, financial objectives, and stakeholder priorities.
• Work closely with institutional leadership, ownership groups, hospitality operators, and development partners to drive alignment and key decisions.
• Help shape hospitality experiences that meet the expectations of both the institution and its guests.
• Coordinate with architects, designers, consultants, and operators to move projects through design, development, and opening.
• Manage design reviews, approvals, and key deliverables, ensuring alignment between the vision, guest experience, and operational needs.
• Drive pre-opening planning across staffing, training, procurement, vendor coordination, technology, and operational readiness.
• Connect the dots across teams and workstreams, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks as projects move toward opening.
• Serve as a central point of coordination between FOC, clients, and project partners, building strong relationships and driving accountability.
• Lead project meetings, manage competing priorities, and ensure decisions turn into action.
• Develop clear, concise project updates, presentations, and reporting that keep clients informed and teams aligned.
• Maintain organized project documentation, schedules, budgets, and trackers, with clear visibility into progress and next steps.
• Take ownership of special projects and new opportunities as FOC's work continues to evolve.

Qualifications 

• 5+ years of experience in hospitality development, project management, ideally within luxury dining, museums, cultural institutions, or other high-profile luxury hospitality environments.
• Direct experience supporting complex hospitality projects through development and pre-opening, with a strong understanding of design, construction, procurement, and operational planning.
• Experience working with architects, designers, consultants, hospitality operators, and institutional or ownership stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of luxury hospitality, exceptional guest experiences, and the standards associated with acclaimed chefs and high-end dining concepts.
• Proven ability to create and manage complex critical paths, multiple concurrent projects, and competing priorities without losing sight of the details.
• Comfortable working with development budgets, financial models, project schedules, and operational plans.
• Proactive, resourceful, and solutions-oriented, with the judgment and confidence to anticipate challenges and independently drive projects forward.
• Clear, concise communicator who can confidently engage with senior leadership, sophisticated clients, and external partners.
• Ability to hold stakeholders accountable, navigate competing interests, and drive decisions and deliverables forward.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and project management tools.

Role Details 

• This role is required to be present in office 5 days per week (New York, NY)

Salary Range: $130,00 - $160,000+ / year, depending on experience

Friend of ChefⓇ is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or other protected status.