Everything that goes into a General Manager job description that draws the right applicants — what to include, what to screen for, and what to pay — backed by 737K+ posts.
- Descriptions — role-specific job description language you can lift and adapt.
- Pay data — real market compensation ranges, not guesses.
Two moves matter most: publish a real salary-plus-bonus range and describe the scope specifically. Name the volume, the team size, and the concept — a range paired with real scope draws the operators who can actually run your room, and vague posts draw no one you'd hire.
The general manager owns the entire restaurant operation: the P&L, the front-of-house team, service standards, hiring, and vendor relationships — reporting to ownership or a Director of Operations. Write the post in the order below and you'll have covered everything a candidate weighs before deciding to apply.
How to Write a Great General Manager Job Description
What should be included in a General Manager job description?
A complete post has eight blocks: job title, location, employment type and pay range, a short "about us," a position summary, the responsibilities, what you're looking for, the benefits, and how to apply. Specificity is what separates a description that draws the right applicants from one that gets ignored — so the more brackets below you replace with the real details of your operation, the better it performs. Here's the full template, ready to copy and adapt:
Copy-Paste TemplateGeneral Manager Job DescriptionA typical structure, based on Culinary Agents posting data. Replace every [bracket] with your specifics.Starting compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and other job-related factors.
About Us
[1–2 sentences on the restaurant — concept, cuisine, atmosphere, and what makes the kitchen a great place to work. Example: "(Restaurant Name) is a (fine-dining / fast-casual / high-volume) (cuisine) restaurant known for (signature point of pride). We are a team that values craft, consistency, and hospitality."]
Position Summary
The General Manager owns the entire restaurant operation — the P&L, the front-of-house team, service standards, hiring, and vendor relationships. Reporting to ownership or a Director of Operations, the General Manager sets the tone on the floor, protects the guest experience, and is accountable for hitting revenue, labor, and cost targets while keeping the concept and the team strong.
What You'll Do
- Own the P&L — drive revenue and manage labor and cost of goods to hit budget targets
- Hire, train, schedule, and retain the front-of-house team; build a bench and reduce turnover
- Set and uphold service and hospitality standards on every shift; lead pre-shift and hold the floor
- Own the guest experience and handle service recovery calmly and directly
- Manage vendor and supplier relationships — negotiate, order, and control inventory and invoices
- Ensure compliance with alcohol-service laws, health code, and labor law; keep required certifications current
- Partner with kitchen leadership on menu, costing, and execution
- Report performance to ownership — sales, labor, costs, and guest feedback — and act on what the numbers show
What We're Looking For
Required
- [5]+ years in hospitality, including [2]+ years in a management role [in a high-volume / fine-dining environment]
- Direct P&L responsibility — a track record of hitting revenue, labor, and cost targets
- Proven ability to hire, lead, and retain a front-of-house team
- Working knowledge of alcohol-service and food-safety compliance
- Command of service and hospitality standards, with a calm approach to guest recovery
- Comfort with POS, scheduling, and inventory systems
- Strong communication and leadership skills with a steady, professional presence
- Availability to work [weekends, evening, and holidays] as the schedule requires
- [Alcohol-service / food-safety certification] – required, or must be obtained within [X] days of hire
Preferred
- Experience in [multi-unit / fine-dining / high-volume] operations
- Progression from Assistant General Manager or Floor Manager
- [Additional language skills, wine/beverage knowledge, POS admin familiarity, etc.]
Physical Demands and Work Environment
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods (full shift)
- Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull up to [50] lbs
- Work across the dining room, bar, and office in a fast-paced service environment
- Ability to work [X]-hour shifts, including [nights, weekends, and holidays]
What We Offer
- Competitive salary based on experience: [$XX,000–$XX,000 / year]
- [Performance bonus tied to revenue and cost targets]
- [Health, dental, and vision insurance]
- [Paid time off]
- [Profit-share or equity — independent groups]
- [Dining discounts and a phone / technology allowance]
- [Professional development and a clear path to multi-unit or Director of Operations]
How to Apply
[Application instructions — e.g., "Apply through Culinary Agents" or "Submit your resume to (email)." Add any screening questions or next-step details here.]
[Restaurant/Company Name] is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local employment laws.
Before you post — the four things that move apply-rate- Publish a real salary-plus-bonus range — the single biggest driver (~2× the applies of posts without one). Skip "competitive."
- Swap boilerplate for specifics — name the volume, the team size, the concept, and who the role reports to.
- Describe the scope honestly — P&L ownership, covers per week, and the size of the front-of-house team.
- Add one real photo of the dining room or the team when you post.
What core responsibilities does a General Manager have?
These are the duties named most often across real General Manager posts — a baseline to trim to your operation:
- Own the P&L — revenue, labor, and cost targets
- Hire, train, schedule, and retain the front-of-house team
- Set and uphold service and hospitality standards
- Manage vendor and supplier relationships
- Own the guest experience and service recovery
- Ensure compliance (alcohol service, health code, labor law)
- Report performance to ownership
How much should you pay a General Manager?
Before you set your rangePay shifts a lot by market, and the compensation snapshot below is a national reference. Search your local metro on Hospitality Career Paths to ground your number, then post the role once your range is set.
How much experience should a General Manager have?
Five-plus years in hospitality, including two-plus in a management role, is the working range for most rooms — high-volume, multi-unit, and fine-dining operations push higher, while a growing neighborhood spot can bring on a strong Assistant GM or Floor Manager ready to step up. Progression is usually from Assistant General Manager or Floor Manager.
Track record matters more than raw years: rooms run, volume, team size, and tenure tell you more than a number. And command on the floor — how a candidate reads a room and steadies a service — is what a working interview or observing a service reveals that an interview can't.
What skills should you look for in a General Manager?
Across General Manager posts on Culinary Agents over the past year, these ten skills come up most often:
- P&L & financial management
- Team leadership & staff development
- Hiring & retention
- Service & hospitality standards
- Scheduling & labor management
- Guest relations & service recovery
- Vendor & inventory management
- POS & restaurant systems
- Compliance (alcohol service, health code, labor law)
- Local marketing & community relationships
What benefits should you offer a General Manager
At the GM level, the performance bonus and a real path upward are often what decide between two comparable offers. The ones that move the needle for a general manager:
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off
- A performance bonus tied to revenue and cost targets
- Possible profit-share or equity in independent groups
- Dining discounts and a phone or technology allowance
- Professional development and a clear path to multi-unit or Director of Operations
A bonus tied to real targets and a route to Director of Operations is worth more than another line of boilerplate. List the benefits you actually offer; an empty "competitive benefits" line reads as no benefits at all.
The bottom line
A General Manager post that names a real salary-plus-bonus range, describes the scope and volume, and shows a path to Director of Operations will out-draw a vague one every time. The template above does the structural work — the specifics you bring are what turn a listing into applications.
The job description language above is ready to pre-load — adjust the specifics and publish.
