Hotel General Manager

The Hotel General Manager will be part of the senior management team and report to the Entertaining & Hospitality Managing Director.

About us
Goodwood is a quintessentially English estate, set in 12,000 acres of rolling West Sussex countryside. Rooted in our heritage, we deliver extraordinary and engaging experiences in modern and authentic ways.  But what really sets us apart is our people.  It is their passion, enthusiasm and belief in the many things we do that makes Goodwood the unique place it is.

Purpose of the role

To inspire and lead the Head of Department team in the day-to-day smooth running of the Hotel operation.  Deliver on key allocated projects, build a skilful, highly motivated and passionate team, whilst evolving and refining processes to deliver a best-in-class hospitality experience to our guests.  The Hotel General Manager will be part of the Entertaining and Hospitality Leadership Team (EHLT) effectively collaborating and building strong working relationships within the Hotel and across the Group, possessing strong experience in all aspects of hotel management.  This will include Food & Beverage, Meetings & Events and Rooms.

Key responsibilities

People Management

• Inspire and lead a high performing team, providing a clear vision with actionable insights and clear measurement of success
• Set standards and give regular feedback and ensure that the team are always adding value and providing an exceptional customer experience
• Develop and invest in the team, their skills and through PDPs enable career progression
• Evolve the roles and structure of the Hotel team to ensure that roles deliver the objectives
• To be overall responsible for recruitment, selection and training and development for Hotel staff
• To work with finance to coach HoDs on budget management to maximise revenue, cost and payroll for the departments

Hotel Operations

• To lead and support the Food and Beverage, Rooms and Health Club & Spa operations teams to maximise revenue and deliver exceptional customer experiences
• To ensure that HoDs plan rotas effectively to meet the needs of the business, flexing them where appropriate
• To establish and maintain effective internal communications including daily briefings and weekly operation meetings
• Support with the implementation of various activities/projects to ensure the Hotel strategy is achieved
• To work in conjunction with the Hotel Management Accountant and the Entertaining & Hospitality Managing Director to set and manage budgets and financial plans as well as expenditure control;
• Support with identifying potential commercial leads for the hotel, which could develop into future business
• To set internal benchmarking systems for the HODs to meet their KPIs
• To have a good understanding of the software in place at the hotel (leisure, rooms and F&B) to ensure processes are followed and revenue is protected
• To ensure Health and Safety policies are managed in all departments across the hotel
• To support the teams to deliver initiatives around charity events
• To undertake any other duties as required to support the operation
• Continually evolve efficiencies across the

Customer Experience

• To formulate medium- and long-term strategies for service standards and department processes and policies with a focus on maximising profitability, efficiency of service and continually improving standards of the departments)
• To ensure that the customer journey in all areas meets the Hotel service strategy
• Ensure all customer complaints and comments are dealt with appropriately
• To work with the Golf At Goodwood and Health Club team to ensure a harmonised customer journey
• To develop strong working relationships with the relevant support services, contractors & service providers to ensure the look and feel of the Hotel is always of a high standard

Qualities you will possess

• Passion for what you do
• Positive energy and enthusiasm
• Attention to detail
• Ability to prioritise and organise
• Proactive
• Confident to make decisions and to stand by them
• Creative thinker
• Clear and effective communicator
• Can identify the strategy for the business with a long-term view
• Highly emotionally intelligent
• Tenacious and resilient
• Quick and effective resolution of issues
• Good negotiation and influencing skills
• Inspirational leadership/Leading by example
• A sense of fun!
• A flair for creating amazing customer experiences
• Excellent coaching and mentoring skills
• Ability to collaborate naturally and effectively

What do you need to be successful?

• Proven hotel operational management experience
• Good understanding of industry trends and influences
• Strong desire to continually improve standards and experiences
• An infectious passion for hospitality