General Manager

You’ll report to the Business Manager for London. You will be responsible for Deputy General Manager, Technical Heads of Department, Sales & Ticketing Manager. This is your opportunity to manage one of our prestigious theatres in the heart of London's West End. Managing, motivating, and developing the staff within the theatre is a crucial part of this role, ensuring clarity of direction and delivery of business priorities. Ultimately reporting to the Business Director for London, you will be responsible for the Profit & Loss statement for the venue and for the management of all commercial and operational activities that deliver a successful and profitable outcome for the Theatre.

To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the commercial theatre business. You will have strong financial and commercial skills and be able to articulate and implement the actions required to deliver sustained profits and growth potential. Excellent with people, you will understand the needs of the business, your team, and customers, and be able to balance and manage conflicting priorities effectively. You will be a team player, knowing when to direct, when to support and when to provide hands-on assistance. The producer experience is at the heart of what we do, and you will be the key player in creating a welcoming and collaborative environment for visiting productions, where shared goals are the driving force to achieving success. This is a role that demands the ability to operate in a fast-changing environment, where efficiency and effectiveness are paramount. You will be flexible, a good problem solver and able to think and act independently. In addition, you must demonstrate an appetite for challenging the status quo and making change happen, whilst working within the policies and procedures of a large, multi-site, international organisation.

Key responsibilities

• Financial and Commercial: To exercise effective financial control and reporting on the venue including monthly financial reconciliations, settlements, and the timely processing of purchase orders, deliveries, and invoices. Working with the venue’s Finance Business Partner, to create the annual budget for the venue and be responsible for achieving the targets set within it, regularly reporting to key stakeholders throughout the year. To maximise revenue streams and ensure overheads are in line with the budget and monitored accordingly. To oversee and ensure the effectiveness of the stock management system to maintain positive margin variance.
• Customer: To always lead by example and empower the venue team to give an unrivalled customer experience to audience and producer alike, by delivering world-class customer service. To maximise retail opportunities by leading on initiatives and driving and implementing new ideas. Encourage creative thinking in Customer Experience department. To ensure the venue has a proactive approach to delivering an inclusive and accessible experience to a diverse audience base. To act as an ambassador for ATG. To duty manage performances, including evenings and weekends.
• People Management: To line manage the Deputy General Manager and Heads of Department, including Technical and Sales & Ticketing Heads of Department. To lead with any recruitment for the above roles, and to work with the Deputy General Manager and Heads of Department in delivering all staff inductions, scheduling, training and performance management. To motivate, lead and develop your team, with the ability to succession plan. To create a meritocratic working environment where a culture of excellent performance is embedded throughout the team. To set and maintain effective and efficient communication channels with the whole venue team and other key personnel, as well as external stakeholders. To effectively oversee all HR processes in the venue, paying due diligence to Union agreements.
• Building and Risk Management: To ensure all fire safety, security, and counter-terrorism, building checks, risk assessments and first aid procedures are always in place and in accordance with the license. To be responsible for the venue’s repair and maintenance spend, liaising closely with ATG’s central Property and Facilities Management departments. To utilise the in-house technical teams and external contractors in ensuring the building and its system are well maintained and operational. To develop and oversee the delivery of a rolling maintenance program, ensuring upkeep of the venue remains at an excellent standard. To act as a custodian and take pride in the theatre, ensuring the building is welcoming, safe, and fully operational, as well as reflecting the ATG brand positively. To ensure the venue meets its environmental goals through staff engagement and encouragement, attention to detail, information sharing and leading by example. To act as a first aider, and to undertake any other safety training as deemed appropriate to the role. To ensure the timely and thorough reporting and investigation of accidents and incidents. To be the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for the venue.
• Relationships: To lead on building a positive and dynamic relationships between ATG, the resident producer and any external clients. To engage, lead and support all departments in the delivery of the ATG’s visions and values. To build and develop a constructive relationship with central ATG services, the local business community and key external stakeholders whilst acting as an ambassador for the venue. To build a positive relationship with Union representatives.

Your skills, qualities, and experience

If you are able to demonstrate many of the essential criteria, we encourage you to apply, and welcome transferable skills from other industries or backgrounds. We can give experience of any desirable criteria but may also use them to decide between candidates for this role.

Essential:

• Previous experience working in a management capacity; 3 years + is preferred
• Proven ability to organise, lead and motivate a large and diverse team while engendering a sense of teamwork and common purpose
• Evidence of a passion for delivering sophisticated and high-quality customer service in a busy environment
• Ability to manage and develop internal and external relationships at all levels
• Skills in developing people with a track record in training delivery
• Ability to work smartly with proven skills in problem-solving, and budget management
• A highly organised and flexible approach with the ability to plan and prioritise a varied workload, meet deadlines and ambitious targets
• The ability to work collaboratively, write reports, make presentations, and chair meetings
• Excellent IT skills, including advanced use of Office 365, including Word and Excel

Desirable:

• Personal licence holder
• Knowledge of ticketing and retail systems
• A genuine interest in the live entertainment industry, with some relevant work experience
• Holder of an appropriate management qualification
• Health and Safety qualification/experience

We are a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We are taking action to ensure that people with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will offer an interview or recruitment event to disabled candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they best meet the essential criteria for the role. Where we receive more applications than we are reasonably able to interview for any given role, we will retain applications for the next available interview opportunity wherever possible.