Area Manager
Sales & Business Development
Washington, DC, USA
At Placemakr, our obsession with exceptional service isn’t the only thing that sets us apart – it's our people! As an Area Manager, your mission is to challenge, motivate, engage and lead your team of General and Operations Managers to drive people development and operational and budgetary excellence across your Placemakr properties. Sound like a lot? It is – and that’s the fun part. Around here, things move fast, so you’ll need to embody relentless curiosity, and a self-starting and people-first mindset to instill accountability, ownership and innovation in every member of your team. Resilience, creativity, and exceptional communication is the name of the game to ensure you’re operating in a capacity that’s as flexible as the operations of our buildings.
Reporting directly to the Director of Properties, the Area Manager is a leader who makes sure strategic promises turn into results – driving accountability across people, guest experience, and property performance, so we deliver big on our commitments. In this role, you’ll juggle leading people leaders, smooth operations, keeping property budgets in check, wowing our owners and driving an unforgettable experience for our teams, guests and residents alike. To thrive as a senior member of our property leadership team, you will need to communicate with clarity, collaborate across property and non-property teams like a pro and not be afraid to implement a program or share bold ideas (and some hard truths!) when it pushes us forward. The Area Manager must be fueled by leading people, championing Placemakr’s Community Norms and driving operational and financial excellence to uphold a culture of top performance for leaders and team members alike.
What you'll do
- Exhibit relentless curiosity, flexibility and self-starting drive with everything you do - solve problems fast, adapt faster and demonstrate mastery of our flexible hospitality business (from people and service to operations and financials, you should be a pro!)
- Set the bar for a safe, secure, and compliant environment for all by driving accountability for performance, policies, procedures, and initiatives. We like to challenge the status quo, but we don't play fast and loose with safety, service and operational standards
- Roll up your sleeves with property and non-property leadership to deliver and follow-up on people, operational and financial training and coaching that sticks, so our standards aren’t just known, they’re what set us apart
- Spot the gaps and opportunities in people, operations and finances across your portfolio by observing your teams during visits, digging into the anecdotal insights and data then ensuring your feedback turns into action
- Lead like you mean it and embody Placemakr leadership competencies. Drive accountability, inspire, challenge and energize your General and Operations Managers to excel in people leadership, property operations and financial results
- Observe and provide support to your team of leaders by setting crystal-clear expectations, coaching with courage and making sure all on-site team members understand their performance (and growth!) and how it connects to the bigger picture
- Collaborate with senior property leaders and PX team to launch and drive adoption of people-focused initiatives that keep hiring strong, engagement high and our top Placemakrs sticking around across all our properties
- Team up with your leaders, cross-functional partners and our PX and TA teams to fuel recruiting efforts – driving consistency and improvements in processes while getting scrappy though grassroots or in-person recruiting initiatives to bring in top talent
- Collaborate with senior property leaders and cross-functional team members (Central and Off-Site Ops, FAA, Revenue, Business Analytics, Tech Ops – you name it!) to spark and drive operational, reporting and financial efficacy initiatives across all Placemakr properties
- Consistently provide an exceptional experience to anyone you interact with, so our guests, leaders, ownership groups and partners walk away feeling deeply supported and thinking “I have to tell my network about this place!”
- Foster a "one team" mentality by collaborating effectively with all property and non-property leaders and team members contributing to a world-class working environment
- Use an outside-the-box mindset to solve problems like a start-up pro, providing hands-on support for escalated issues and always elevating Placemakr brand standards
- Develop your General and Operations Managers to stay ahead of market trends and community events - identifying smart opportunities to adjust rates, drive compression, and maximize revenue - then support them to effectively communicate feedback during bi-weekly revenue calls
- Own, guide and support the annual budget process across your properties, aligning goals and insights with strategic improvements. Effectively partner with FAA and Owner Relations partners, use data to drive decisions, and develop your General and Operations Managers along the way
- Keep NOI and property financials on track by guiding your leaders to be smart with budgets and savvy with spend – ultimately driving even more property success
- Own all partner and owner relations for your owned properties, ensuring you present monthly financials and communicate business updates in a way that is clear, confident and builds lasting trust
Continuous Improvement + Adoption
People
Service + Operations
Financials + Owner Relations
Additional duties and responsibilities, as assigned. At Placemakr, this phrase isn't a catch-all, it's the way we work
What it takes
A bachelor’s degree, preferably in management, business administration, communications, hospitality or a related field; or commensurate experience in lieu of a formal degree
5+ years’ experience in a leadership role within retail, food & beverage, hospitality, multi-family or similar environment, where adaptability isn’t optional and great service is the north star
A minimum of 3+ years’ experience of successful multi-unit leadership; retail, food & beverage, multi-family or hospitality-focused experience strongly preferred
Previous experience partnering with key stakeholders across business units, managing relationships, competing priorities and time and resources proactively in a fast-paced, every-changing environment
A naturally curious, can’t-sit-still kind of leader who thrives on change (including rolling out a few iterations of processes), tackles challenges head-on and hands-on, and knows that feedback is fuel for development
Experience working with various levels of field-based leadership on team member relationship or performance issues as well as engagement and recognition initiatives. You’ve successfully developed high-performing teams that are ready for future growth.
Exceptional verbal and written communication skills and the ability to deliver a message clearly and professionally, regardless of whether you’re talking to a new property team member, tenured leader or senior partner
Strong judgement and problem-solving skills, allowing you to navigate ambiguous problems thoughtfully then turn ideas into impact
A demonstrated track record of operational and financial success made possible by a true customer-focus, managing controllable expenses, driving team performance, effective decision-making skills and a solutions-oriented mindset
Ability to travel to your properties as the needs of the business call for it (approximately 75% of the time)
You lead by example and embody the core values of Placemakr. You Own It. You Make It Better. You Treat People Right.
Area Managers will be on their feet and moving around (stand, sit, or walk for an extended time) and taking a hands-on approach to work (move, lift, carry, push, pull, and place objects weighing less than or equal to 50 pounds without assistance). Doing all these things well (and other reasonable job duties as requested) is critical for our Area Managers and an exceptional guest experience.