Gracious Hospitality Management is first and foremost an outstanding hospitality company that conceptualizes Michelin-starred and James Beard nominated restaurants. We focus on both passion and profitability. We are professionals committed to ensuring exceptional hospitality and service to our customers. GHM has been honored with receiving a Michelin star eight years in a row for its restaurants Piora, Cote Korean Steakhouse & COTE Miami.
The VP of People and Culture at Gracious Hospitality oversees the full human resources function, including talent acquisition, people operations, compliance, talent management and overall building a positive and productive team culture. This role will partner with operations leaders to support the full employee lifecycle across all restaurant locations and business units. They are responsible for ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations company-wide. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role will lead and manage all members of the People/HR Department.
Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities:
In this role, you will own the strategy behind all aspects of the employee life, including:
Talent Acquisition: Scaling for High Growth
- Dive the importance of and enable building diverse teams with leaders across the organization
- Develop and execute talent branding strategy to position Gracious Hospitality Management as a top restaurant group to work for, with the goal of attracting top talent in the hospitality industry
- Set the strategy for current and future talent needs, including recruiting, retention, internal mobility and succession planning
- Manage and refine full-cycle recruitment process for all restaurant locations, including job posting, interviewing, and collaborating with managers to identify necessary job skills; oversee a competency-based hiring model, where all role have discreet competencies and all candidates are assessed consistently and fairly
- Audit and improve the annual hiring plan to ensure clear hiring model; responsible for resourcing the team accordingly
- Partner with Recruiter and team leaders to develop/audit job descriptions and interview plans so that our hiring process is efficient and leads to great outcomes
- Provide hands on support in sourcing and interviewing top talent for key leadership positions
- Ensure compliance with necessary job posting requirements by jurisdiction
People Operations: Build and run an efficient and effective team
- Own all aspects of HR compliance including Federal, State and local labor laws and regulations, and global labor laws as applicable; complete cyclical compliance audits of various documents and/or practices
- Analyze trends in compensation and benefits; search and propose competitive base and incentives to attract and retain top talent
- Ensure an effective onboarding experience for all new hires; audit to ensure compliance and assess for improvements to the new hire experience
- Oversee Performance Management for all employee populations; holding leaders accountable for ongoing feedback geared towards individual and team improvements; collaborate with leadership and management team to develop and deliver effective performance reviews
- Ensure accuracy of payroll administration across all locations, improving systems and process for efficiency with scale
- Work with HRIS/Payroll/ATS representatives to ensure HR tech platforms are delivering maximum utility
- Analyze trends in compensation and benefits, including, research and proposal competitive base and incentives to attract and retain top talent
- Performance Management, Training and Development
- Collaborate with leadership and management team to develop and deliver competency-based performance reviews
- Support the process for new employee 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins
- Ensure the Company delivers learning and development initiatives that provide growth and internal opportunities for employees
- Work with Director of Education in creating FOH and Kitchen training manuals that provide learning platform(s) for all new employee hires
Employee Relations
- Create an environment of positive employee relations by maintaining confidentiality, establishing trust and credibility among cross-functional partners, being seen by employees and leaders as approachable and fair, and balancing business needs with employee needs
- Foster a culture and environment of inclusion
- Advise employees, managers, and leaders on complex HR issues such as disciplinary meetings, terminations, and investigations in a compliant manner
- Develop recognition programs to reward or inspire employees
- Partner with other leadership for employee engagement events and initiatives
- Facilitate exit interviews, gathering feedback for discussion and potential implementation
- Lead sensitive investigations from start to finish relating to: harassment, bullying, retaliation, discrimination, hostile work environment and other potential violations of Company policies
Executive Presence: Be a Leader and Drive the Culture
- Create a system for and running people data and analytics to ensure data-driven decision-making at all times, incorporating qualitative and quantitative feedback from engagement surveys, 1:1s, and more into creating effective and empathetic people programs
- Foster a culture and environment of inclusion
- Advise company leadership on risk mitigation strategies
- Collaborating with the C-level executives to refine, articulate, and sustain the Company mission, culture and values
- Improve, socialize and roll out processes, approaches, guidelines, practices and operating procedures related to employee relations, including implementation of new, strategic solutions
- Facilitate internal communication cadence to ensure employees maintain a clear understanding of company priorities and progress
- Work together with C-level team (lead by COO) on implementation and rollout of company bonus incentive program
- Work together with C-level team (lead by CFO) and legal counsel on equity grant awards
- Work together with C-level team on researching new employee benefits programs, like retirement/401k programs
Standards:
- Display knowledge of the brand, culture, and product.
- Demonstrate the Company’s core values of people, learning, culture, relationships, sustainability, and stewardship.
- Maintain professional and respectful behavior when in contact with guests, management, and teammates.
- Present a polished personal appearance, adhering to company grooming standards outlined in the Employee Handbook.
- Adhere to all company policies and procedures outlined in handbooks, manuals, and other company documents.
- Attend and participate in all scheduled meetings, training sessions, and continuing education activities.
- Take care of all company property.
- Maintain safety standards.
- Comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Qualifications:
- Must have the ability to read, speak, understand, follow written directions, and verbal instructions in English.
- Must be reachable by email and able to communicate via phone as well.
- Working knowledge of commonly utilized office equipment and practices (printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, calendar invites, call forwarding, etc.).
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.
- Ability to effectively manage internal and external correspondence.
- Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Able to communicate complex information (verbally, written, and visually) professionally, effectively, and efficiently to all team members.
- Excellent organizational, multi-tasking, prioritization, and time management skills reflecting an attention to detail.
- Able to work independently and/or collaboratively, meeting internal and external deadlines.
- Exceptional interpersonal skills and a positive, results-oriented, team-player mentality.
- Demonstrates positive leadership characteristics and supervisory skills, which inspire team members to meet and exceed standards.
- Ability to perform job duties and responsibilities well, adapt, and maintain professionalism, composure, and sound judgment under pressure in a fast-paced, often changing, and at times stressful environment.
- Ability to maintain strict confidentiality of company data and exercise discretion.
- Ability to work primarily on-site in GHM head office (35 E 19th Street, New York, NY 10003).
- A deep sense of care for employees and their success
- A deep sense of care for the long-term success of the business
- Confidence in your craft and a strong perspective of People and Talent philosophy
- Deep experience in the hospitality or service industry, or related distributed industry (ex: fashion or retail)
- Experience leading a team through phases high-growth
- A clear sense of excellence, and a perspective on how to drive excellence in others
- Experience with Talent Acquisition strategy, specifically with a large distributed, field-based workforce
- Knowledge of hospitality wage and labor laws in NY, NV and FL
- Experience working with C-level executives to help drive strategy
- Experience managing payroll department, preferred
- Experience managing L&D department, preferred
- Bias toward action/sense of urgency
- Strong organizational and administrative skill set
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential job duties and responsibilities of this job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform those essential functions.
While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to:
- Exert well-paced mobility for periods of up to 12 hours per day and at least 60 hours per week.
- Lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
- Frequently stand, walk, reach, bend, stoop, push, pull, and kneel.
- Frequently utilize the stairs, often while lifting and carrying heavy items.
- Occasionally crouch and climb.
- Withstand fluctuations in temperature within the work environment, from high heat to below freezing.
- Sit or stand for prolonged periods at a desk while working on a computer.
- May be asked to travel to visit vendors or different company locations.
New York State’s Pay Transparency Law requires employers to include a range of pay forall advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunities.
New York Pay Range: $225,000 USD - $250,000 USD
Benefits (with variation for full-time/part-time employment):
- Structured, generous compensation for all positions
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits
- Flexible Spending Account/Health Savings Account
- Commuter Benefits
- Referral Bonus Program
- Career Advancement Opportunities
- Employee Recognition Awards
- Paid Time Off
Gracious Hospitality Management fully complies with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws by providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information (including family medical history), or any other legally protected status.
Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job should contact the Human Resources department at people@gracioushm.com.
