General Manager Job Description

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Table Of Contents

Learn about the essential requirements, obligations, responsibilities, and skills that are helpful in a general manager job description.

General Managers, or GMs, handle the daily operations of a business. They’re the driving force behind ensuring a business’s budget, training, policies, and goals align. GMs are an essential leadership position to organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations.

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General Manager Job Description Template

Our company is seeking an experienced general manager (GM) to oversee all aspects of business operations. The GM will handle all strategic leadership tasks, manage the company’s daily operations, and ensure the organization’s financial success. Ideal candidates will have previous experience in leadership or business management, especially over a diverse team. Creating and executing plans that increase a company’s growth and productivity are also significant responsibilities of a general manager.

General Manager Responsibilities

  • Create business strategies for a company

  • Lead all major departments, including finance, marketing, operations, and human resources

  • Monitor financial performance

  • Help employees achieve performance goals

  • Develop fair and just workplace policies

  • Evaluating a company’s performance

  • Maintain positive, lasting relationships with stakeholders and suppliers

  • Maintain compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations

  • Foster a work environment that encourages collaboration and innovation

General Manager Requirements 

  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business management or administration

  • Experience in a leadership position

  • Financial management and strategic planning experience

  • Strong motivational and interpersonal skills

  • Demonstrated portfolio of helping organizations grow and flourish

General Manager Duties And Responsibilities

Create business strategies for a company 

General managers analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a company, identifying areas for improvement. From this research, they create a business strategy comprised of goals, objectives, resource allocations, and performance metrics. Finally, they communicate these strategies with stakeholders and staff to ensure cross-company compliance.

Maintain positive, lasting relationships with stakeholders and suppliers 

Creating positive, lasting relationships with stakeholders and suppliers is one of the main responsibilities of general managers. They use their experience leading organizations and networking skills to maintain these relationships to help further the company’s goals.

Foster a work environment that encourages collaboration and innovation 

General managers set clear goals and expectations for an organization. Doing this helps keep employees on track, building motivation. When a company is motivated and happy to work together, it creates a culture where collaboration and innovation take center stage. Successful general managers are genuine, transparent, and work well with others.

Make suggestions to a business to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness 

Companies constantly strive to improve to increase sales goals and create more efficient operations. General managers help companies with this by suggesting how employees and management can work together. This is another responsibility where prior experience is helpful.

Monitor financial performance 

An organization’s financial performance is the determining factor behind its success. A general manager, who ideally will have strong mathematical skills and financial knowledge, monitors financials for discrepancies that could harm the business.

General Manager Salary And Job Outlook

Median National Salary: $60,555

Education Required: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business management or administration

Number of Jobs: 31,900 per year

Job Growth 2020 – 2030: 5%

The Bottom Line

Being a general manager takes determination and experience, so it isn’t a job that you can get right out of school. After getting a bachelor’s or master’s degree, it’s important to get internships to learn the responsibilities of a general manager, such as overseeing the daily operations of a business.

To see where employers are searching for candidates, check our list of the best free job posting sites. If you want to add a general manager to your team, post your general manager job description on ZipRecruiter today!