THE ROLE: GENERAL MANAGER – ONE WORLD OBSERVATORY
LOCATION: NEW YORK, NY
DEPARTMENT: VENUE MANAGEMENT
REPORTS TO: REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT
ABOUT THE ROLE
The General Manager is the senior on-site leader responsible for One World Observatory and the Legends-managed tenant amenity facilities within the portfolio, with primary accountability for financial results, revenue growth, operational excellence, and guest experience across the businesses. The role owns the business plans and P&Ls and leads strategies to increase attendance and utilization, ticket and event revenue, per-capita spending, commercial revenue, and overall profitability.
The General Manager leads the Legends Global team and serves as the senior day-to-day relationship leader across a complex, multi-party environment that includes the Port Authority, building landlord, union partners, and other key stakeholders. Success requires disciplined financial leadership, a commercial mindset, proactive stakeholder communication, and a consistent focus on delivering a premier New York attraction experience.
In addition to One World Observatory, the General Manager provides executive oversight of Legends-managed tenant amenity facilities associated with the property, including an off-site amenity facility at 151 and tenant amenity space within the One World Observatory building.
ABOUT ONE WORLD OBSERVATORY
One World Observatory is a high-profile visitor attraction in New York City. The General Manager is responsible for ensuring the attraction remains operationally strong, commercially successful, and guest-focused while aligning the priorities of Legends Global and the client.
WHAT YOU’LL DO (KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & OUTCOMES)
Financial Performance & Revenue Growth
- Own the full P&L and overall financial performance of One World Observatory and the Legends-managed tenant amenity facilities, including 151 and the tenant amenity space within the One World Observatory building, with accountability for revenue, expenses, labor, profitability, annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning across the portfolio.
- Develop and execute strategies to grow attendance and utilization across One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities, including admission revenue, per-capita spending, group sales, tenant and special events, hospitality, retail, and other commercial revenue streams.
- Establish clear financial and operating targets for One World Observatory and each tenant amenity facility, review results against budget and forecast, identify risks and opportunities, and lead timely action plans to close performance gaps.
- Partner with Legends Global ticketing, sales, marketing, hospitality, partnerships, finance, and corporate resources to identify and execute scalable growth opportunities.
- Maintain disciplined oversight of operating expenses, staffing levels, labor deployment, purchasing, and capital needs across One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities while protecting the quality of the guest and tenant experience.
Attraction Strategy & Guest Experience
- Lead One World Observatory as a premier attraction, ensuring the experience remains compelling, relevant, safe, and commercially successful.
- Maintain a hyper-focus on the complete guest journey, from discovery and ticket purchase through arrival, attraction experience, hospitality, retail, and departure.
- Use guest feedback, operating data, market trends, attendance patterns, and commercial performance to continuously improve the attraction and the visitor experience.
- Ensure consistently high standards for service, safety, cleanliness, presentation, security, emergency preparedness, and operational execution.
Client, Property Owner & Multi-Party Stakeholder Leadership
- Serve as the senior relationship lead for the Client and other key stakeholders, maintaining transparent, productive, and solutions-oriented relationships.
- Establish and maintain a structured cadence of regularly scheduled meetings with the landlord to address property operations, building matters, capital priorities, business needs, and issues affecting the attraction.
- Navigate a complex multi-party operating environment by aligning business objectives with property requirements, contractual obligations, labor considerations, and stakeholder priorities.
- Proactively identify stakeholder issues and ensure clear ownership, communication, escalation, follow-through, and resolution.
- Develop and maintain constructive labor relationships and ensure effective leadership within a union environment.
Operational & Business Leadership
- Lead the overall strategy and performance of One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities, ensuring day-to-day operating decisions support financial objectives, stakeholder commitments, and guest and tenant experience.
- Establish clear operating standards, performance measures, reporting routines, and accountability across One World Observatory, 151, the tenant amenity space within the One World Observatory building, and all functional areas.
- Ensure compliance across One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities with applicable management and property agreements, company policies, safety requirements, emergency procedures, union agreements, and regulatory obligations.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, strengthen cross-functional coordination, reduce risk, and enhance the long-term value of the business.
- Provide executive oversight of tenant amenity operations, including the off-site 151 facility and tenant amenity space located within the One World Observatory building, ensuring each facility meets its financial, operational, service, and stakeholder commitments.
- Maintain accountability for the overall business and day-to-day performance of these amenity facilities through the designated on-site leaders, including the General Manager at 151 and the Director of Group Sales or designated group sales leader for the tenant amenity space within One World Observatory.
People & Organizational Leadership
- Lead, develop, and hold accountable the leadership teams responsible for One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities, including the on-site General Manager at 151 and the Director of Group Sales or designated group sales leader responsible for the tenant amenity space within the One World Observatory building, setting clear priorities and measurable performance expectations.
- Create a high-performance culture centered on business ownership, guest focus, collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement.
- Build a strong leadership bench and succession plans for critical roles, partnering with Human Resources on staffing, talent development, performance management, and employee engagement.
- Ensure leaders understand their ownership of financial, operational, people, and guest-experience results.
WHAT YOU BRING (QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE)
- 7+ years of progressive senior leadership experience in attractions, tourism, hospitality, entertainment, venue management, or another high-volume consumer-facing business.
- Demonstrated experience leading a complex, multi-facility operation with full P&L accountability and direct responsibility for measurable revenue growth and profitability.
- Strong commercial orientation with a record of growing attendance and utilization, ticket revenue, per-capita spending, group and special-event revenue, tenant-amenity performance, or comparable consumer-business measures.
- Proven ability to manage sophisticated client, property owner, landlord, labor, government-agency, and other stakeholder relationships.
- Experience leading effectively in a union environment, including practical knowledge of labor relations and collective bargaining agreement administration.
- Demonstrated success leading large, cross-functional teams and developing accountable, high-performing leaders.
- Strong financial and analytical capability with the ability to translate business data into clear commercial and operating actions.
- Ability to balance financial performance, stakeholder expectations, employee engagement, operational execution, risk management, and guest experience.
KEY LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES
- Business Ownership: Operates with full accountability for the performance of One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities and moves quickly to address opportunities, risks, and performance gaps.
- Commercial Mindset: Consistently identifies ways to grow attendance and utilization, revenue, per-capita spending, event and amenity business, profitability, and long-term value across the portfolio.
- Stakeholder Leadership: Builds trust across the Port Authority, landlord, union partners, and Legends Global through transparency, sound judgment, responsiveness, and reliable execution.
- Team Leadership: Sets clear expectations, develops strong leaders, and creates a culture of accountability, collaboration, and follow-through.
- Guest & Operational Excellence: Maintains high standards and ensures that financial and operating decisions support a safe, seamless, best-in-class attraction experience.
WORK ENVIRONMENT & TRAVEL
- This is an on-site leadership position based primarily at One World Observatory in New York, NY, with regular oversight and presence required at 151 and other Legends-managed tenant amenity facilities within the portfolio.
- The role requires flexibility to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and high-volume periods based on business and attraction needs.
- The General Manager must be visible and engaged across One World Observatory and the tenant amenity facilities and able to respond to time-sensitive operating, stakeholder, labor, guest, and tenant issues.
- Limited travel may be required for Legends Global business meetings, training, and partner engagement.
COMPENSATION
The salary range for this position is $225K-$240K, commensurate with experience, skills, and qualifications. This role may also be eligible for a performance bonus. Legends Global offers a competitive total rewards package, including [insert benefits summary, if appropriate].
