Hospitality Pre-Opening Project Head

Position : Hospitality Pre-Opening Project Head

Client : The Cakap Group

Location : Bali, Indonesia

Department : Project Department

Reports To : Director

About Us:

The Cakap Group (TCG) is a licensed hospitality management and restaurant consulting company in Indonesia with an 11-year history of success. We design, launch, and manage a diverse portfolio of prestigious projects, ranging from boutique hotels and luxury resorts to restaurants and luxury yachts. With over 150 successful projects and 800+ employees recruited, we offer a stable, dynamic, and internationally standardized working environment. You will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, supported by our state-of-the-art Research & Development (R&D) kitchen and modern training facilities in Bali. Join us to accelerate your career and be part of an exceptional team that transforms ambitious visions into world-class hospitality experiences.

About the Position:

The Cakap Group is seeking an experienced Hospitality Pre-Opening Project Head to lead and coordinate hospitality pre-opening projects from initial planning through opening and post-opening stabilization. This role will provide overall project and operational leadership, ensuring that all departments, systems, people, facilities, and guest-facing standards are fully prepared for a successful opening.

The Project Head will work closely with the Director, client/owner representatives, consultants, contractors, suppliers, and The Cakap Group's multidisciplinary team. The role requires a strong combination of hospitality operations knowledge, project management, leadership, commercial awareness, and stakeholder management skills.

What You Will Contribute:

As Hospitality Pre-Opening Project Head, you are the single point of accountability for every assigned client project. All Heads of Department involved in a project — across HR & GA, F&B, Operations, Culinary, and other functions — report their project progress and deliverables to you, regardless of the scope of services a client has engaged. You will run daily briefings to track critical path status, follow up relentlessly with HoDs to keep every workstream on schedule, and ensure that every critical component is delivered according to the agreed timeline, budget, and quality standards.

What You Will Do:

Project Leadership & Cross-Department Coordination

• Act as the central point of accountability for every Head of Department involved in a client project — including HR & GA, F&B, Operations, Culinary, and other relevant functions — regardless of the scope of services the client has engaged (for example, on a recruitment-only engagement, the HRGA Manager reports project fulfillment and progress updates directly to the Project Head).
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams across operations, F&B, culinary, HR, finance, procurement, sales & marketing, and other relevant functions.
• Lead daily morning briefings with Heads of Department to review critical path status, flag blockers, and issue clear instructions and follow-ups.
• Act as the key operational liaison between The Cakap Group, clients, consultants, contractors, suppliers, and other project stakeholders.
• Lead regular project meetings and follow up relentlessly on outstanding actions, holding Heads of Department and project teams accountable to committed timelines.

Planning & Operational Readiness

• Develop and manage comprehensive project timelines, milestones, action plans, deliverables, responsibilities, and critical paths.
• Translate the client's concept, vision, and business objectives into practical operational plans and pre-opening requirements.
• Oversee the development and implementation of SOPs, service standards, operational procedures, checklists, and departmental systems.
• Oversee key operational requirements including FF&E, OS&E, uniforms, technology, POS, reservation systems, supplies, and other opening essentials.

Team Readiness & Launch

• Coordinate recruitment, onboarding, training, team preparation, operational simulations, mock services, and readiness activities.
• Coordinate trial operations, soft openings, launch activities, and the transition from pre-opening into normal operations.
• Monitor initial operational performance, service standards, guest experience, team readiness, and key issues during the stabilization period.
• Mentor and guide project team members while maintaining strong communication, collaboration, accountability, and professional standards.

Monitoring & Reporting

• Monitor project progress, budgets, risks, dependencies, operational gaps, and critical deadlines, ensuring timely corrective actions.
• Prepare regular project reports, progress updates, risk assessments, and management presentations for the Director and client.
• Ensure project deliverables meet The Cakap Group's quality standards, agreed timelines, and client expectations.
• Identify opportunities to improve project delivery, operational efficiency, guest experience, and overall commercial performance.

Who We're Looking For:

Must-Have

• Minimum 8 years of experience in hospitality operations, hotel, resort, restaurant, or hospitality consulting, ideally in senior roles such as Hotel Manager, Operations Manager, Project Manager, Pre-Opening Manager, or General Manager.
• Strong understanding of hospitality pre-opening processes, operational planning, SOP development, recruitment, training, and opening readiness.
• Proven ability to manage multidisciplinary teams and multiple project workstreams, with strong project management skills across planning, budgeting, scheduling, risk management, and reporting.
• Excellent client management, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills; professional and confident in dealing with senior clients, consultants, suppliers, and stakeholders.
• Strong leadership, problem-solving, decision-making, and organizational skills, commercially aware with an understanding of budgets, cost control, revenue, and operational performance.
• Highly organized, proactive, and hands-on, with strong attention to detail and comfort managing multiple priorities and tight deadlines.
• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.
• Willing to travel and work extended hours, weekends, and public holidays as required by project schedules.

Nice to Have (Will Set You Apart)

• Previous experience specifically leading hospitality pre-opening projects, rather than general ongoing operations.
• Background managing cross-functional teams in a matrix structure, where department heads reported directly for project delivery.
• Experience running structured project governance rhythms — daily briefings, critical path tracking, stand-ups — across multiple stakeholders.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary
• Religious Holiday Allowance (THR)
• BPJS Health & Employment Coverage
• Meal Allowance
• Opportunity to lead exciting hospitality pre-opening projects across Indonesia, working directly with owners, investors, consultants, and senior hospitality professionals
• Professional development and long-term career growth within The Cakap Group, leading multidisciplinary project teams and contributing to world-class hospitality developments