What are the responsibilities and job description for the Kilwins Hendersonville General Manager position at Clark & Company?
Kilwins Hendersonville General Manager
506 N Main Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792
Salary: $67,000 base annual bonus
Hours: 40-45/week depending on the season
What are the benefits for a General Manager at Kilwins?
Cared for like family by the owners
3 weeks paid time off
Simple IRA 3% match
Health Insurance
Paid parking
Leadership training
Product discount
Flexible schedule
Work life balance (for real, though)
Casual dress
Opportunity for advancement
Bonus Structure: 2% of profit—performance based
What's the big picture?
The General Manager (GM) will regularly exercise discretion in managing the overall operation of the store and have fun while doing it. Our customers often come in happy and leave happier! This hands-on job requires working in the business in addition to “on” the business. You must be a decision maker and a delegator, but also a doer when the ever-changing demands of the day require it. A majority of time is spent supervising and directing the workforce, making staffing decisions, and overseeing kitchen production. The GM is responsible for keeping labor overhead and food costs down while increasing sales. Will be responsible for customer satisfaction, team member supervision, scheduling, merchandising, quality control, and maintaining a well-trained team. Flexibility, strong communication skills, leadership, and the desire to provide an excellent experience for customers is crucial to success in this position.
What are the required qualifications for the position?
- 5 years experience directly managing people - hiring, firing, developing, leading, performance reviews
- 5 years customer service
- Time management skills
- Being coachable
- Leadership junkie
- Must live within 15 mile radius of Kilwins Hendersonville
What does a General Manager at Kilwins do on a daily basis?
- Leadership – set goals and model how to achieve success in all aspects of store operations. Constantly review store environment and key business indicators to identify problems, concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
- Growth – identify, develop and implement strategies to increase profitability. i.e. corporate sales, hotel marketing, take-it-home, and fudge sales.
- Promote and model Best Practices for building customer relationships and growing the business. Exceptional hospitality is a top priority.
- Maintain an excellent store atmosphere, functionality, and appearance by paying attention to inventory, cleanliness, and positive attitudes.
- Manage with integrity, honesty and fairness.
- Office organizational skills & POS management
- Oversee the hiring, firing, training, developing, and scheduling of 15-20 team members
- Lead store leadership team of 6 people including General Manager, 2 Assistant Managers, and 3 Team Leaders
- Address issues with team in a timely, respectful and professional manner. Expect professional behavior from staff…nip grooming issues, cell phone use, gossip, negativity, scheduling issues, etc in the bud.
- Assist in managing inventory and placing inventory orders
- Work with kitchen staff to achieve changing inventory needs, ensure adherence to corporate recipes and food safety guidelines, and quality control. Manage production of special, corporate, and holiday orders.
- Typical schedule includes Sunday/Monday 2-day weekend off
- Excellent communication with team members and guests
- Participate regularly in leadership including but not limited to book club, weekly calls, and more
- Travel 2-3 times per year to off-site manager meetings in southeast
Do their General Managers really have work life balance?
- One of our General Managers said, "Absolutely, in my last role I found myself always being on call 24/7. To be more specific I took work calls at 3 am and 4 am, calls on days off, and even during vacations. I always no matter what had some foot in the door at work. I didn't always mind this but sometimes it did take its toll. I thought that it was just a part of the job and that being a leader called you to always have yourself available for anything. Starting here at Kilwins the best way to put it was refreshing. I remember coming up to my first days off and not getting a single phone call. I remember being worried that something was wrong because of that. Figuring out this new normal that work was at work and home was not-work was an eye-opening experience and I can't imagine working in an environment without it again.
- Another General Manager said, "I feel the position is well structured and that the expectations are very clear on what is expected. Compared to my previous company, my work-life balance has improved dramatically. Even since being here and becoming more comfortable in the role and training my team members. It is also so wonderful to know the owners are so supportive of a work-life balance and that it matters to them. Knowing that also removes the guilt of saying it's time to go home when the time comes around. Time management goes hand in hand with work life balance. So being able to really manage your time well will make it easier to not feel overwhelmed or the need to take any work home."
- Another General Manager said, "I do feel like I have work life balance. Having the same two days off consistently every week is a big part of that. Having that planned on my schedule I feel helps me and my team know my availability."
- Just a few ways we accomplish work life balance: you're not allowed to have your work email on your phone, you're trained to not answer work calls when they come and you're off, you're trained to train your team in a way that equips them to lead in your absence, you're required to use a communication tool called Slack in place of "texting" so that you can set a notification schedule and not be interrupted with texts
What matters to these people?
Team: We are team members, not employees
Respect: Treat others as you want to be treated
Integrity: We believe character matters, all the time
Hospitality: The way you make people feel is what they will remember more than anything
Excellence in the Ordinary: Do your best every time and be faithful in the little things
Who are these people?
Kilwins Hendersonville is owned by young entrepreneurs, Landon and Ashley Clark. When Ashley Clark was 22-years old, she was living at home in Rutherford County, NC, with her parents and her college degree, working a job she’d had since she was 15. Counting the number of times he’d been to a Kilwins on one hand, her dad made a suggestion out of the blue: “Have you ever thought about owning a Kilwins Franchise?” That was October 2012. Landon and Ashley opened their first Kilwins store in 2013 in Greenville, SC. Fast forward to 2025: Landon and Ashley own and operate six Kilwins stores in SC, NC, GA, and TN. They love building relationships with their team. They teach their team to show up on time, deliver on promises, and be better communicators. They are passionate about inspiring their team members to do the things that inspire them.
Salary : $67,000
