Assistant General Manager Job Description Templates
6 free templates by industry: master, restaurant, retail, hotel, fitness, and small-business single location, with the salary data and FLSA exempt classification guidance generic templates skip. Download as DOCX.
The assistant general manager is the right hand of the person who runs a business: second-in-command, ready to lead when the general manager is away, and a common hire across restaurants, retail, hotels, and gyms. It is also one of the most generically templated roles online, and almost none of those templates address the two things that matter most to the employer writing the posting: how the role differs by industry, and how it is classified under the FLSA, which is one of the most litigated questions in wage-and-hour law.
This page is a hub for that hire. It gives you six templates: a master template plus restaurant, retail, hotel, and fitness versions, and a small-business single-location version. At FirstHR, we build hiring and onboarding tools for small businesses like yours. Each template is ready to use, with the salary and FLSA realities built in. For the principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
TL;DR
An assistant general manager is the second-in-command who supports the GM and runs the business when the GM is away, most commonly in restaurants, retail, hotels, and gyms. Pay typically runs in the low-to-high fifties thousand, under $80,000 in most small businesses. The biggest thing generic templates skip is FLSA classification: whether the role is exempt depends on the primary-duty test, not the title, and it is a common area of misclassification. This page has six templates by industry; download all as one DOCX.
What an Assistant General Manager Does
An assistant general manager is the second-in-command of a business or location, supporting the general manager and stepping in when the GM is away. The core work is helping lead daily operations, supervising and scheduling the team, helping hire and train, monitoring sales and costs, upholding standards, and handling customer escalations. The role exists across industries, and the specific duties shift with the setting, but the constant is being ready to run the operation alone.
There is no single federal occupation for assistant general manager. The closest reference for the restaurant segment is food service managers (SOC 11-9051), with the AGM sitting a step below the general manager. For the employer writing the posting, the role is defined less by a generic bullet list and more by two things templates skip: the industry it sits in, and how it is classified under the FLSA. The six templates split by industry so the document matches the real hire.
Assistant General Manager Duties and Responsibilities
Assistant general manager duties cluster into four areas: leadership and team, performance and cost, operations and standards, and customers and service. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match your industry rather than listing every possible task. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
Leadership and team
Cover for the GM and lead daily operations
Supervise, schedule, and coach the team
Help hire, onboard, and train staff
Performance and cost
Monitor sales, labor, and other costs
Support operational targets and reporting
Help with inventory, ordering, and vendors
Operations and standards
Uphold quality, service, and safety standards
Open, close, and reconcile as needed
Keep day-to-day operations on track
Customers and service
Handle customer issues and escalations
Deliver a strong customer experience
Represent the business and brand standards
The emphasis shifts by industry: a restaurant AGM leans on food and labor cost and food safety, a retail AGM on sales and merchandising, a hotel AGM on front desk and housekeeping. For a structured way to scope the role, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
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These titles are often confused, but they sit at different levels, and using the right one in the posting attracts the right candidates. An assistant general manager is second-in-command for the whole location and covers for the GM; an assistant manager usually leads one department or shift.
Assistant General Manager
Assistant Manager
Scope
The whole business or location
One department or shift
Reports to
General Manager
Manager or GM
Covers for
The General Manager
The department or shift manager
Authority
Broad, cross-department
Narrower, within the department
Path to
General Manager
Assistant general manager or manager
If the person will help run the entire location and stand in for the GM, you are hiring an assistant general manager. If they will lead one department or shift, that is an assistant manager, a different role and a different posting.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by industry. The second-in-command core runs through all six, but each one frames the duties, systems, and standards for a specific kind of business. Use this guide to choose the closest fit, then adjust.
Assistant GM (Master)
Any industry
The baseline second-in-command version: supervising the team, covering for the GM, supporting hiring and costs. Start here, then adjust to your industry.
Restaurant AGM
Restaurants, food service
The restaurant version: running shifts, supervising front- and back-of-house, food and labor cost control, food safety, and guest experience.
Retail AGM
Stores, retail
The retail version: driving sales and service, supervising associates, managing inventory and merchandising, and covering for the store manager.
Hotel AGM
Hotels, hospitality
The hospitality version: overseeing front desk, housekeeping, and guest services, supporting revenue and occupancy, and serving as manager on duty.
Fitness / Gym AGM
Clubs, fitness
The fitness version: leading the front-desk and sales team, driving membership growth and retention, and keeping the club running.
Small Business / Single Location
Owner-operated
A wear-several-hats version for an owner hiring a right hand at a single location, where the AGM does a lot of hands-on work alongside leading.
Match the Template to the Industry
Use the Master template as a starting point for any industry. Choose Restaurant for food service, Retail for stores, Hotel for hospitality, and Fitness for gyms and clubs. Use Small Business / Single Location when an owner is hiring a hands-on right hand at one location. Whichever you pick, decide the FLSA classification using the primary-duty test before you post.
6 Free Assistant General Manager Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company and job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, a classification note, pay, and how to apply, with an EEO statement built in. Fill in the brackets and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
Master, restaurant, retail, hotel, fitness, and small business. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Assistant General Manager (Master Template)
The baseline second-in-command version covering team leadership, covering for the GM, costs, and standards. Start here for any industry, then adjust.
Assistant General Manager Job Description (Master Template)
We are an owner-operated, single-location business hiring an Assistant
General Manager to be the owner's right hand. In a small business this
is a hands-on, wear-several-hats leadership role: you help run the
place, lead the team, and keep things going when the owner is away.
JOB SUMMARY
[Company Name] is hiring an Assistant General Manager to help run our
business day to day and lead the team alongside the owner. You will
supervise staff, manage shifts, help hire and train, watch costs, and
keep operations and customer service on track. This role suits a
reliable, hands-on leader who wants ownership and a path to grow.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Help run daily operations and lead in the owner's absence
•Supervise and schedule the team
•Help hire, onboard, and train staff
•Watch costs, sales, and day-to-day performance
•Uphold quality, service, and safety standards
•Handle customer issues directly
•Pitch in across the business as a small team
•Help with ordering, inventory, and reporting
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Supervisory or assistant-management experience
•Hands-on leader willing to wear several hats
•Strong communication and organization
•Available for a flexible schedule
•Reliable, trustworthy, and customer-focused
CLASSIFICATION NOTE (read before posting)
Whether this role is exempt or non-exempt depends on the actual duties,
not the title. In a small business the assistant general manager often
does a lot of hands-on, non-management work, which makes the
primary-duty test especially important. Decide the classification
before posting. This is general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Pay: $_ [per year or per hour] [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ or stop by.
We are an equal opportunity employer.
FLSA: Exempt or Non-Exempt?
This is the part generic AGM templates skip, and it is the part that protects the employer. Whether the assistant general manager is exempt from overtime is one of the most litigated questions in wage-and-hour law, and getting it wrong is costly. Here is what actually decides it.
The classification question is the biggest risk in this role
Assistant general manager, especially in restaurants and retail, is one of the most common sources of wage-and-hour disputes, because employers often classify the role as salaried-exempt to avoid overtime when the actual day-to-day work does not support it. The Fair Labor Standards Act lets an employer treat a bona fide executive as exempt from overtime, but the role has to pass both a salary test and a duties test. Getting this wrong is expensive, and large restaurant and retail employers have paid substantial settlements over assistant managers who were classified as exempt but spent most of their time on non-management work. Decide the classification honestly before you post. This is general information, not legal advice.
The primary-duty test, not a strict time percentage
The key legal question is whether management is the employee's primary duty, evaluated case by case, not a strict rule about the percentage of time spent on management. Federal regulations are explicit that an assistant manager who serves customers, cooks, stocks shelves, or cleans does not lose the exemption if management is still the primary duty, and can supervise and serve at the same time. The exemption breaks when management stops being the primary duty, for example when the assistant manager mainly does the same front-line work as the staff and someone else really runs the operation. Look at what the role actually does day to day. This is general information, not legal advice.
The three-part executive exemption test
To qualify for the executive exemption that usually applies to this role, the Department of Labor requires all of the following: the employee is paid on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold, which is $684 per week as of 2026; the employee's primary duty is managing the business or a recognized department; the employee customarily directs the work of two or more full-time employees; and the employee has authority to hire or fire, or their recommendations on hiring and firing carry particular weight. Miss any element and the role is non-exempt and owed overtime. Several states set higher salary thresholds, so check current federal and state rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Job titles do not determine exempt status
This is the single most important thing the Department of Labor says about manager and assistant-manager classification, and it has a dedicated guidance page on determining exemption status for managers and assistant managers in the restaurant industry. Calling someone an assistant general manager, or putting them on a salary, does not by itself make them exempt. The actual duties and salary have to meet the regulations. The safe practice for a small employer is to evaluate the real duties against the primary-duty and executive-exemption tests, and when the role is genuinely borderline or mostly hands-on, classify it as non-exempt and pay overtime. This is general information, not legal advice.
Title Does Not Decide Exempt Status
The Department of Labor has a dedicated guidance page on determining exemption status for managers and assistant managers, and it is explicit that job titles do not determine exempt status. Putting an AGM on a salary does not make them exempt: the role must pass both the salary test, currently $684 per week, and the duties test, where management must be the primary duty. When the role is genuinely hands-on or borderline, the safer practice is to classify it as non-exempt and pay overtime. This is general information, not legal advice.
Assistant general manager pay varies by industry, region, and business size. Set your range using government data as a baseline, then adjust for your industry and local market.
Restaurant Reference: $65,310 Median (BLS)
There is no single federal occupation for assistant general manager. The closest reference for restaurants, food service managers, had a median wage of $65,310 a year as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $42,380 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The assistant general manager generally sits a step below the general manager, so most AGM roles in small businesses run under $80,000.
Restaurant and retail AGM pay tends to run in the high-forties to mid-sixties thousand range, while hotel and property AGM roles can run higher in major markets. Remember that pay and the FLSA classification go together: if the role is non-exempt, overtime applies on top of base pay, and the highest applicable minimum wage governs. Post a competitive, transparent range benchmarked to your industry and market.
Hiring an Assistant General Manager for a Small Business
A large chain hires AGMs through an HR team and a multi-location structure. A small business makes this hire directly, and faces three things the template farms ignore: the AGM is the owner's right hand and the owner writes the posting, classifying the role is the trap generic templates leave out, and hiring a second-in-command is a high-trust handoff. Here is how to handle all three.
The assistant general manager is the owner's right hand, and the owner is the one writing the job description
Most assistant general manager templates online come from large template sites and assume an employer with an HR department and a multi-location structure. The reality for a small business is different: the AGM is the owner's second-in-command at a single restaurant, store, gym, or property, and the owner or general manager is the one writing the posting, hiring, and onboarding, usually with no HR support. The templates above are built for that situation. Pick the industry version that matches your business, fill in the brackets, and post, without translating a generic corporate job description down to your size.
Classifying the AGM is the trap, and it is the part generic templates leave out entirely
Almost no competitor template addresses whether the assistant general manager is exempt or non-exempt, and that omission is exactly where small employers get into trouble. It is tempting to put the AGM on a salary and call them exempt, but the law looks at whether management is genuinely the primary duty, not the title or the pay. In a small business the AGM often spends much of the day doing the same hands-on work as the staff, which can make the role non-exempt and owed overtime. Decide the classification honestly using the primary-duty test before you post, set pay to match, and when in doubt, treat the role as non-exempt.
Hiring a second-in-command is a high-trust handoff, and onboarding is where it gets handled
The AGM is the person who runs the business when the owner is not there, so a clean, repeatable onboarding process matters. Each hire carries the same after-offer work: a signed offer with the classification and pay spelled out, the I-9 and tax forms, role-specific training so the AGM can actually lead before day one, and organized records. FirstHR fits this people side of the hire: e-signature for the offer and acknowledgments, an onboarding wizard that builds a workflow from the job description, training modules for role-specific onboarding, task workflows for the management handoff, and document management for signed forms. The flat monthly price suits a high-turnover restaurant, retail, or fitness business better than per-employee tools. To be clear about scope, FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a point-of-sale, scheduling, or payroll system, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with those providers. Applicant tracking is coming soon.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and onboarding, and because the AGM runs the business when the owner is away, a smooth, repeatable process pays off. The paperwork comes first: the offer in writing with the classification and pay spelled out, the I-9 with documents verified, and the W-4 and state tax forms per the new hire paperwork guide.
Send the offer in writing
Confirm the role, the exempt or non-exempt classification, the pay, the schedule, and the start date in a written offer, so your second-in-command knows exactly what they accepted.
Collect the paperwork
Gather the signed offer, the I-9 with documents verified, and the W-4 and state tax forms, plus any acknowledgments a leadership role calls for.
Train to lead before day one
Assign role-specific training on operations, systems, and standards so the AGM can run a shift and cover for the GM with confidence.
Store the records
Keep the signed offer, the classification decision, training acknowledgments, and any certifications organized and audit-ready.
Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the next step, and an onboarding template gives the new hire a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, role-specific training, and the onboarding workflow in one place, with a wizard that builds the workflow from the job description, so a small business can manage the full process from one system. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a point-of-sale, scheduling, or payroll tool, and it does not run payroll or administer benefits, so connect those separately. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
An assistant general manager is the second-in-command who supports the GM and runs the business when the GM is away.
Use the template that matches the industry: master, restaurant, retail, hotel, fitness, or small-business single location.
FLSA classification is the biggest gap generic templates skip: exempt status depends on the primary-duty test, not the title or salary.
Restaurant and retail AGM roles are a common source of misclassification claims; when borderline, classify as non-exempt and pay overtime.
There is no single federal occupation for AGM; the restaurant reference, food service managers, reports a median of $65,310 (BLS, May 2024).
Onboarding is a high-trust handoff: the offer with classification spelled out, the I-9, tax forms, and role-specific training to lead before day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an assistant general manager do?
An assistant general manager is the second-in-command of a business or location, supporting the general manager and stepping in when the GM is away. Day to day, that means helping lead daily operations, supervising and scheduling the team, helping hire and train staff, monitoring sales and costs, upholding quality and service standards, handling customer escalations, and supporting inventory and reporting. The role exists across industries, most commonly in restaurants, retail, hotels, and fitness, and the specific duties shift with the setting, but the core is the same: help run the operation and be ready to run it alone. It is a leadership role and usually a path toward general manager.
What are the main assistant general manager duties and responsibilities?
Assistant general manager duties cluster into four areas. Leadership and team: covering for the GM, supervising and scheduling staff, and helping hire, onboard, and train. Performance and cost: monitoring sales and labor and other costs, supporting operational targets, and helping with inventory and ordering. Operations and standards: upholding quality, service, and safety standards, opening and closing, and keeping the day on track. Customers and service: handling escalations and delivering a strong customer experience. A strong job description picks the specific responsibilities from each area that match your industry, since a restaurant AGM focuses on food and labor cost while a retail AGM focuses on sales and merchandising and a hotel AGM oversees front desk and housekeeping.
Is an assistant general manager exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, not the title or the salary. An assistant general manager can be exempt from overtime under the executive exemption, but only if the role passes both a salary test and a duties test: the employee must be paid on a salary basis at or above the federal threshold of $684 per week as of 2026, their primary duty must be management, they must regularly direct two or more full-time employees, and they must have authority over hiring and firing or meaningful input into it. The key is the primary-duty test, evaluated case by case, not a strict percentage of time. In many small businesses the assistant general manager spends much of the day on the same hands-on work as the staff, which can make the role non-exempt and owed overtime. The Department of Labor is explicit that job titles do not determine exempt status, and restaurant and retail assistant manager roles are a common source of misclassification claims. When the role is borderline, the safer practice is to classify it as non-exempt. This is general information, not legal advice.
Why is assistant manager classification such a common legal problem?
Because it is easy to get wrong and expensive when you do. Employers often put an assistant manager on a salary and treat them as exempt from overtime, assuming the title settles the question. The law does not work that way: the exemption depends on whether management is genuinely the employee's primary duty, evaluated case by case. In practice, many assistant managers, especially in restaurants and retail, spend most of their time doing the same front-line work as the staff they supervise, which means the exemption does not hold and they are owed overtime. Large restaurant and retail employers have paid substantial settlements over exactly this issue. For a small employer, the lesson is to evaluate the real duties honestly against the primary-duty test before classifying the role, and to treat genuinely borderline or hands-on roles as non-exempt. This is general information, not legal advice.
What is the difference between an assistant general manager and an assistant manager?
They are different levels. An assistant general manager is second-in-command for the whole business or location, supporting the general manager across all departments and standing in for the GM when needed, often with a path to becoming a GM. An assistant manager is usually a department or shift leader, helping run one part of the operation, such as a single department in a store or a shift in a restaurant. The assistant general manager has broader scope, more cross-department responsibility, and more authority, and typically a higher pay band. When you write the posting, use the title that matches the actual scope: if the person will help run the entire location and cover for the GM, it is an assistant general manager; if they will lead one department or shift, it is an assistant manager.
How much does an assistant general manager make?
Assistant general manager pay varies by industry, region, and the size of the business, and most sources place the typical range around the low-to-high fifties thousand a year. There is no single federal occupation for assistant general manager, but the closest reference for restaurants, food service managers, had a median wage of $65,310 a year as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent under $42,380, and the assistant general manager generally sits a step below the general manager in pay. Restaurant and retail AGM pay tends to run in the high-forties to mid-sixties thousand range, while hotel and property AGM roles can run higher in major markets. Most AGM roles in small businesses sit under $80,000. Set your range using current local market data for your industry and post it. This is general information, not legal advice.
What skills and experience should an assistant general manager have?
An assistant general manager needs proven supervisory or assistant-management experience, strong leadership and communication, and the organization to juggle staff, operations, and customers at once. The role calls for someone who can lead a team, hold standards, and stay calm under pressure, since they run the business when the general manager is away. Industry-specific knowledge matters: a restaurant AGM needs food safety and cost control, a retail AGM needs sales and merchandising, a hotel AGM needs front-office and property operations, and a fitness AGM needs membership sales and retention. Comfort with the relevant systems, whether a point-of-sale, property management, or membership platform, is valuable, as is availability for the evenings and weekends these industries require. Name the industry experience and the schedule clearly in the posting.
What should an assistant general manager job description include?
A strong assistant general manager job description names the business and industry up front, includes a short company summary, a job summary that captures the second-in-command and cover-for-the-GM focus, and responsibilities grouped into leadership and team, performance and cost, operations and standards, and customers and service. It should state the experience and skills required, name the schedule including evenings and weekends, and set an honest pay range. The single most valuable addition that generic templates skip is the FLSA classification: decide whether the role is exempt or non-exempt using the primary-duty test, state it clearly, and set pay to match, since this is a common area of misclassification. Match the duties to your industry, close with an equal opportunity statement and clear apply instructions. This is general information, not legal advice.
