About Us
Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) is a growing provider of locals-focused gaming and one of the largest terminal operators in the United States, supporting more than 29,000 electronic gaming terminals in nearly 4,700 third-party local and regional establishments and 20 self-operated gaming locations across ten states. Through exclusive long-term contracts, Accel serves licensed non-casino locations including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, truck stops, gaming cafes, and fraternal and veteran establishments.
Accel provides its local partners with a turnkey, full-service, capital-efficient gaming solution that encompasses manufacturing, content, payments, loyalty, 24/7 customer service, data analysis and reporting, and cash logistics. The Company’s racino, Fairmount Park - Casino & Racing, features live racing, electronic gaming machines, live table games, food and beverage amenities, and pari-mutuel betting.
Job Description:
ABOUT ACCEL ENTERTAINMENT
Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) is a growing provider of locals-focused gaming and one of the largest terminal operators in the United States, supporting more than 29,000 electronic gaming terminals in nearly 4,700 third-party local and regional establishments and 20 self-operated gaming locations across ten states. Through exclusive long-term contracts, Accel serves licensed non-casino locations including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, truck stops, gaming cafes, and fraternal and veteran establishments.
Accel provides its local partners with a turnkey, full-service, capital-efficient gaming solution that encompasses manufacturing, content, payments, loyalty, 24/7 customer service, data analysis and reporting, and cash logistics. The Company’s racino, Fairmount Park - Casino & Racing, features live racing, electronic gaming machines, live table games, food and beverage amenities, and pari-mutuel betting.
SUMMARY
The General Manager, Illinois North is accountable for the overall performance, growth, and profitability of Accel Entertainment’s Northern Illinois gaming operations. This role leads and optimizes the company's end-to-end gaming operations infrastructure, ensuring that equipment, people, processes, and support functions operate safely, efficiently, and at the highest level of service while achieving financial and operational objectives.
The General Manager sets the market strategy, translates enterprise priorities into disciplined local execution, and builds strong partnerships with customers, regulators, and community stakeholders. This leader is responsible for delivering sustainable revenue growth, operating excellence, regulatory compliance, and exceptional experience for customers, players, and employees.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Operational Performance & Execution
- Lead the overall operational infrastructure supporting route gaming operations, including warehouse, service, installation, collections, sales and call center functions.
- Establish consistent operating standards, processes, and performance expectations across the organization.
- Drive continuous improvement in productivity, quality, responsiveness, and cost.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement solutions that improve speed, efficiency, and customer service.
- Establish and monitor key operational metrics and hold leaders accountable for results.
- Be an expert for gaming content for Illinois and work with Illinois manufacturers to stay informed on developments and collaborate with company management on recommendations.
2. Gaming Operations, Warehouse & Equipment Management
- Oversee warehouse and gaming operations to ensure equipment is received, stored, prepared, deployed, returned, and redeployed efficiently.
- Establish appropriate inventory controls and processes for gaming equipment, parts, supplies, and other assets.
- Partner with procurement and market leadership to ensure appropriate equipment availability.
- Minimize obsolete, excess, damaged, and idle inventory.
- Develop processes that maximize utilization of the company's gaming assets.
- Get the right equipment to the right place at the right time at the lowest practical operating cost.
3. Service & Installation Operations
- Lead the service and installation organization through subordinate managers.
- Establish service-level standards and ensure technicians consistently meet them.
- Optimize technician staffing, routing, scheduling, and productivity.
- Improve first-time fix rates and minimize repeat service calls.
- Establish installation standards and ensure new installations are completed accurately, safely, and on schedule.
- Identify opportunities to leverage technology, remote diagnostics, automation, and improved processes to increase machine uptime.
- Machine uptime ultimately translates directly into revenue.
4. Customer Acquisition and Retention
- Lead sales teams to attract, retain and grow high-value locations.
- Partner with Marketing, Sales Enablement, and Product teams to strengthen customer engagement and loyalty.
- Monitor competitive activity, market trends, regulatory developments, and customer feedback; translate insights into clear action plans.
- Identify opportunities to improve partner satisfaction and retention.
5. Collections & Cash Operations
- Lead the collections function and establish standards for timely, accurate, and secure collection of gaming revenue.
- Develop processes to maximize collection efficiency while minimizing shrinkage, errors, and unnecessary labor.
- Establish controls around cash handling, reconciliation, transportation, and accountability.
- Partner with Finance to ensure operational collection processes support accurate financial reporting.
- Identify opportunities for technology and process improvements to reduce cash-handling costs and risk.
6. Customer / Location Support & Call Center
- Lead the call center/customer support function and establish clear service standards.
- Improve responsiveness and resolution of location issues.
- Develop appropriate escalation processes between the call center, service organization, gaming operations, and market teams.
- Use call-center data to identify recurring operational and customer issues.
- Develop performance metrics that measure both speed and quality of resolution.
- Turn customer issues into operational improvements.
7. Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Management
- This should be a core accountability, not an administrative responsibility.
- Develop the annual operating budget for the functions under the leader's responsibility.
- Develop and maintain rolling forecasts based on operational performance and business conditions.
- Establish appropriate labor, equipment, inventory, facilities, and operating expense assumptions.
- Monitor actual performance against budget and forecast.
- Identify variances and develop corrective actions.
- Evaluate capital requirements and develop business cases for significant operational investments.
- Ensure operational decisions appropriately balance service, revenue, productivity, and cost.
8. Procurement, Inventory & Facilities
- Provide leadership and direction to subject matter experts responsible for inventory procurement, facilities, and related operational support.
- Establish procurement standards that balance cost, quality, availability, and operational requirements.
- Develop appropriate inventory policies and controls.
- Ensure facilities support safe, efficient, and scalable operations.
- Evaluate facility utilization and identify opportunities to consolidate, relocate, or improve facilities.
- Negotiate or support vendor relationships as appropriate.
- Allow subject matter experts to remain experts, while ensuring they are aligned with the broader operating strategy.
9. People, Leadership & Organizational Development
- Build and lead a high-performing operations leadership team.
- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, performance expectations, and accountability throughout the organization.
- Develop managers and supervisors and create succession plans for critical positions.
- Establish workforce planning and staffing models based on business requirements.
- Partner with HR to improve recruiting, onboarding, retention, performance management, and employee development.
- Ensure the organization has the right talent and organizational structure to support growth.
- Support the EOS Operations Model
10. Operational Strategy & Continuous Improvement
- Develop and execute a multi-year operational strategy aligned with the company's overall business objectives.
- Evaluate processes and organizational structures to identify opportunities for greater scale and efficiency.
- Lead major operational improvement initiatives and technology implementations.
- Establish standardized processes and best practices across markets.
- Use data and analytics to drive operational decisions.
- Benchmark performance and continuously raise operational standards.
11. Compliance, Risk, and Reputation
- Ensure full compliance with all applicable gaming, licensing, financial, employment, safety, and regulatory requirements, including Illinois Gaming Board requirements.
- Promote a culture of integrity, responsible gaming, safety, internal controls, and prompt issue escalation.
- Partner with Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit, Finance, Security, and Human Resources to identify and mitigate business, operational, and people risks.
- Maintain strong readiness for regulatory reviews, audits, investigations, and customer or operational issues.
- Protect Accel’s reputation by ensuring ethical, professional, and consistent conduct across the business unit.
- People Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Illinois leadership team with clear expectations, decision rights, and accountability.
- Build a culture that is customer-focused, entrepreneurial, operationally rigorous, inclusive, and aligned with Accel’s values.
- Establish succession plans for critical roles and develop internal talent to support market growth.
- Partner with Human Resources to strengthen engagement, retention, performance management, workforce planning, and leadership capability.
- Foster strong communication across field, operations, sales, and corporate teams so employees understand business priorities and how their work contributes to results.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in business, operations, finance, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.
- Ten or more years of progressive leadership experience in multi-site operations, gaming, hospitality, retail, route-based services, logistics, or a similarly complex customer-facing business.
- Significant P&L leadership experience, including responsibility for revenue growth, operating expenses, forecasting, and profitability.
- Demonstrated success leading large, dispersed teams through growth, operational change, and performance improvement.
- Experience in a regulated industry and working with regulators, licensing requirements, audits, or compliance programs strongly preferred.
- Strong commercial judgment and the ability to balance growth, customer needs, operational execution, and risk management.
- Proven ability to build trusted relationships with customers, employees, peers, and senior leaders.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Valid driver’s license; clean driving record
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
- Ability to travel regularly throughout Illinois and periodically to other Accel locations.
Base Pay Range:
$190,000-230,000/yr
This range represents the low and high end of the anticipated base salary range for this position. The base salary will depend on a number of factors such as: qualifications, experience level, and skillset.
Voluntary full-time employment benefits include medical, dental, and vision; life, AD&D, critical illness, and hospital insurance; short and long-term disability; identity/legal protection; as well as access to FSA and HSA accounts. Full and part-time employees are eligible to contribute to traditional and/or Roth 401(k) plans. Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers counseling for a multitude of topics including (but not limited to) mental health, finances, adult care, disability, and grief.
Accel Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
