What is a Project Manager at Delaware North?

As a Project Manager at Delaware North, you are at the operational heart of a globally recognized leader in hospitality, food service, and entertainment. This role is not just about tracking timelines; it is about driving complex, cross-functional initiatives that directly impact guest experiences across high-volume venues like stadiums, airports, national parks, and resorts. You act as the critical bridge between corporate strategy and on-the-ground execution.

The impact of this position is highly visible. Whether you are leading the rollout of a new point-of-sale system across a major sports arena, managing facility upgrades, or optimizing supply chain workflows, your work ensures that operations run seamlessly. Because Delaware North operates in highly dynamic, time-sensitive environments, the projects you manage are inherently complex and require a balance of rigorous planning and rapid adaptability.

Candidates who thrive in this role are those who can navigate ambiguity, influence stakeholders without formal authority, and maintain composure under pressure. You will be expected to bring structure to chaotic environments, aligning IT, operations, finance, and external vendors to deliver projects on time and within budget. This is a high-impact role for a professional who enjoys seeing their strategic planning translate into tangible, real-world results.

Common Interview Questions

The questions below represent the types of inquiries you will face during your interviews. They are drawn from patterns observed in previous Delaware North interview experiences. Use these to practice your STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) responses, focusing on clarity and impact.

Project Execution & Strategy

These questions test your core project management mechanics and your ability to drive initiatives to completion.

• Walk me through a complex project you managed from start to finish. What was the outcome?
• How do you determine the critical path of a project?
• Tell me about a time you had to manage a project with an incredibly tight deadline.
• How do you balance the need for rigorous documentation with the need for speed?
• Describe a time your project went over budget. How did you handle it?

Stakeholder Management & Conflict Resolution

These questions assess your emotional intelligence and your ability to navigate corporate dynamics.

• Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult stakeholder. How did you win them over?
• How do you communicate project updates to executives versus frontline team members?
• Describe a situation where two departments had conflicting goals on your project. How did you resolve it?
• Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news to a project sponsor.
• How do you ensure third-party vendors meet their contractual obligations?

Behavioral & Situational

These questions evaluate your cultural fit, resilience, and problem-solving mindset.

• Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
• Describe a situation where you had to make a quick decision without having all the information.
• How do you prioritize your tasks when managing multiple complex projects simultaneously?
• Tell me about a time you had to step in and take over a failing project from someone else.
• Why do you want to work as a Project Manager specifically at Delaware North?

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation is your strongest asset when interviewing at Delaware North. The hiring team is looking for candidates who not only possess technical project management skills but also demonstrate the resilience required in the hospitality and operations sector. Focus your preparation on the following key evaluation criteria:

Project Execution & Delivery This criterion evaluates your ability to take a project from conceptualization to deployment. Interviewers want to see how you scope requirements, build realistic timelines, manage budgets, and ensure successful delivery. You can demonstrate strength here by detailing your specific methodologies and showing how you balance scope, time, and cost.

Stakeholder Management At Delaware North, you will interact with diverse groups, from corporate executives to frontline venue managers. This area tests your ability to communicate effectively, build consensus, and navigate conflicting priorities. Strong candidates will share examples of how they tailored their communication style to different audiences and successfully managed difficult stakeholders.

Adaptability & Problem-Solving The hospitality industry is unpredictable, and projects rarely go exactly as planned. Interviewers assess how you react when things derail. You should be prepared to discuss how you identify risks early, pivot strategies when necessary, and solve operational bottlenecks without losing momentum.

Culture & Resilience This evaluates your composure and professionalism in high-stress, fast-paced environments. Delaware North values leaders who remain focused and engaged, even amidst distractions or shifting directives. You can show strength by maintaining a calm, positive demeanor throughout the interview process and providing examples of how you lead teams through stressful periods.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a Project Manager at Delaware North is designed to test both your technical competencies and your ability to handle the realities of the business. You will typically begin with an initial recruiter screening to assess your baseline qualifications, salary expectations, and overall fit. This is usually followed by a deeper conversation with the hiring manager, focusing on your past project portfolios and specific methodologies.

The most critical stage is the onsite or virtual panel interview, often held at the corporate headquarters in Buffalo, NY. This stage can be highly dynamic. Because Delaware North leaders are deeply embedded in daily operations, you may find that interviewers are unexpectedly pulled away or appear distracted by urgent escalations. The hiring team uses this environment—intentionally or not—to see how you maintain your composure, command a room, and keep stakeholders engaged when their attention is divided.

Expect the panel to ask a mix of behavioral questions, scenario-based problem-solving prompts, and specific inquiries about your project management toolkit. The process is straightforward but demands high emotional intelligence and adaptability from the candidate.

This visual timeline outlines the typical progression of the interview stages, from the initial screen to the final panel evaluation. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you are ready for both standard behavioral questions early on and more complex, multi-stakeholder scenarios during the final panel. Keep in mind that the exact sequence may vary slightly depending on the specific division or venue you are interviewing for.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed in your interviews, you need to understand exactly how the Delaware North hiring team evaluates your competencies. Below are the major areas of focus and what you need to demonstrate to stand out.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

Because Delaware North relies heavily on third-party vendors and diverse internal teams, your ability to manage relationships is paramount. Interviewers want to know that you can hold vendors accountable, negotiate timelines, and keep internal teams aligned. Strong performance in this area means showing that you can lead through influence rather than direct authority.

Be ready to go over:

• Vendor accountability – How you track vendor performance and handle missed deliverables.
• Cross-functional alignment – Techniques for keeping IT, operations, and finance on the same page.
• Conflict resolution – How you de-escalate tensions between competing departments.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Contract negotiation strategies, managing international vendors, and integrating third-party APIs into legacy operational systems.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time a critical vendor failed to deliver on time. How did you mitigate the impact on the overall project?"
• "How do you handle a situation where the corporate IT team and the onsite venue managers have completely different priorities?"
• "Describe a time you had to influence a senior leader to change their mind about a project timeline."

Project Methodologies & Execution

This area evaluates your hard skills as a Project Manager. The hiring team needs to know that you can build rigorous project plans, track budgets, and utilize standard project management tools effectively. Strong candidates will demonstrate a pragmatic approach, showing they know when to use Agile, Waterfall, or a hybrid methodology based on the project's needs.

Be ready to go over:

• Resource allocation – How you forecast and assign resources effectively.
• Budget tracking – Methods for ensuring projects do not exceed financial constraints.
• Scope creep management – How you handle late-stage requests without derailing the project.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Enterprise PMO governance, large-scale ERP implementations, and capital expenditure (CapEx) planning.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through your process for building a project plan from scratch."
• "Tell me about a time you experienced severe scope creep. How did you realign the project?"
• "How do you ensure your project stays within budget when unexpected operational costs arise?"

Risk Identification & Mitigation

In the hospitality and events sector, risks can quickly become critical operational failures. Interviewers want to see your foresight. They evaluate your ability to anticipate roadblocks, create contingency plans, and execute them flawlessly when necessary. A strong performance involves proactively discussing risk frameworks rather than just reacting to problems.

Be ready to go over:

• Risk assessment – How you identify potential points of failure early in the project lifecycle.
• Contingency planning – Creating backup plans for critical path items.
• Crisis management – How you communicate and lead when a major issue occurs.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Business continuity planning, disaster recovery in venue operations, and regulatory compliance risks.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a project that was at risk of failing. What steps did you take to turn it around?"
• "How do you communicate a major project delay to senior leadership?"
• "Give an example of a time your contingency plan had to be put into action."

Key Responsibilities

As a Project Manager at Delaware North, your day-to-day work is a blend of strategic planning and tactical execution. You are responsible for leading cross-functional teams to deliver projects that enhance operational efficiency and guest satisfaction. This involves drafting comprehensive project charters, defining scope, and establishing clear, measurable milestones.

A significant portion of your time will be spent collaborating with adjacent teams. You will work closely with IT to implement new technologies, partner with finance to secure and track project funding, and coordinate with venue general managers to ensure corporate initiatives do not disrupt daily operations. You are the central node of communication, responsible for translating technical requirements into operational realities and vice versa.

Typical initiatives might include rolling out new point-of-sale (POS) hardware across multiple stadiums, leading the transition to a new workforce management software, or managing the physical IT infrastructure setup for a new restaurant concept. You will be expected to run regular status meetings, manage project dashboards, and provide executive summaries to leadership, ensuring total transparency throughout the project lifecycle.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be a competitive candidate for the Project Manager role at Delaware North, you must present a balanced mix of technical project management expertise and strong interpersonal skills. The company looks for leaders who are organized, resilient, and capable of driving results in a complex corporate structure.

• Must-have skills – Proven experience managing full-lifecycle projects, strong financial acumen for budget tracking, expertise in standard PM tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, Smartsheet), and exceptional written and verbal communication skills. You must also have a demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct reporting lines.
• Nice-to-have skills – A PMP (Project Management Professional) or CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) certification is highly valued. Experience specifically within the hospitality, retail, or food service industries is a significant differentiator, as is familiarity with venue-specific technologies like POS systems or property management systems (PMS).

The ideal candidate typically brings several years of dedicated project management experience, often having transitioned from operational or IT roles. You must be comfortable operating in a hybrid or in-office environment (particularly if based near the Buffalo, NY headquarters) and be willing to occasionally travel to venue sites during critical deployment phases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does the interview process typically take? The process from the initial recruiter screen to a final offer usually takes between three to five weeks. Delays can occasionally happen due to the operational demands on the hiring managers, so patience and proactive follow-ups are key.

Q: What is the culture like during the panel interview? Panel interviews can be intense and sometimes chaotic. Because Delaware North leaders are heavily involved in day-to-day operations, you may experience interviewers stepping out to take urgent calls or appearing distracted. Do not take this personally; treat it as an opportunity to showcase your composure and ability to maintain command of the room.

Q: Do I need a background in hospitality to be hired? While a background in hospitality, food service, or retail is a strong advantage, it is not strictly mandatory. If you come from a different industry, focus on highlighting your experience with high-volume, fast-paced, and cross-functional projects.

Q: Is this role remote or in-office? For positions based around the Buffalo, NY headquarters, Delaware North typically operates on a hybrid or fully in-office model. Be sure to clarify the specific working arrangement and any travel expectations with your recruiter early in the process.

Q: What differentiates a good candidate from a great one? A good candidate knows how to build a project plan; a great candidate knows how to adapt that plan when an operational crisis hits. Demonstrating flexibility, strong financial acumen, and the ability to build relationships quickly will set you apart.

Other General Tips

• Read the Room and Adapt: If you are in a panel interview and notice an interviewer seems distracted or has to step out, do not lose your rhythm. Pause gracefully if needed, or continue engaging the remaining panel members. This demonstrates the exact kind of poise required when managing chaotic operational projects.
• Structure Your Stories: Always use the STAR method. Delaware North interviewers appreciate concise, data-backed answers. Clearly define the business impact of your actions, specifically mentioning time saved, revenue generated, or costs avoided.

• Highlight Vendor Management: Since much of Delaware North's technology and operational infrastructure relies on external partners, proactively weave examples of successful vendor negotiations and accountability into your answers.
• Showcase Your Financial Acumen: Project Managers here are trusted with significant budgets. Be prepared to speak fluently about budget forecasting, variance analysis, and managing CapEx/OpEx funds.

• Prepare Questions for Them: Ask insightful questions about their current project pipeline, how they measure PM success, or the biggest operational challenges they are currently facing. This shows you are already thinking like a member of their team.

Summary & Next Steps

Securing a Project Manager role at Delaware North is a fantastic opportunity to drive high-impact initiatives within a global hospitality powerhouse. The work is fast-paced, highly visible, and essential to the company's daily operations. By understanding the unique demands of the hospitality sector, you can position yourself as a resilient, strategic leader capable of navigating complexity.

To succeed, focus your preparation on mastering your behavioral narratives, demonstrating robust stakeholder management, and proving your ability to adapt to shifting priorities. Remember that the interview process is not just evaluating your technical project management skills, but also your poise, communication, and cultural fit within a dynamic operational environment.

The compensation data above provides a benchmark for the role in the Buffalo, NY market. Use this information to ensure your salary expectations are aligned with the company's range, keeping in mind that final offers will depend on your specific experience level, certifications, and interview performance.

You have the skills and the drive to excel in this process. Continue to refine your stories, practice your delivery, and leverage the insights available on Dataford to deepen your preparation. Approach your interviews with confidence, clarity, and a problem-solving mindset, and you will be well-positioned to land the offer.