Lodge Manager / General Manager
Visa sponsorship
Hospitality · Invercargill, New Zealand · Full-Time · Discussed at interview · Visa: Employer sponsored
Hospitality professionals preparing an application from Singapore may find this Lodge Manager / General Manager role a close match for hotel and resort leadership experience. The employer is a boutique luxury lodge adjoining a national park in the southern South Island of New Zealand.
Following comprehensive restoration works, the lodge resumes operations on 1 December 2026 with ten suites, two log cabins and a four-bedroom residence available to one party per booking. Nine additional suites are scheduled for October 2027, and the property extends to approximately 32 hectares.
The appointee will combine personal hosting with business leadership, from receiving arrivals and serving drinks at the fireside to supporting the evening service, alongside budgeting, staff rostering and estate management. The position carries wide decision-making authority and direct reporting to the owners.
Applications are welcome from New Zealand, Australia and other countries, and visa sponsorship will be considered for the right candidate.
An English CV for this role should document the properties you have led, the scope of your teams and budgets, and any openings or refurbishments. Organise your hotel leadership CV with Build AI CV before submitting your application.
Key Responsibilities
- Receive guests on arrival and host them throughout their visit
- Spend time with guests personally during each stay
- Manage each visit from pre-arrival communication through dining, guided excursions and exclusive-use house stays to departure
- Establish service standards and ensure they are upheld
- Work alongside colleagues wherever operations require
- Develop the guest experience and the culture of service at every stage
- Lead the opening and integration of nine new suites, increasing capacity from 12 keys to 21
- Develop the food and beverage programme with the Lodge Head Chef
- Lead a multi-skilled team of approximately eighteen at reopening
- Supervise the Lodge Host, Assistant Lodge Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Executive Chef and Maintenance & Grounds Supervisor
- Recruit, train, roster and develop staff for consistent service throughout the year
- Take responsibility for infrastructure, native bush, the lodge, vehicles, staff quarters, cabins, driveways, grounds and the exclusive-use house
- Ensure the maintenance and grounds team follows a yearly estate programme of preventive works, presentation and compliance
- Own the yearly operating plan and profitability, and improve rate, occupancy, guest expenditure and repeat and direct bookings with support from reservations and finance
- Review trading performance each week and submit reports to the directors each month
Requirements & Eligibility
- Leadership experience in luxury hospitality, ideally at Lodge Manager, General Manager or senior operations level
- Strong leadership in guest-facing settings and genuine enthusiasm for personal service
- Proven commercial and financial management, including budgets, forecasts and operating profit
- Experience leading teams across multiple hospitality functions
- Clear communication in both written and oral form
- Judgement to operate independently at a remote location, including during road closures or adverse weather
- A Manager's Certificate, or eligibility to obtain one before undertaking certificated duties
- A full and clean driver licence
- Highly regarded: experience managing a luxury lodge, boutique hotel or exclusive-use property, and involvement in a hotel opening, refurbishment or major development
- Highly regarded: knowledge of New Zealand's luxury tourism market, and experience with the grounds, facilities and infrastructure of remote properties
- The legal right to work in New Zealand, which you must hold or be able to obtain
Apply: Apply by email · WhatsApp
Visa guide: New Zealand AEWV Guide from Singapore | JobsAbroad