Assistant Lodge Manager - Luxury Safari Lodge

About Our Client
Our client is a luxury, conservation-driven safari lodge operating in a high-end hospitality environment. The lodge delivers a highly personalised guest experience for local and international travellers and requires operational leaders who understand luxury standards, remote lodge dynamics, cross-department teamwork and hands-on guest service. This is a close-knit environment where professionalism, adaptability, presentation and emotional intelligence are essential.

Role Overview
This role supports the General Manager with the day-to-day running of a luxury safari lodge and is ideal for a highly hands-on Assistant Lodge Manager who can move confidently between guest engagement, team leadership, operational coordination, administration and problem resolution. The successful candidate will help ensure that all departments operate cohesively and that guests receive a seamless, polished and memorable lodge experience from arrival to departure. The role requires someone who is operationally visible, comfortable assisting across departments and able to maintain high-end service standards under pressure.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the General Manager with daily lodge operations across front office, guest relations, housekeeping, food and beverage, activities, spa and support departments.
  
• Ensure an exceptional guest experience from arrival to departure, including hosting, guest engagement, special requests, inspections and VIP handling.
  
• Coordinate daily communication between Heads of Department to ensure operational alignment, service readiness and smooth guest flow.
  
• Monitor service delivery standards across the lodge and identify practical improvements where guest experience or operational
  efficiency can be strengthened.
  
• Assist with front-facing guest interactions, problem resolution, service recovery and the professional handling of complaints or
  operational challenges.
  
• Support staff scheduling, performance oversight, training, mentoring, onboarding and adherence to company policies and standards.
  
• Assist with operational administration, reporting, stock control, stock takes, cost monitoring, budget awareness and basic financial
  tracking.
  
• Report and follow up on maintenance issues to ensure guest areas, rooms, facilities and operational spaces remain ready and
  aligned with luxury standards.
  
• Assist with HR administration, recruitment support, onboarding processes and staff development initiatives where required.
  
• Support health, safety and compliance processes, including checks, risk reporting, incident follow-up and corrective action tracking.
  
• Contribute to sustainability initiatives and ensure operational decisions align with the lodge's conservation-focused ethos.
  
• Provide cross-department support where required, remaining flexible and operationally involved in a small remote lodge
  environment.
  

Requirements

• Minimum 3 to 5 years experience in a supervisory or management role is required.
  
• Previous experience in luxury safari lodges or boutique high-end hospitality environments is required.
  
• Proven ability to work across departments in a hands-on operational role is essential.
  
• Strong guest-facing skills, natural hosting ability and confidence dealing with high-end international guests are required.
  
• Excellent communication, coordination and interpersonal skills are essential.
  
• Must be detail-oriented with strong operational awareness and the ability to multitask across competing priorities.
  
• Strong problem-solving, decision-making and service recovery ability is required.
  
• Must be comfortable working flexible hours, shifts and weekends in a remote live-in environment.
  
• Previous experience in the Hoedspruit / Greater Kruger region is advantageous and preferred.
  
• Basic financial, reporting or stock control exposure is required.
  
• Experience with lodge systems such as ResRequest, POS or similar platforms will be advantageous.
  
• Professional presentation, emotional intelligence, leadership maturity and the ability to work in a close-knit team are essential.
  

Benefits

Accommodation
Meals
Uniforms
Leave cycle
Wi-Fi / connectivity
Laundry