Area Operations Manager

Lead Operational Excellence Across Six Community Facilities

Join Active Merri-bek and help shape the future of community recreation and aquatic services

About the Role:
Active Merri-bek is seeking an experienced and motivated Area Operations Manager to lead aquatic operations, asset management, compliance, safety, and facility management across our portfolio of six aquatic and recreation venues.

Reporting to the Area Manager, this senior leadership position is responsible for ensuring the highest standards of aquatic supervision, risk management, environmental sustainability, operational performance, and customer experience. The role provides leadership and support to venue-based Operations Managers and Coordinators, while driving continuous improvement and fostering a positive, high-performing culture.

This is an exciting opportunity for an accomplished operations manager or aquatic professional to make a significant impact on community recreation services while leading the delivery of safe, compliant, and exceptional facility operations.

About the Responsibilities:

• Lead operational excellence across a portfolio of aquatic and leisure facilities: driving consistency in service delivery, customer experience, operational standards, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Champion safety, compliance and risk management, ensuring adherence to legislative requirements: industry standards, WHS obligations, Aquatic Supervision Plans, audit requirements, emergency management procedures, and risk mitigation strategies across all venues.
• Provide strong people leadership, coaching and developing Operations Managers: Coordinators and operational teams while supporting workforce planning, recruitment, training, performance management, and a positive safety-focused culture.
• Oversee asset, contractor and environmental management programs: ensuring facilities, plant and equipment are maintained, inspected and serviced to required standards while supporting long-term asset lifecycle planning and operational reliability.
• Drive business performance and growth: analysing operational outcomes, identifying improvement opportunities, supporting strategic decision-making through reporting and insights, and representing the organisation professionally within the community.

About You:
You are an experienced operations leader with a proven track record managing multi-site facilities, aquatic centres, or complex operational environments. With strong expertise in safety, risk and compliance, you thrive on developing high-performing teams, driving operational excellence, and delivering exceptional customer and community outcomes. Your collaborative leadership style, commercial mindset, and commitment to continuous improvement enable you to build engaged teams and achieve sustainable results across a diverse portfolio.

About the Qualifications:

• Pool Lifeguard Certificate, Aquatic Technical Operators Certificate
• First Aid & CPR Certificate
• Working with Children Check & Current National Police Check
   

About Active Merri-bek?
At Active Merri-bek, we are committed to creating welcoming, safe, and inclusive environments where our community can be active, connected, and healthy.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to:

• Lead operations across a diverse portfolio of community facilities.
  Influence safety, compliance, and operational excellence at a strategic level.
• Develop and mentor high-performing teams.
• Drive meaningful outcomes for the local community.
• Be part of an organisation that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• If you are an experienced operational leader who is passionate about safety, people, and delivering exceptional facility performance, we encourage you to apply.

Join Active Merri-bek and help shape the future of community recreation and aquatic services.

About the Organisation:

Aquatics, recreation, fitness, sports, tourism, golf, wellness. Belgravia is about bringing community to leisure, servicing hundreds of communities across Australia and New Zealand.  Purpose is at the heart of what we do, and impact is our focus.

At Belgravia Leisure, our values are CLEAR, which guide every decision we make. We are Customer Focused, demonstrate Leadership, pursue Excellence, take Accountability for our commitments, and deliver Results that strengthen the communities we serve.

We are an Australian owned, multi-generational organisation focused on putting community first, and our impact reaches millions of lives annually. 

We value diversity and encourage people from different backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, people of any age or gender, people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and/or queer (LGBTIQA+) and people with disability.

We are committed to providing a child safe environment. Please refer to our child safety framework. Successful applicants will be required to obtain a national police check and a Working with Children check.