Front Office Manager (Guest Experience) - Preopening Team Lead

About the role

Ovolo Sydney is preparing to open a newly refurbished hotel and is looking for a Front Office Manager (Guest Experience) to lead the team behind the first and last impressions guests receive. This is a hands-on leadership role within the pre-opening team, shaping culture, setting service standards, recruiting and developing the Guest Experience team and bringing the guest journey to life from day one.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and inspire the Guest Experience team to deliver consistently exceptional service
• Drive a guest-first culture where every interaction feels personal, effortless and memorable
• Recruit, onboard and develop a high-performing Front Office team
• Play a key role in pre-opening: systems implementation, service standards, training and operational readiness
• Manage daily Front Office operations including Reception, Guest Services, PBX and overnight operations
• Build strong relationships with VIPs, returning guests and key stakeholders
• Monitor guest feedback, online reputation and service recovery to continuously improve the guest experience
• Drive departmental performance across guest satisfaction, productivity, labour management and financial outcomes
• Work with Housekeeping, Food & Beverage and other departments to deliver seamless guest experiences
• Ensure compliance with brand standards, WHS, security and operational procedures

Required profile

• Previous Front Office leadership experience in premium or luxury hotels
• Passion for coaching, mentoring and developing high-performing teams
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills
• Proactive, solutions-focused mindset with attention to detail
• Commercial awareness, including managing departmental budgets, payroll and rostering
• Flexibility to work across a rotating 24/7 roster

Required skills

• Experience with hotel PMS systems (Opera Cloud or similar preferred)
• Confidence working in a fast-paced environment while maintaining service standards

What we offer

• A landmark hotel relaunch and career development with an Asia-Pacific lifestyle hotel brand
• Hotel and food & beverage discounts across the Ovolo collection
• Wellness initiatives, team celebrations and learning and development opportunities
• Internal career progression