Area Manager

Compass Group Pty Limited; Australia; Remote; AUD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary package

Incentive programs

Job summary

Compass Group Pty Limited seeks an Area Manager to lead a portfolio of ESS sites across Australia. You will provide strategic and operational direction, partnering with clients and site leaders to ensure safe, compliant and commercially strong outcomes.

The role requires office-based leadership with regular travel to sites, responsibility for budgets, labour, food costs and waste reduction, and a focus on continuous improvement and safety leadership across hospitality, facilities, and village

Qualifications

• Leadership experience across multi-site, hospitality, and facilities operations.
• Strong commercial capability with budget management and cost control.
• Stakeholder engagement and ability to influence at all levels.
• People-focused leadership with coaching to raise capability and accountability.
• Experience delivering service quality, compliance, and risk controls.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across ESS sites.
• Office-based role with regular site travel.
• Manage financial performance, budgets, labour and costs.
• Ensure food safety, site safety, and health procedures.
• Oversee integrated facilities management including soft services and asset management.
• Drive governance, continuous improvement and compliance.
• Manage contractor performance and client relationships.
• Lead a proactive safety culture and meet targets.

Skills

Leadership

Multi-site

Facilities management

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Safety compliance

People leadership

Communication

Adaptability

Tools

HACCP

Job description

Area Manager – Hospitality & Facilities Services

ESS is a leading provider of hospitality and facilities management services to remote and regional operations across Australia. We are seeking an experienced Area Manager to lead a diverse portfolio of sites, partnering with clients and operational teams to deliver safe, consistent and commercially strong outcomes.

This is a leadership opportunity suited to a commercially astute operator who can influence stakeholders, lead performance, drive compliance and support continuous improvement across hospitality, facilities and village services.

Reporting through the broader ESS leadership structure, you will provide operational oversight across assigned sites, ensuring service delivery aligns with client expectations, contractual obligations, safety standards and business objectives. You will work closely with site leadership teams to coach capability, improve performance and maintain a strong culture of accountability, safety and service excellence.

The Role

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across a portfolio of ESS sites
• Work primarily from an office-based environment, with regular travel to site as required
• Manage financial performance, budgets, labour controls, food costs, waste reduction and operational efficiencies

• Ensure full compliance with food safety, site safety, and company health, safety, and security procedures

• Oversee the delivery of integrated facilities management services, including soft services, maintenance coordination and asset management
• Drive operational planning, compliance, governance and continuous improvement initiatives across assigned contracts
• Manage contractor performance, service standards and compliance with contractual and regulatory requirementsBuild trusted relationships with clients, internal stakeholders and site leadership teams
• Lead a proactive safety culture while ensuring key operational, commercial and people targets are achieved

The Person

• Demonstrated leadership experience in multi-site operations, facilities management, hospitality, accommodation, village services or a related sector
• Strong commercial capability, including budget management, cost control and operational performance reporting
• Confident stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence, communicate and build credibility at all levels
• A people-focused leadership style with the ability to coach teams, lift capability and drive accountability
• Experience overseeing service delivery, compliance, risk controls and continuous improvement across complex operational environments
• Strong customer and client service orientation, with a focus on delivering high-quality outcomes and resolving issues effectively
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare professional reports and business updates
• Sound judgement, problem-solving capability and the ability to make considered decisions in a fast-paced environment
• Strong knowledge of health, safety and compliance requirements, with a visible commitment to safety leadership
• Understanding of food safety systems, HACCP principles and hospitality compliance requirements
• Ability to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining service quality, commercial discipline and team engagement
• Previous facilities management experience is essential, including oversight of hard and soft services, compliance and contractor management
• Willingness to travel to remote and regional sites as required

The Benefits

• As an Area Manager with Compass Group, you will be supported by the systems, scale and expertise of a global organisation.
• This role offers a competitive salary package.
• Access to incentive and recognition programs, ongoing professional development and a range of employee discounts.

Our people’s diverse backgrounds, experiences, and abilities are at the heart of our vibrant workforce. We are committed to creating inclusive workplaces that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people of all backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and people living with disability.