Operations Manager

arctickingdom; Yellowknife; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Arctic Kingdom in Canada seeks an experienced Operations Manager to lead on-site operations across Culinary, Hospitality, Guest Experience and Facilities & Site Operations. This role drives SOPs, ensures guest-facing quality, and acts as the on-site decision-maker in a remote environment.

You will coordinate peer department leads without direct authority, manage incidents, and support emergency planning for off-grid conditions.

Qualifications

• Experience managing wilderness destination properties or similarly isolated settings.
• Ability to build or enforce operational standards across multiple departments.
• Strong judgment and decision-making in remote environments.
• Experience coordinating cross-functionally with department leads without direct authority.
• Comfort living and working in a remote, off-grid wilderness environment.
• Excellent communication, conflict-resolution, and guest service instincts.
• Safety or emergency response experience is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and enforce SOPs across lodge departments.
• Ensure consistent operational quality and guest-facing standards.
• Serve as the primary on-site decision-maker for day-to-day issues.
• Make timely, sound judgments in a remote environment with limited outside support.
• Coordinate with Culinary, Hospitality, Guest Experience, and Facilities leads.
• Facilitate cross-department communication and problem-solving without direct staff authority.
• Identify, respond to, and escalate serious incidents to leadership promptly.
• Support emergency preparedness and response planning for a remote wilderness setting.
• Support guest arrival readiness and overall guest experience.
• Monitor day-to-day lodge functioning and flag risks early.
• Foster a positive, supportive team culture in a close-knit, remote setting.

Job description

About Arctic Kingdom

Arctic Kingdom Polar Expeditions is a wilderness lodge and expedition company operating two of Canada's most remote and distinctive properties: Blachford Lake Lodge in the Northwest Territories and Torngat Mountains Base Camp in Labrador. From Northern Lights viewing and wilderness adventure at Blachford to Arctic exploration and cultural immersion at Torngat, Arctic Kingdom delivers world-class, small-group experiences in some of the most remote and pristine landscapes on the planet. Our teams operate off-grid, close to the land, and close to each other — building a culture rooted in adaptability, resourcefulness, and genuine hospitality in places most people will never get to see.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager to serve as the on-site operational lead. This role is central to ensuring consistent, high-quality operations across all departments — Culinary, Hospitality, Guest Experience, and Facilities & Site Operations — while the General Manager retains remote oversight of overall business performance.

The Operations Manager acts as the day-to-day glue of the lodge: driving SOP compliance, serving as Manager-on-Duty, coordinating across departments, and escalating serious incidents. This is not a role with direct authority over every department's staff — it's a role built on influence, coordination, and operational consistency across peer department leads.

Key Responsibilities

SOP Compliance & Operational Standards

• Develop, implement, and enforce standard operating procedures across lodge departments
• Ensure consistency in operational quality and guest-facing standards, even as staff and seasons change

Manager-on-Duty Coordination

• Serve as the primary on-site decision-maker for day-to-day operational issues outside any single department's scope
• Make timely, sound judgment calls in a remote environment where outside support isn't always immediately available

Cross-Department Coordination

• Work closely with the Culinary, Hospitality, Guest Experience, and Facilities & Site Operations leads to ensure smooth, aligned daily operations
• Facilitate communication and problem-solving across departments without direct authority over their staff — influence and coordination are core to this role

Serious Incident Escalation

• Identify, respond to, and escalation serious incidents (safety, medical, guest, or staff-related) promptly and appropriately to the General Manager and/or President
• Support emergency preparedness and response planning for a remote wilderness setting

General Operations

• Support guest arrival readiness and overall guest experience alongside the Guest Experience Manager
• Monitor day-to-day lodge functioning, flagging gaps or risks before they become larger issues
• Contribute to a positive, supportive team culture in a close-knit, remote living and working environment

What You Bring

• Proven experience managing wilderness destination property — or similarly isolated settings strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to build or enforce operational standards across multiple departments
• Strong judgment and decision-making skills, particularly in situations without immediate outside support
• Experience coordinating cross-functionally with department leads without direct line authority
• Comfort and resilience living and working in a remote, off-grid wilderness environment
• Excellent communication, conflict-resolution, and guest service instincts
• Prior safety/emergency response experience an asset

Why Blachford Lake Lodge

• Work in one of the most spectacular and remote wilderness settings in Canada
• Be part of a small, tight-knit team delivering world-class guest experiences
• Play a central leadership role in shaping how the lodge operates