Regional Club Experience Specialist

Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd; Durban; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 950,000; Full time

Job summary

Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd in Durban seeks a Regional Club Experience leader to coach Club Experience Managers, embed service standards, and drive performance through training, insights and hands-on support.

You will own regional hospitality excellence, lead workshops, and develop solutions for improved member journeys while partnering with leadership to recruit and escalate improvement plans across SA clubs.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in a Customer Experience/Service, Hospitality or Club Operations role.
• Minimum 2+ years in a multi-site role, managing multiple stores or locations.
• Experience in premium retail, hospitality or wellness is preferred.
• Proven ability to lead influence teams and facilitate training.
• Experience managing customer service and complaint resolution.
• Strong analytical capability and familiarity with case management systems.

Responsibilities

• Coach and mentor Club Experience Managers to deliver consistent member experiences.
• Lead regional training programmes for Club Experience Managers and Service Ambassadors.
• Oversee Front of House standards, hosting, reception, and member engagement.
• Support recruitment and succession planning for Club Experience roles.
• Develop and embed service recovery and continuous improvement across regions.
• Drive regional implementation of customer experience projects and pilots.
• Identify opportunities to improve the member experience via feedback and metrics.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Active listening

Cultural awareness

Empathy

Attention to detail

Resilience and composure

Problem solving

Adaptability

Relatability

Situational awareness

Curiosity

Time management

Digital fluency

Strong analytical capability

Excellent communication

Education

Matric qualification

Tertiary qualification advantageous

Job description

Your Purpose...

• Is to “change people’s lives for the better through wellness”;
• We deliver social wellness experiences that enable people to meet their personal wellness goals, through holistic physical, mental nutritional and social wellbeing.
• The role drives a consistent, exceptional member experience across the region by coaching club teams, embedding service standards and improving performance through training, insights and hands‑on support.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

1. Club Experience Manager Coaching and Capability Building

• Coach and mentor Club Experience Managers to deliver consistent member experiences
• Support newly appointed Club Experience Managers through structured onboarding.
• Identify development opportunities and create individualized development plans
• Facilitate regional customer experience forums and best practice sessions.
• Implement succession pipeline for development of future Customer Experience Specialist within the region
• Be involved in the recruitment process of new CEMs (External and Internal). This function is done in conjunction with Head of Customer Service, the CGM and Regional specialist should be entrusted and be accountable to recruit at club level. As Head of Function, you should oversee the succession pipeline for CEMS and Regional Specialists
• Conduct regular club visits using observation, coaching, role‑modelling, workshops and member‑journey reviews to embed service standards.

1. Member Experience and Front‑Of‑House Standards

• Own the regional delivery of the Front of House Service Ambassador Strategy by ensuring teams consistently deliver exceptional hospitality at every member touchpoint.
• Execute and ensure consistent delivery of:
  • Arrival, Departure and hosting experiences
  • Reception, telephone and queue‑management standards
  • Engagement FOH and on floor
  • Information sharing
  • Service recovery conversations
  • Member recognition
  • Surprise and Delight initiatives
  • Ensure CEM’s drive hosting capability among Support Service Ambassadors

1. Training & Capability Building

• Deliver regional training programmes for:
• Club Experience Managers
• Service Ambassadors
• Assistant Club General Managers andClub General Managers (where applicable)- CGM’s to be the quality assurers of training i.e. has the training been completed, and have we seen the shift in behaviour, evidence should be on the floor with member engagement and seen through improvement of service metrics.
• Facilitate workshops covering: - be the SME for service training content, and work alongside L&D to ensure the learning framework is followed, i.e. use LMS to rollout training along with in classroom training. The Regional CES should ensure all CEMS are qualified master trainers who in turn will deliver the training at club level across all SA’s .

1. Member Resolution and Service Recovery

• Own the regional training plans for Freshdesk and Case Management once gaps or shortfalls have been identified.
• Support clubs by ensuring teams:
• Understand Case Management principles.
• Resolve member queries confidently.
• Meet SLA expectations.
• Deliver high‑quality written communication.
• Close the loop effectively with members.
• Understand escalation pathways.
• Support the Head of Customer Experience in developing, implementing and embedding recovery and continuous improvement plans for high‑volume Case Management trends through coaching, training and regional support.
• Develop clubs to use member feedback as a coaching opportunity rather than simply closing cases.
• Support clubs with complex member concerns by:
• Assisting with service recovery strategies.
• Supporting difficult member conversations.
• Identifying recurring service failures.
• Developing action plans to improve the member experience.
• Champion the member voice across the region.

1. Project Implementation

• Lead regional implementation of Customer Experience projects including:
• Customer Experience Initiatives and Pilots
• Operational Process Improvements
• Technology and Digital Enhancements
• Member Communication and hospitality rollouts

1. Regional Insights & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve the member experience through:
• Member feedback
• CSAT
• NPS
• Freshdesk trends
• Club observations
• Hospitality assessments
• RFC Score analysis
• Share regional best practices and recommend improvement initiatives.

Our Minimum Requirements...

• Matric qualification
• A tertiary qualification is advantageous
• 5+ years in a Customer Experience/Service, Hospitality or Club Operations role
• 2+ years in a multi‑site role, managing multiple, stores, or locations
• Preferable experience within a premium retail, or hospitality or wellness industry
• Proven ability to lead influence teams
• Strong training facilitation skills
• Experience managing customer service and complaint resolution.
• Sound understanding of Freshdesk or similar Case Management systems.
• Experience implementing operational projects successfully
• Must have strong analytical capability

We can't live without...

• A tertiary qualification is advantageous
• 5+ years in a Customer Experience/Service, Hospitality or Club Operations role
• 2+ years in a multi‑site role, managing multiple, stores, or locations
• Preferable experience within a premium retail, or hospitality or wellness industry
• Proven ability to lead influence teams
• Strong training facilitation skills
• Experience managing customer service and complaint resolution.
• Sound understanding of Freshdesk or similar Case Management systems.
• Experience implementing operational projects successfully
• Must have strong analytical capability

Core Interpersonal Skills:

• Emotional Intelligence- proven ability to anticipate the needs of others before they are voiced
• Active Listening- Able to genuinely hear concerns with the ability to defuse tense situations and ensuring members and staff feel heard and valued
• Cultural Awareness and Fluency- understand international norms, etiquette and diverse backgrounds to provide a welcoming environment for our international and VIP members
• Empathy – be able to understand, or and be aware of, someone else’s feelings especially during stressful situations, such as travel delays or billing disputes

Operational & leadership Skills Required:

• Attention to Detail, noticing the small things
• Resilience and Composure, be able to remain calm and optimistic under extreme pressure, during peak or periods or system failures
• Problem solving and conflict resolution – be able to turn challenges into opportunities by thinking and acting quickly to resolve issues before they impact a member’s experience
• Adaptability: be flexible to handle unpredictable shifts in processers, resource changes, last‑minute VIP guest arrivals, or sudden changes in event plans.
• Relatability – the capacity to connect with diverse stakeholders across all backgrounds
• Situational Awareness – constantly monitoring the environment to identify members who need support or help
• Curiosity- the ability to seek out and transform standard transactions into personalised stories and memorable experiences
• Time Management – the ability to efficiently meet stringent deadlines while maintaining a relaxed and unhurried demeanor for guests.
• Digital Fluency – must be proficient in new age technology and systems