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Talent register — not a current vacancy

Front of House Team Leaders and Second-in-Charge — Remote Lodges

Australia-wide, Australia

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Type
Full Time
Posted

What this listing is

We are not advertising one specific job here. This is a standing listing for people who run a floor and want to do it somewhere remote, so that when one of these roles comes up we already know who you are.

The role, and why it is hard to fill

The second-in-charge — the front of house team leader, the offsider, whatever a property calls it — runs service, holds the front of house roster, is the first person a guest asks for, and is the one running the place on the manager’s days off.

It is the seat remote properties most often go without. Plenty of them run a whole season short-handed at the front because the right person didn’t come along.

The reason is arithmetic. The people who can lead a floor are mostly in cities, where there is more money, more work and somewhere to go on a Tuesday night. The pool of people who can do that job and live on site and stay a full season is small — and most operators only go looking once the season is nearly on them.

What the work actually asks

You are not the manager and you are not on the floor as one of the team. You are the bridge, and it is the least comfortable seat on a small property.

  • You’ll run service — breakfast, lunch, dinner, packed lunches, sunset drinks, whatever the property does — and you’ll be on your feet for most of it.
  • You’ll roster and lead people who are also your housemates. You’ll have to pull someone up on a Tuesday and eat dinner beside them that night.
  • You’ll be the guest-facing answer to things that aren’t your fault: a delayed transfer, weather that cancelled the activity, a room that’s too warm.
  • On the manager’s days off, the property is yours.
  • Most remote properties want you across a bit of everything — bar, service, some housekeeping, some driving, sometimes an activity — because the team is small enough that everyone covers everything.

Operators are generally not looking for someone who is already manager-ready. They are looking for capability and appetite: someone who can be trusted with the floor now and grown into more.

Living on site

  • You’ll live in staff quarters — usually your own room, shared facilities, meals included.
  • Days off are days off on the property. Getting to a town for the weekend is often not an option.
  • Connectivity ranges from Starlink that runs fine to a single spot behind the office where a text will send.
  • The people you work with are the people you live with, for months. It is the best part of the job for some people and the reason others leave in week six.

The shape of the year

Remote hospitality hires ahead of its seasons, usually by two to three months. Roughly how it runs in Australia:

  • Southern summer — Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Kangaroo Island, the NSW coast. Trading December to March, hiring September to November.
  • Top End and the Kimberley — dry-season operations April to October, hiring February to May.
  • Snow — hiring February to May for a June opening.
  • Islands and boat-access lodges — the lift starts around June and runs through September.

We’re talking with operators planning their 2027 seasons now, and this role is on those lists.

On money

We won’t publish a band here, because packages at this tier genuinely vary — and we’d rather give you no number than one we made up.

What we can tell you is that in remote work the accommodation, meals, travel and roster usually account for more of the real difference between two offers than the salary does. When we have an actual role for you, you’ll get the actual numbers — salary, roster, and what comes out of your pay for accommodation — before you go forward for it.

Who this suits

Supervisors, duty managers and senior front of house staff from busy venues who want a property of their own to run one day and are willing to go a long way to get there sooner.

Also: guides, all-rounders and hospitality people who have ended up running service without the title, and want the title.

If you’re coming from a city venue, the service side usually isn’t the hard part. Living where you work is.

If you’re applying from overseas, tell us your work rights when you register and we’ll be straight with you about what your situation opens and what it closes. Worth knowing before you get attached to a property.

How this works

Register on our find-work page and tell us where you’ll go and when you’re free. There are two of us and we read every registration ourselves. If something fits, we’ll call you. If nothing fits for a while you stay on the register. We’ll check in about once a year to ask whether you still want to be on it — you come off whenever you ask, and also if we check in and hear nothing back.

Registering here is not an application for a named job. We will always tell you which property a role is at before you go forward for it.

Register your interest

Questions about the second-in-charge role

How do I get a live-in front of house job at a remote lodge in Australia?
Register on our find-work page and tell us where you'll go and when you're free. This listing is a standing register, so registering is not an application for a named job. When a role comes up that fits, we call you and tell you which property it is before you go forward.
What does a front of house second-in-charge do at a remote lodge?
You run service, hold the front of house roster, are the first person a guest asks for, and run the property on the manager's days off. On a small team you'll usually cover a bit of everything as well: bar, some housekeeping, some driving, sometimes an activity.
Do I need management experience to be a second-in-charge at a remote lodge?
No. Operators are generally looking for capability and appetite: someone who can be trusted with the floor now and grown into more. Supervisors, duty managers and senior front of house staff from busy venues suit the role, and so do guides and all-rounders who have ended up running service without the title.
How do I get a job at an island resort or lodge in Australia with staff accommodation?
Island and boat-access lodges hire like other remote properties, usually two to three months ahead of their season. Most staff live in staff quarters, usually with their own room, shared facilities and meals included, and some senior roles come with a house. Register on our find-work page, say in the notes that you want an island, and we call you when an island role fits.
Does hospitality work count towards my 88 days on a working holiday visa?
Only on some properties. Hospitality counts in Northern Australia, Home Affairs' Remote and Very Remote Australia areas and four named postcodes, which takes in every Northern Territory postcode, the Kimberley, the Pilbara, Cape York, the far north Queensland coast and the outback of every mainland state; most country towns further south, including Jugiong and the Sapphire Coast, where we've listed roles, don't count. We're recruiters, not migration agents, so check the property's postcode against the Home Affairs specified work tables before you commit.
How much does a front of house team leader earn at a remote lodge?
Packages at this level vary, so we don't publish a band. In remote work the accommodation, meals, travel and roster usually make more of the difference between two offers than the salary does. When we have a role for you, you get the actual salary, the roster and what comes out of your pay for accommodation before you go forward.
Is accommodation included?
Yes, in most roles. You live in staff quarters, usually your own room with shared facilities, and meals are included. Connectivity ranges from Starlink that runs fine to a single spot where a text will send.
When do remote lodges hire front of house staff?
Usually two to three months before their season. Southern summer properties hire September to November, the Top End and the Kimberley hire February to May for the dry season, and snow properties hire February to May for a June opening.

About Wild Ops

Wild Ops is a recruitment agency for remote and regional hospitality in Australia. Cindy is a chef by trade and Jordan is a carpenter who moved into managing properties. Between us we’ve run remote and regional properties here for the better part of fifteen years — luxury lodges on the Great Ocean Road, a boat-access lodge in NSW, a wilderness lodge in the Top End, a motel on the south coast of Western Australia.