Senior Social Wellness & Club Experience Manager

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.
• Lead the development and enterprise-wide delivery of Virgin Active South Africa's social wellness and club experience proposition.
• The role creates compelling reasons for members to visit more often, stay longer and feel part of something bigger - translating the brand promise into distinctive programming, partnerships, communities, hospitality moments and connected digital-to-club journeys that drive member value, differentiation and long-term loyalty.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

Shape the Social Wellness Proposition

• Define the role of social and community in Virgin Active social wellness positioning and translate it into a clear member promise and experience standards.
• Set the strategic direction for how clubs create community, connection, belonging and reasons to spend time beyond the workout.
• Build the annual and multi-year portfolio across social programming, communities, events, rituals, hospitality moments and cultural collaborations.
• Use member insight, behavioural science and market trends to identify unmet needs and develop differentiated concepts.
• Build shared commitment among senior stakeholders and club leaders, resolving competing priorities through clear principles and evidence.

Curate a distinctive portfolio of programming and partnerships

• Lead the development of modern, premium and culturally relevant community formats that members actively want to join and return to.
• Create more opportunities for members to meet, mix and feel part of the club beyond their workout.
• Set portfolio principles and guardrails for centrally led, regional and locally created activity, balancing consistency with club personality.
• Build strategic relationships with brands, creators, communities and collaborators that elevate the proposition, extend reach or unlock new value.
• Own the partner pipeline and approve major partnership concepts, ensuring brand fit, member relevance, commercial discipline and operational feasibility.
• Maintain a strong external radar on hospitality, lifestyle, wellness, culture and experience design to keep Virgin Active ahead of the category.

Build the scalable operating model

• Create the frameworks, standards, planning rhythms, toolkits and governance needed to deliver high-quality social experiences consistently across the club estate.
• Translate strategic programmes and member engagement campaigns into practical club execution plans, launch packs, playbooks and readiness criteria.
• Establish clear roles, decision rights and escalation paths across Head Office, regions and clubs.
• Lead and coordinate regional and club social wellness/community owners through direct, dotted-line or matrix structures, setting expectations and building capability.
• Conduct purposeful site visits and launch reviews to test standards, strengthen relationships, remove delivery barriers and stay close to the member experience.
• Codify successful formats and enable rapid replication while preserving the local relevance that makes communities credible.
• Connect in-club interactions, displays, events, communities and digital prompts so members can easily discover, join and continue participating.

Own performance, investment and continuous improvement

• Define the scorecard for social wellness and community participation – more members see being part of a Virgin Active community as a reason to engage and be retained.
• Use quantitative data and qualitative insight to understand what is landing, for whom and why; turn learning into portfolio and execution decisions.
• Own the social wellness programme budget and report on return on investment.
• Ensure agencies, suppliers and distribution partners deliver to scope, quality, timing, safety, brand and budget expectations.
• Provide clear executive reporting, recommendations and trade-offs; surface risks early and maintain accountability for corrective action.

Our Minimum Requirements...

We can’t live without…

• A relevant degree or diploma in marketing, brand, customer experience, hospitality, events, business or a related discipline; equivalent senior-level experience will also be considered.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in hospitality, lifestyle, wellness, member experience, events, community, retail, brand experience or another premium consumer environment.
• Demonstrated experience in building, organically growing, and sustaining engaged communities.
• A strong track record of creating experiences or programmes that people genuinely want to be part of, from concept through scale and performance optimisation.
• Experience building new concepts, operating models, standards or formats from the ground up.
• Commercial and financial acumen, including budget ownership, supplier/agency management, business cases and return-on-investment thinking.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and the credibility to influence senior stakeholders and operational teams without relying solely on direct authority.
• Advanced programme and project leadership, with the ability to manage a complex portfolio, make trade-offs and maintain launch readiness under pressure.
• Ability to combine creative instinct, cultural awareness, member empathy, data and operational judgement.
• Excellent written, verbal and presentation skills, including executive reporting and translating strategy into clear action for clubs.
• Flexibility to travel regularly to clubs and work outside standard hours when the member experience or major activations require it.

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