Ernie Els Wines is seeking an experienced, commercially minded and guest-focused General Manager: Hospitality to lead the estate’s hospitality operations. This senior role is responsible for translating the Ernie Els Wines brand strategy into an exceptional operating model across the visitor experience, food and beverage operations, events, tourism engagement and hospitality team performance. The General Manager: Hospitality is accountable for the overall strategic, operational, financial and commercial performance of Hospitality as a business unit, ensuring that guest experience, revenue generation, cost management, team capability and brand standards are effectively balanced to deliver sustainable profitability and long-term growth.
Key Responsibilities
• Develop and implement a clear hospitality strategy that supports the Ernie Els Wines brand, commercial objectives and premium guest experience.
• Translate strategy into practical operating models, service standards, staffing structures, SOPs and daily execution plans.
• Act as brand owner and custodian for the hospitality experience, ensuring that all guest-facing operations, communications, service standards and touchpoints consistently protect and strengthen the Ernie Els Wines brand.
• Lead, coach and manage the hospitality team to deliver consistent service excellence, operational discipline and a high-performance culture.
• Prepare, manage and monitor the annual hospitality budget, including operating costs, revenue targets, profitability and capital project inputs.
• Take accountability for revenue planning, forecasting and ongoing financial performance, including monitoring revenue against targets, labour costs, food and beverage costs, operating expenses, margins and profitability, and implementing corrective action where required.
• Provide ongoing commercial analysis and strategic course correction to ensure Hospitality remains financially sustainable and responsive to changing market, guest and operational conditions.
• Drive growth, profitability, innovation and execution excellence across hospitality operations, events, tourism partnerships and guest-facing services.
• Take overall commercial accountability for Hospitality as a business unit, understanding and managing the relationship between guest experience, pricing, average spend, revenue, cost and profitability.
• Oversee guest experience, service recovery, operational readiness, stock control, systems use and day-to-day performance standards.
• Champion a positive, engaged and excellence-driven culture aligned with the values and reputation of Ernie Els Wines.
• Ensure operational readiness and service excellence across hospitality touchpoints, including visitor experience, food and beverage, events and estate-facing guest services.
• Balance guest expectations, team capacity, commercial impact and brand reputation in day-to-day decision-making.
• Identify and implement improvements to processes, service standards, guest journeys and operating efficiencies.
• Drive medium- to long-term initiatives focused on cost optimisation, revenue growth, team capability and sustainable SOPs.
• Maintain strong collaboration with Finance, HR, Marketing, Production, estate management, ownership representatives, suppliers, contractors and tourism partners.
Culinary and Food & Beverage Leadership
• Provide strong strategic and operational leadership across the food and beverage operation, working closely with the Head Chef/HOD to ensure the food offering supports the overall Hospitality strategy and commercial objectives.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of kitchen and F&B operations, including food cost, margins, labour utilisation, productivity, stock management and overall kitchen performance.
• Work meaningfully with the Head Chef on menu development, menu pricing, concepts, product offering and the ongoing evolution of the culinary experience, ensuring that the food offering is commercially viable and aligned with the Ernie Els Wines brand and guest expectations.
• Monitor and address the commercial and operational performance of the kitchen and F&B departments, balancing quality, consistency, guest satisfaction and profitability.
Minimum Requirements
• Marketing, Business, Economics or Hospitality qualification, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Hospitality, tourism, wine, food and beverage or sommelier-related qualification will be advantageous.
• WSET, tourism, food service, marketing or related certifications will be beneficial.
Experience Required
• 5–10 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, preferably in wine estate, restaurant, tourism, premium guest experience or destination hospitality environments.
• At least 3 years’ experience in an Assistant General Manager, General Manager or comparable senior hospitality leadership role.
• Experience in wine tourism, premium food and beverage operations or wine hospitality will be advantageous.
• Proven experience managing teams, budgets, operating standards, guest experience and commercial performance.
• Proven experience in financial planning, forecasting, revenue management, cost control and driving profitability within a hospitality or F&B environment.
• Experience working collaboratively with senior culinary leadership on food concepts, menu development, pricing and operational performance will be advantageous.
Skills And Competencies
• Strong hospitality operations background with sound food and beverage financial acumen.
• Proficient in hospitality systems, POS platforms, cash terminals, restaurant IT systems, Excel and operational reporting tools.
• Commercially minded, with the ability to manage costs, improve profitability and enhance revenue opportunities.
• Strong strategic and commercial thinking, with the ability to move between high-level business planning and operational execution without losing sight of the wider objectives of the business.
• Strong financial literacy and the ability to understand and interrogate budgets, forecasts, revenue performance, cost structures, margins and profitability.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to lead from the front during peak operational periods.
• Visible and operationally capable leadership, while maintaining the ability to prioritise strategic, financial, commercial and people-leadership responsibilities.
• Hands-on leadership style with the ability to lead from the front during peak operational periods.
• Innovative, creative, detail-oriented, calm under pressure and able to solve problems pragmatically.
• Strong relationship-building skills across guests, team members, suppliers, contractors, management and industry partners.
• Clear communicator who can set expectations, provide constructive feedback and maintain high service standards.
• Proficient in English and Afrikaans; German, Spanish or isiXhosa will be advantageous.
Decision-Making And Accountability
• Manage daily hospitality operations independently within approved brand standards, policies, budgets and limits of authority.
• Escalate matters involving changes to strategy, operating model, organisational design, major spending, legal risk or brand-sensitive decisions to the Estate Manager.
• Apply sound judgement in guest experience, team performance, service recovery, commercial priorities and operational problem-solving.
• Take ownership of ongoing commercial and operational course correction, using financial, guest, team and operational information to identify risks and opportunities and implement appropriate action.
• Accountable for ensuring that operational decisions support the broader financial and strategic objectives of Hospitality, rather than focusing solely on short-term operational requirements.
Working Environment
• Fast-paced hospitality environment with daily and weekly operational deadlines.
• Peak periods include summer season, holidays, weekends, events and high-volume visitor periods.
• The role requires flexibility, visible leadership, operational responsiveness and the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Planning and administrative work may be interrupted by urgent operational matters, guest experience requirements or team support needs.
• The role requires the ability to balance periods of direct operational involvement with protected time for strategic planning, financial management, commercial analysis, people leadership and longer-term business development.
Key Working Relationships
• Internal: Estate Manager, Finance, HR, Marketing, Production, hospitality teams, senior management and ownership representatives.
• External: Guests, corporate clients, private clients, suppliers, contractors, tourism partners, industry networks and service providers.
• The role requires confident communication with senior stakeholders on strategic, financial, commercial and operational matters.
• The GM will work closely with the HODs - Head Chef and Hospitality Manager to ensure alignment between operational performance, guest experience, people capability and commercial objectives.
Leadership Scope
• Direct management of approximately 2 direct reports, with broader leadership influence across 2–3 indirect reports and the wider hospitality team.
• While the number of direct reports is relatively small, these positions represent HOD-level functions with responsibility for substantial teams and operational areas. The GM’s leadership accountability therefore extends materially beyond the number of direct reports and includes providing direction, alignment and accountability across the wider Hospitality structure.
• The role is responsible for providing strategic direction, driving continuous operational course correction, encouraging innovation, building team capability, ensuring SOP adherence, maintaining discipline and supporting the effective execution of strategic priorities.
• Expected to build an engaged, accountable and guest-focused team culture.
• Provide leadership and direction to HOD-level team members, ensuring that departmental leaders are accountable for their respective functions while remaining aligned to the overall Hospitality strategy, financial targets, service standards and business objectives.
• Develop leadership capability within the Hospitality management structure, creating clear accountability while avoiding unnecessary dependence on the GM for day-to-day execution.
Financial And Commercial Accountability
• Manage an annual operating cost base and contribute to the planning and delivery of ad hoc capital projects.
• Accountable for hospitality revenue performance.
• Protect revenue, profitability, stock control, guest satisfaction and the long-term brand equity of Ernie Els Wines.
• Responsible for revenue planning, forecasting and performance monitoring, including identifying trends, variances and opportunities and taking corrective action where required.
• Accountable for profitability and commercial performance across Hospitality, including labour management, food and beverage cost, operating costs, pricing, average spend, revenue generation and margin improvement.
• Use financial and operational reporting to inform strategic decisions and ensure that Hospitality continues to deliver against agreed financial targets.
• Work closely with Finance to ensure accurate budgeting, forecasting, reporting and financial accountability across the Hospitality operation.