Club Commercial Manager at Virgin Active South Africa

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.
• As a Commercial Manager, your role is to own and deliver on all ancillary commercial performance within the club. This includes Personal Training, Health Professional services, Swim, Club V, and any emerging ancillary products.
• You are accountable for revenue delivery, conversion performance, system integrity, contractor sustainability, and brand compliance, in line with the Non-Negotiable Commercial Product KPI framework.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

Commercial Performance

• Drive commercial performance through effective margin and cost management.
• Execute on key metrics such as revenue growth, member retention, and service utilization.

Revenue Execution and Operational Delivery

• Lead the execution of ancillary revenue streams and ensuring seamless operational delivery.
• Oversee service-based commercial initiatives, including Personal Training, Health Professional services, Swim, Kids, and other evolving offerings.

Member Experience

• Ensure best-in-class member experiences by optimizing service delivery and engagement.
• Focus on enhancing the social wellness experience for members, fostering a supportive and engaging environment.

Workforce Development

• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing Personal Trainers, Coaches, tenants and Health Professionals.
• Ensure continuous professional development and performance optimization of your team.

Operational Integration

• Ensure member-facing ancillary propositions as well as new ancillary initiatives are fully optimized.
• Maintain consistent engagement and operational integration through digital platforms, e.g. Virgin Active App and Flexer.

Focus Areas

• Margin Management: Optimize margins by managing costs effectively and maximizing revenue from ancillary services.
• Cost Management: Implement cost control measures to ensure financial efficiency and sustainability, e.g. occupancy of pools.
• Recruitment and Retention: Attract and retain top talent in Personal Training, Coaching, and Health Professional roles.
• Ancillary Demand: Marketing material and partnerships are appropriately used to generate demand and ensure commercial growth within the club.

Our Minimum Requirements...

We can’t live without… 

• Tertiary qualification in Fitness or equivalent.
• 3-4 years’ leadership experience in the fitness and wellness industry.
• 2+ years managing commercial KPIs, including Contractor management and revenue streams.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen with data fluency.
• Proven experience in recruitment, onboarding, and coaching.
• Proficiency with operational requirements and reporting systems.
• Strong influencing, relationship-building, and stakeholder engagement ability.

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

Closing Date 08 April 2026