Head of Operations

The Hot Box Sauna is Ireland’s leading sauna and wellness experience, offering a unique blend of relaxation, community, and wellbeing. With multiple thriving locations, we are expanding fast and looking for a Head of Operations to oversee day-to-day operations, own strategic projects and new site openings from concept to delivery, manage operational budgets and lead high-performing teams.

Key Responsibilties:

Team Performance

Lead, develop, and scale teams of Operations and on-site staff. Partner closely with HR on recruitment, performance management, succession planning, and talent development to build a strong and resilient operations function.

Multi-Site Build and Supervision

Own end-to-end site operations across the estate, from planning and construction through to optimisation and growth. Oversee day-to-day operations across all existing locations, ensuring sites are clean, safe, compliant, and fully operational.

Plan, schedule, and manage construction and refurbishment works at live sites, minimising operational disruption, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery. Implement robust processes, standards, and controls to support scalability and consistency across multiple locations.

Develop and implement storm-response and resilience plans for exposed sites, including preventative measures, emergency protocols, and recovery playbooks.

Site Launches

Own and lead the delivery of new site builds and openings, managing the transition from planning through construction, fit-out, and mobilization into live operations. Manage planning applications for new locations from submission to approval, coordinating effectively with planners, consultants, councils, landlords, and other external stakeholders.

Act as the primary point of contact with external authorities, ensuring timely communication, issue resolution, and progress against critical milestones. Maintain and regularly update a planning tracker covering all current and future sites.

Coordinate office and operational layout drawings with internal teams and external designers. Lead design development for new locations, ensuring alignment with brand standards, operational efficiency, and local regulatory requirements. Specify and approve materials and finishes, ensuring consistency across the estate.

Own future build strategy by creating standardised design and build templates, ensuring sites are “built right first time” and optimised for long-term performance.

Operational Efficiency

Identify operational bottlenecks and implement cost-saving and efficiency improvements across maintenance, stock management, utilities, and site services. Develop and deliver a rolling improvement plan for existing sites, focused on customer experience, durability, efficiency, and compliance. Prioritise initiatives based on operational impact, risk, and return on investment.

Quality Control

Document Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for site builds, refurbishments, storm events, planning & approvals. Conduct regular site audits to ensure SOP adherence, safety, compliance, and brand consistency.

Build, maintain, and continuously improve a central operations knowledge base. Ensure insights and learnings from live site performance are captured and embedded into future build standards, refurbishments, and operational processes.

Customer Experience

Monitor customer feedback, occupancy, and utilisation data to inform staffing models, site improvements, and service delivery enhancements, ensuring a consistently high-quality customer experience.

Vendor Management

Own and manage relationships with contractors, suppliers, and local site partners, ensuring performance standards, service levels, cost controls, and contractual obligations are consistently met.

About You:

A problem-solver, with strong logical reasoning and ability to make tough decisions, fostering a culture of accountability. Practical leader with "fix-it" mindset, excellent organizational and project management skills, able to keep a cool head while managing multiple sites simultaneously. A natural team leader, passionate about developing and nurturing talent. Always focused on the best customer journey and experience.

Required Skills and Experience:

• Proven 5+ years of experience in operational leadership role within a fast-paced, multi-site and service-oriented B2C environment, with physical premises servicing customers.

• Experience managing complex projects and delivering results under tight deadlines, from building a new site to implementing new processes and systems.

• Proven track record of ownership and accountability, ability to identify risks and navigate challenging discussions effectively.

• Excellent track record in people management, focused on developing strong performing teams.

• Right to work in Ireland (Work Permit Sponsorship is not available).

• Clean Irish B category driving license.

• Based in Ireland with the ability to work from the office location in Dublin 2.

• Ability to regularly travel to site locations across Ireland and occasionally internationally without restrictions.

Desired Skills and Experience:

• Operational experience in the health, wellness, leisure or fitness industries.

• Tech-savvy with experience in implementing and utilizing e-commerce platforms.

About Us:

The Hot Box is one of Ireland’s fastest-growing wellness brands, offering a variety of unique wellness and relaxation facilities across the country, especially well known for outdoor saunas and plunge pools in tranquil surroundings and places of natural beauty. We are guided by Ambition, Honesty and focus on Quality in what we do and how we work.

Reporting to: CEO

Location: 66 Baggot Street Lower, Dublin D02 FK85 with site travel

Contract type: Full Time, Permanent

Working hours: 40hrs per week, office hours and onsite visits

Work model: Onsite in Head Office, travel to site locations as required