Lead Operations Coordinator

Who we areWe’re an entertainment and events company specialising in shows for the Superyachtmarket. We started life as Luxury Treasure Hunts before launching Aquavistas, now offeringover 20 different shows, such as immersive Murder Mystery parties, magicians, live bandsand tribute acts, entertainers and our original onshore Treasure Hunts.We deliver luxury entertainment worldwide: onboard, anywhere.Now in our sixth year, our summer season runs primarily in the Mediterranean: South ofFrance, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Spain, with a winter season in the Caribbean.We’ve just finished our busiest season to date and next year is looking bigger still. We’re asmall team. Charlie Moretti founded the company after fifteen years running a filmproduction house in Shanghai, Oscar Harris has been in it from the start and has risen fromthe original intern to now COO. This role is the third seat at the Leadership Table.The RoleYou’d be an integral part of our small team, and this is a real opportunity to learn and grow:you’d be taking charge of how we deliver everything we do, with the two of us teaching youthe parts you haven’t done before (and few have done treasure hunt setups in remotelocations to be fair…)You’ll be the organiser of the day to day running of everything between a show beingbooked and our team walking off the yacht, leaving delighted guests. There are two sides toit.Delivering the shows. Being the person who makes an event actually happen, with all thelogistics behind it: the crew, the kit, the timings, the standards. Building a treasure huntacross an island (Logistics is a major part of the job once the season is running).Organising transport of a six-foot prop onto a tender and onto the yacht. Dealing blackjackon a deck in Monaco at midnight. Knowing what to do when the band’s flight is cancelledfour hours before guests arrive.Running the function. Building and leading the seasonal team, owning the storage andinventory, writing the processes we all work to, and understanding the money behind eachshow. This is the part we expect to teach you.What the role grows into

• Delivery. Maintaining show standards and coordinating crew, kit and timings. Youwon’t be at every show, but project managers and logistics crew report to you.
• People. Hiring, training and leading the seasonal team, and making sure we have thecapacity for the season we’ve sold.
• Kit and inventory. Storage, inventory systems, prop maintenance and repairs (withour suppliers), and getting the right gear to the right island on the right day.
• Process. Deciding how we execute, and owning the play-books, call sheets andstandards as living documents.
• Project P&L. Quoting the logistics (with your team), controlling the spend, andbeing accountable for a healthy margin on every show.
• The business. One of three on the leadership team, with the opportunity tocontribute where the company goes next.You won’t arrive doing all of this. If it looks overwhelming, don’t worry: we’ve lived it for sixyears, and we’ll train you properly before letting you loose. Soon though, you’ll be runningit. A self-starting attitude is what we need from you.The shape of the yearJune to September, the Mediterranean season. This is the period everything else in theyear builds towards. It’s an intense, busy but genuinely fun time (in incredible places).Christmas and New Year, the Caribbean. Fewer shows than the summer but they areoften larger and bigger travel. Due to the nature of charter work, we don’t always knowuntil late in the year when these go ahead.The rest of the year, the build: Systems, planning, recruiting and training crew, improvingshows, maintaining kit, all with the support of Charlie and Oscar. This is where most of thethinking happens, and where you’ll have the space and time to do it.The less glamorous sideWhile the role gives you lots of freedom and opportunity, we want to be open about some ofthe less-glamorous aspects of the role.
• Long days. 6am starts and 2am finishes happen more than we’d like
• In season your weekends aren’t reliably your own.
• Real travel. Early flights, hire vans, moving flight cases in 35°C heat, on tenders.
• Time away from home in blocks, potentially including Christmas and New Year.
• Short notice changes and new deadlines, which you’ll be accountable for. Work canland with a day or two’s warning, and you’ll be the one planning (and re-planning).
• No office, no Ops Department, no warehouse team. We get together in personregularly, but there’s a lot of working from home until the seasons pick up.
• You’ll be strategic on Monday, gluing a prop back together on Tuesday, dealing BlackJack on Wednesday, Tuesday cleaning a beach, Friday is yet to reveal itself… Nobodyhere is above the unglamorous jobs, including us.In exchange: a function to build the way you think it should be built, decisions that areactually yours, and shows that are genuinely brilliant to deliver, in some of the mostbeautiful locations in the world.Who we’re looking forFirst and foremost, someone who fits our values and culture:
• Make it Happen. Turning no’s into yes’s, finding a way.
• Attention to Detail. You notice, improve and change the little things.
• Willing to Join the Circus. Real enthusiasm for who we are and how we do it.
• The Obstacle is the Way. We take the difficult thing on rather than route around it.
• Sometimes You Win, Every Time You Learn. Always improving, always learning.Attitude matters more to us than a CV. We’d rather find someone with the right instinctswho’s hungry to grow into this than someone who ticks every box and isn’t excited by it.Your experience:
• Two or more years’ hands-on experience delivering live events, shows, tours orproductions, and having been the person responsible when it mattered
• Ideally, you’ve been accountable for a budget
• Some management experience, or you’re 100% ready to take it on
• You understand why process and systems matter, and that they have to work foreveryone using them
• Calm when the plan falls apart (because it will)
• Organised to the point of mild obsession about kit lists, timings and details
• Credible in front of senior people, clients and their guests, with crew to lead andperformers to wrangle
• Curious about how a business works, not just how a show works
• Clean driving licence, confident swimmer in open water, not prone to seasickness
• Right to work in the UK and able to travel for extended periods through the seasonUseful but not essential: yachting or marine experience, cruise entertainment, immersivetheatre, stage management, technical AV, Special Forces logistics, prop-making, a secondlanguage.Above all, we want someone who wants to be in this industry rather than passing throughit. We’re building something special so looking for like-minded people.We work to the yacht industry’s standards of presentation: well-kept hair and facial hair,and no excessive visible tattoos or piercings (scars are ok as long as they come with a goodstory).Pay has and will continue to grow as the company does, and as you take on more of the role.If you’re further along than this range, tell us anyway and make the case.Equally, if you don’t have the experience we’ve asked for but you have the right values,energy and enthusiasm, make your case.How to applyEmail oscar@aquavistas.com with your CV, your availability and notice period, and shortanswers to these three questions:Why this job, and why now?Tell us about a time something went wrong on an event or job, and what you didabout it.3. Where do you want to be in five years, and what do you need to learn to get there?No covering letter needed, a few paragraphs is plenty. We read every application thatanswers all three questions. We don’t read the ones that don’t.