Merlin Entertainments

General Manager - Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium

Location Name SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium
Job Locations AU-Melbourne
Job ID
2026-13264
Employment Type
Salaried
Offer/Contract Type
No End Date
Location (Country-State-City)
AU-Melbourne

What you'll bring to the team

 

Are you ready to lead one of Melbourne's most iconic attractions and take your career to the next level? As General Manager – SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, you'll play a pivotal role in delivering unforgettable guest experiences while driving commercial performance, innovation, and team engagement.

About the Role

As General Manager, you'll provide strategic and operational leadership for SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. You will be accountable for delivering exceptional guest experiences, financial performance, and building high-performing teams, all while championing our brand values and purpose.

 

You'll lead the attraction management team, overseeing all aspects of the operation including guest experience, commercial performance, health, safety and security (HSS), animal welfare and displays, retail, facilities, capital projects, and team engagement. From delivering annual EBITDA targets and managing investment projects to enhancing customer satisfaction and strengthening local partnerships, this is a dynamic leadership role with genuine impact.

 

Key responsibilities include:

  • Driving operational excellence and commercial performance across the attraction.
  • Leading the delivery of innovative guest experiences, seasonal events, and engaging exhibits.
  • Developing and executing long-term strategic and annual business plans.
  • Overseeing financial performance, including revenue growth, cost control, forecasting, and compliance.
  • Creating a culture of safety, inclusion, engagement, and continuous improvement.
  • Championing world-class standards of animal welfare, conservation, and environmental sustainability.
  • Representing SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium within the local community, tourism industry, and key stakeholder networks.

About You

You're a commercially astute, guest-focused leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-profile environments. With proven experience leading large, multifunctional teams and delivering strong commercial outcomes, you bring the resilience, creativity and strategic thinking needed to inspire others and achieve exceptional results.

A passion for tourism, hospitality, leisure or visitor attractions is essential, and experience within these industries will be highly regarded.

 

Essential:

  • Extensive experience leading large, customer-facing operations.
  • Proven success delivering commercial results, including full P&L accountability.
  • Ability to develop strategy, drive operational excellence and lead continuous improvement.
  • Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills.
  • Commitment to maintaining the highest standards of Health, Safety & Security.

Desirable:

  • Experience within the attractions, tourism, hospitality, leisure or retail sectors.
  • Experience leading capital projects or business transformation initiatives.
  • A tertiary qualification in Business, Management, Hospitality, Tourism or a related discipline.
  • A passion for conservation, education and creating memorable visitor experiences.

If you're passionate about leading people, inspiring teams, creating memorable guest experiences and making a lasting impact at one of Australia's leading visitor attractions, we'd love to hear from you.

 

Benefits

 

  • Corporate benefits including free access to all our attractions worldwide
  • Domestic and global opportunities to develop and progress your skills and career in tourism and attractions
  • Additional Leave (including birthday and wellbeing) and 3 volunteer days to give back to a social cause you care about
  • Hybrid working model and flexible working policy
  • Opportunity to be involved with our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, including our Reconciliation Action Plan
  • Being part of a business built on fun

 

About Us

 

Merlin Entertainments is the company behind iconic brands like SEA LIFE, Madame Tussauds, and Peppa Pig World of Play. We operate in over 140 attractions across 25 countries, delivering memorable experiences to 54 million+ visitors a year.  

We’re the leading operator of visitor attractions in Australia and New Zealand, with 10 attractions, including SEA LIFE, WILDLIFE, Madame Tussauds, amongst others.  

Merlin Entertainments is driven by a strong social responsibility with the vision to create a world where the global community respects, conserves, and sustainably manages our precious aquatic habitats, wildlife, and natural resources. We strive to achieve this goal through our 3 charities: Merlins Magic Wand, the SEA LIFE Trust, and the WILDLIFE Conservation Fund. 
 
So, if you are vibrant and passionate about delivering an amazing service within a great company and in a team who loves what we do – then we want to hear from you!  

Merlin Entertainments strongly encourages application from all background, including people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander decent.  

Pay Range

Competitive

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At Merlin we welcome the world to our magical attractions and resorts every day and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together. Because at Merlin, everyone matters!

Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we'll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.