Community Manager - Natura Lifestyle

Community Manager – Lifestyle

Reports to

Area Manager

Employment type

Permanent

Direct reports

Various, including Grounds and Maintenance, Front Office Receptionist

Location

Queensland, NSW or Victoria

Portfolio/Department

Lifestyle, Residential

Career level

Team leader

Why this position exists: role purpose

The purpose of this role is to lead the day-to-day operations of a Lifestyle Community, ensuring alignment with Ingenia’s core values and HOME principles. A key focus of the role is to cultivate a strong sense of belonging and connection within the Community. This role is deeply customer focused, delivering collaborative support services to residents that enhance their satisfaction and wellbeing. The role also delivers strong financial outcomes through effective community engagement and operational excellence.
For communities under development: this role leads a community during the construction and development of the community.

What you’ll do

Accountabilities

Deliver a consistently high resident experience, measured through the resident satisfaction survey and Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Accountable for day-to-day operations, including presentation across the community facilities, occupancy and tenancy management, new resident interviews, welcome program for new residents, resident relations and support
Manage the Profit & Loss performance of the community. Lead the budgeting, planning and future capital expenditure needs
Foster meaningful connections by delivering the Activate program, encouraging social groups, friendships and resident committees, attending resident meetings and handling concerns professionally and promptly. Escalate complex issues and conflicts to the Area Manager, ensuring comprehensive notes are taken and shared as necessary
Oversee asset presentation, refurbishment and capital works, ensuring timely delivery of site improvements and upgrades
Ensure safety, environmental and compliance standards are met, to provide a safe, secure and comfortable living environment. Conduct daily site inspections and ensure sites are within keeping of the community’s minimum standards. Maintain quality and presentation of the asset.
Lead the team and manage contractors, driving high performance to deliver excellent resident experiences
Coordinate Health and Wellbeing events and activities for the Community to ensure the health and wellbeing of the residents is prioritised
Lead a program for residents to experience opportunity for discovery, connecting residents with their local community and encouraging residents to learn and explore
Ensure timely management of vacating residents in the portfolio, delivering the highest possible returns to Ingenia on each transaction
Promote and sell resale homes, maintaining strong relationships with potential buyers and vendors. Act as the selling agent, conducting tours, sharing information and negotiating sales and contracts.
For communities in development: Work with the sales and development teams, acting as the voice of the resident during the design and construction of facilities. Support the resident through the settlement process and work with the Home Delivery Coordinator on managing defects

Challenges and opportunities

A visible, active role – seen as the go-to person
Navigate multiple and changing priorities across the day, where no two days are the same
Professional management of resident issues, which can become emotionally-charged
Maintain boundaries and uphold professional relationships with guests and residents
Physical requirements of the role include occasional lifting, muscular force, bending, twisting and stretching, frequent walking around the site and up and down stairs
Use of cleaning equipment, products and chemicals.
For communities under development:
Manage resident concerns in a live construction environment, for example dust and noise
Build a sense of community belonging from scratch, testing, learning and sustaining effort

Relationships

Build and maintain relationships with: residents, guests, potential residents, Connect team, Marketing team, Development team, People Culture and Safety, Resales team, industry associations, health providers, community groups, suppliers and contractors.

What you’ll bring to the role

Capabilities (skills and behaviours applied in this role)

Building Customer Relationships - Ensuring that the customer’s needs are met; taking accountability for customer satisfaction and loyalty; using appropriate interpersonal techniques to prevent and resolve escalated customer complaints and regain customer confidence
Planning and Organising - Establishing an action plan for self and others to complete work efficiently and on time by setting priorities, establishing timelines, and leveraging resources
Building Partnerships - Developing and leveraging relationships within and across work groups to achieve results
Decision Making - Understanding issues by analysing information; establishing clear decision criteria; generating and evaluating options, and making timely decisions informed by facts and constraints
Resolving Conflict - Helping others effectively manage an antagonistic situation to minimise damage to the relationships and promote shared goals; using appropriate interpersonal skills to reduce tension and facilitate agreement
Safety Focus - Identifying and improving conditions that affect own and others' safety; upholding safety standards
Guiding Team Success - Using leadership skills and a flexible interpersonal style to build, motivate and guide a cohesive team to success
Continuous improvement - Taking action to improve existing conditions and processes; identifying improvement opportunities; generating ideas and implementing solutions

Personal style (personality characteristics needed for this role)

Customer focused – is genuinely committed to delivering positive experiences for customers
Relationship oriented - articulate, humble, approachable, enjoys building new relationships and networks
Integrity - is honest, trustworthy, ethical and takes responsibility and personal pride in one's work
Tolerates stress – resilient, stable under pressure, maintains constructive relationships when under stress
Adaptable – able to adjust approach, mindset or behaviour to respond to changes
Compassionate – is caring, kind and empathetic
Self-assurance – confidence in own abilities and worth; is decisive and composed under pressure

Experience (practical application of capabilities, knowledge and personal style)

Experience developing and maintaining relationships with residents to deliver exceptional service and sense of belonging in the Community
Experience communicating with diverse over-55’s customers, listening openly and addressing concerns with professionalism, empathy and tact
Experience in Profit and Loss (P&L) management, including budgeting, cost control and revenue
Experience effectively managing conflict or disagreements to reach positive outcomes
Experience making decisions under pressure e.g. emergency management, death of a resident
Background in Aged-Care, Property or Hospitality preferred
Experience ensuring safe operations, translating policies into practice and embedding a culture of safety in the Community
Property and asset management experience, demonstrated in high-quality community presentation

Knowledge (theoretical understanding needed for this role)

Ingenia knowledge
Understanding of the site and infrastructure
Ingenia purpose, values and culture
Ingenia policies (e.g. code of conduct, Health Safety & Environment, privacy)
Ingenia Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) relevant to role and site processes
Ingenia systems (e.g. Tribe, CRM, Newbook, Beakon, Medius, MS Office suite, Lifestyle app)
Resident agreements
Community rules
Ingenia Connect
Ingenia HOME principles (Health and Wellbeing, Opportunity for Discovery, Meaningful Connections, Easy Living)
Technical knowledge
Understanding of relevant state/local government legislation e.g. Residential Tenancies, land lease model
Understanding of relevant industry codes of practice
Understanding of local services, health providers and community groups to build resident support networks
Fire and Emergency Evacuation Accreditation
First aid and CPR certificate
Understanding of lifestyle and wellbeing needs of over 55’s

Our expectations

Good leadership at Ingenia looks like this

Customer Obsessed
Know your customer and their needs
Whether it be residents, guests or customers; listen, understand, anticipate and respond in a timely manner – don’t leave people waiting on a response. Remove barriers and keep service flowing.

Be visible and engaged, show up with intent
Show up consistently, participate, and make your contribution visible. Help others succeed and be known for what you stand for. Practice self-awareness.

Communicate with clarity, share context, bigger picture and the 'why'
Give the background, purpose and expected impact when you delegate, ask for help, or hand over work – not just the task itself. Explain the ‘why’ behind decisions and priorities.

Make it Count
Own the basics, be reliable and accountable
Do the fundamentals well (timesheets, approvals, invoices, follow-ups). Respond in a timely way so teams don’t stall, and customers aren’t impacted. For leaders, be the filter – remove blockers and help your team focus on what matters most.

Make thoughtful, courageous decisions
Make well-considered calls and own them. When a tough decision is needed, act with courage while considering impact. Show empathy and respect.

Deliver with quality, take pride in outcomes
Aim for completeness, accuracy and excellence in your work. Review your work before passing it on and fix issues early. Consider other teams in your decision making – don’t act in a silo or cause downstream issues for others.

We Before Me
Be approachable, create a sense of belonging, listen with curiosity
Be a good human – say hello, create a safe space for questions, ideas and honest conversations. Listen with curiosity and assume positive intent.

Connect regularly, stay in step with your team
Be present and engaged in team meetings (camera on, no multitasking), check in with colleagues and your leader, and share updates to keep work connected and useful. Ensure fortnightly 1:1s are purposeful – focused on coaching, wellbeing, development, unblocking issues, and building trust, not just a to-do list.

Foster connection and celebrate wins, shape and protect team culture
Recognise contributions, create team rituals, share feedback, encourage inclusivity, and create energising moments that strengthen belonging and build trust. Step in when behaviours don’t align with our values.

Today & Tomorrow
Get it right at the beginning, legacy of decisions
Invest time in planning with long-term impact in mind. Ensure the right people are connected to collaborate and decide.

Reflect and improve
Run retrospectives, look back on what could be done better and make changes. Share learnings, build simple processes and be ready to adapt. Avoid overcomplicating or reinventing the wheel.

Invest in growth, learn and help others learn
Take and create development opportunities, set meaningful goals, seek feedback and apply learnings. Follow through on performance and development commitments.
Respect work/life boundaries, take leave, encourage breaks and enable flexible ways of working to support sustainable performance.

Do the right thing, speak up
Is this the right choice for our residents, guests, and company? Are we acting responsibly?
Doing the right thing goes beyond following rules, it’s about considering the wellbeing of everyone involved. It means listening to feedback, communicating openly, owning our mistakes, and taking accountability. We prioritise safety, respect, and continuous improvement, fostering trust and integrity in everything we do.

Escalate and manage risk, act early, act responsibly
If you see something that could impact our residents, guests, colleagues, or business, don’t wait – raise it. Escalate concerns or risks promptly to the right people so we can address issues before they grow. Share facts openly, seek advice when unsure, and support others to do the same. By acting early and responsibly, we protect each other and strengthen trust across our company.

Workplace Health, Safety and Environment obligations

Follow Ingenia’s HSE Policy and any reasonable instructions from supervisors about health and safety.
Help identify, assess, and control risks and hazards at work.
Report any accidents, injuries, hazards or corporate/regulatory risks to your manager and the HSE team.

This success profile is intended to describe the general nature and level of work required for this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required.