General Manager - AETHOS Ericeira

About Aethos Ericeira

Perched on a clifftop within a protected nature reserve on Portugal's Silver Coast, Aethos Ericeira is a 50-room lifestyle and wellness retreat overlooking some of the world's most celebrated surf breaks. Part of Aethos — Europe's fastest-growing lifestyle hospitality brand — the property reflects a deep respect for its natural setting: a heated saltwater pool, hammam-style spa, panoramic sauna and ice bath, a fully equipped gym, yoga, and Onda, our seafood-driven restaurant celebrating the Silver Coast's culinary heritage.

We're seeking a General Manager to lead Aethos Ericeira into its next phase — someone energized by building culture and community, comfortable wearing multiple hats in a boutique environment, and genuinely excited by the intersection of hospitality, wellness, design, and sustainability. This is a visible, on-the-floor leadership role. Portuguese fluency is essential — the GM will be the face of the property locally.

Key Responsibilities

Guest Experience & Brand Spirit

• Champion the Aethos ethos of relaxed, unpretentious luxury
• Personally connect with guests across the wellness, surf, and design-conscious traveler mix that defines Aethos's community
• Uphold the property's sustainability commitments as a lived practice
• Protect the design integrity of the property in partnership with ownership and the original design team

Team Leadership

• Lead and maintain an inclusive work environment for the team, fostering an open and respectful culture
• Guide, motivate, and align the team around a clear, shared vision for the property's future
• Lead visibly and informally on the floor; be a coach and mentor, not a distant executive
• Identify and develop internal talent who can grow with the property
• Foster bilingual (Portuguese/English) team communication and a strong local hiring pipeline

Financial & Operational Management

• Own the P&L, budgeting, forecasting, and revenue strategy (RevPAR, ADR, occupancy)
• Oversee F&B, spa, wellness programming, Experiences and the full operations together with the HODs
• Manage supplier relationships in line with the property's sustainability standards
• Report to stakeholders and ownership on financial performance and property direction

Community & Local Relationships

• Represent the hotel within the Ericeira community — stakeholders, suppliers and partners
• Liaise with Portuguese regulatory bodies and local government as needed
• Build relationships across the broader Aethos portfolio to share best practices

Sales, Marketing & Reputation

• Support the Aethos brand's positioning as a design-led, wellness-focused lifestyle leader
• Maintain strong relationships with trade partners (Smith Hotels, Michelin Guide, luxury travel advisors)
• Monitor guest sentiment thoughtfully across platforms while staying true to brand tone

Requirements

Experience & Education

• Degree in Hospitality Management, Business, or related field
• 3-5+ years progressive hospitality experience, ideally as Assistant GM, Hotel Manager or Operational-, Duty manager role in boutique, lifestyle, or wellness-focused properties
• Experience in a design-led or wellness/lifestyle brand strongly preferred
• Experience with small-key-count properties (under 75 rooms) preferred

Language & Communication

• Fluent Portuguese required (native or professional fluency)
• Fluent English required
• Additional languages (Spanish, French) a plus

Skills & Competencies

• Entrepreneurial mindset — comfortable in a fast-scaling, less bureaucratic brand environment
• Strategic and growth-oriented, with a genuine drive to elevate a property's experience and market position over time, not just maintain the status quo
• Creative eye for guest experience — naturally generates ideas for how a stay could feel more special, memorable, or worth paying more for
• Strong financial acumen paired with commercial instinct — understands how experience quality connects to rate and revenue performance
• Comfortable building a case for change and personally driving it through, rather than waiting for direction
• Calm, solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving
• PMS systems proficiency (Opera, Mews, or similar)
• Solid, practical understanding of Rooms, F&B and wellness, with a genuine commitment to embedding them into daily operations rather than treating them as marketing points
• Commercially minded and revenue-focused, able to balance profitability with guest experience and team wellbeing
• Local sensitivity paired with global sensibility — deeply connected to the Ericeira community while comfortable engaging a diverse, international clientele

Personal Attributes

• High energy, hands-on, and ambitious - sees this as a property with real room to grow, and is motivated by that opportunity
• Restless in a good way: always looking for the next improvement, partnership, or idea rather than settling into routine
• Genuinely curious about wellness, gastronomy, local culture, sustainability, and design, and how these translate into guest value
• Open to candidates of any gender; we welcome applications from all qualified candidates
• Comfortable living locally or in the Ericeira area
• Flexible schedule including evenings, weekends, and holidays
• Strong alignment with Aethos's conscious-travel, community-minded philosophy
• Genuine care for the wellbeing of the team, not just guests — creating an environment where staff feel supported and inspired to deliver their best
• Committed to preserving the local environment and natural setting as part of day-to-day decision-making, not as a separate initiative

What We Offer

• Competitive salary + performance-based bonus
• Health Insurance benefits, paid leave
• Career growth within a fast-scaling international lifestyle hospitality group, including future opportunities as Aethos expands its Portuguese portfolio (Lisbon 2027 and beyond)
• The chance to genuinely shape the next chapter of one of Portugal's most distinctive design-led properties

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