Yacht Manager – Pompano Beach, Florida

US Work Authorisation Essential

An established international yacht management company is seeking an experienced Yacht Manager to join its growing team in Palm Beach, Florida.

This is a senior, client-facing role with responsibility for the operational, commercial and financial management of a portfolio of large yachts. The successful candidate will act as the primary point of contact for Owners, their representatives and Captains, ensuring each yacht is operated safely, efficiently and in accordance with the highest professional standards.

The position would suit an experienced Captain, Chief Engineer or established Yacht Manager looking to bring significant operational knowledge ashore within a highly regarded yacht-management environment.

The Role

You will take ownership of the relationship between the management company, each yacht and its Owner or representative, providing guidance and support across all aspects of yacht operations.

Responsibilities will include:

• Acting as the principal point of contact for Owners and Owner representatives across an assigned portfolio of yachts
• Supporting and advising Captains to ensure safe, reliable and commercially effective yacht operations
• Maintaining strong relationships with Captains, senior crew and wider management teams
• Coordinating with corporate service providers, fiscal agents, insurers and specialist advisers
• Overseeing the commercial, operational and administrative requirements of each yacht
• Monitoring yacht expenditure against agreed budgets and approving expenditure as appropriate
• Reviewing significant expenditure to ensure appropriate value and commercial control
• Ensuring sufficient funds are maintained to meet anticipated operational liabilities
• Reviewing financial reporting and providing appropriate narrative and explanation to Owners
• Preparing regular operational reports covering yacht performance, projects and key developments
• Working closely with charter, brokerage and other internal teams where required
• Supporting refits, maintenance periods, technical projects and other significant operational activity
• Identifying and managing operational risks and ensuring appropriate escalation where necessary

Wider Responsibilities

As a senior member of the yacht-management team, you will also:

• Participate in the company’s Emergency Response Team, including periods of 24/7 duty cover
• Represent the organisation at boat shows, industry events and client meetings
• Contribute to the strategic development of yacht-management services
• Identify opportunities to develop existing client relationships and introduce additional services
• Support business-development activity where appropriate
• Travel internationally at short notice when required

About You

You will already have significant experience within large yacht operations or yacht management and be comfortable working directly with Owners, Captains and senior industry professionals.

You will ideally hold one of the following, or an equivalent senior marine qualification:

• Master Unlimited CoC
• Chief Engineer Unlimited CoC
• Master Yachts CoC together with significant command experience
• Chief Engineer Y1 with substantial Chief Engineer experience
• A degree-level or equivalent professional qualification in a marine discipline combined with significant shipping or yachting experience

Previous demonstrable experience in large yacht management is essential.

Qualifications such as ISM Lead Auditor, Designated Person Ashore (DPA) or Company Security Officer (CSO) would be advantageous.

Personal Profile

You will be:

• A confident and highly effective communicator
• Tactful and diplomatic when dealing with Owners, Captains and senior stakeholders
• Commercially aware with strong financial judgement
• Calm and solutions-focused when dealing with operational problems
• Highly organised and capable of managing several yachts and competing priorities simultaneously
• Comfortable supervising and developing junior yacht-management personnel
• Confident using modern business, yacht-management and cloud-based systems
• Collaborative and comfortable working within a wider professional team
• Fluent in spoken and written English; additional languages would be advantageous
• Flexible and willing to travel internationally at short notice

And, importantly, you should possess the personality and sense of humour required to thrive in an industry where no two days are quite the same.