Weekend Support

ABOUT THE ROLE

Working under pressure. Working with tools and customers. Outdoors in the elements all day. No micro-management. A huge impact on the business. If that excites you rather than scares you, keep reading.

The commitment is simple: 16 hours every second weekend — roughly 8 hours each Saturday and Sunday (7am start 3pm finish), every second week, for the 6-month contract. The alternate weekends are yours.

Our guests are out on the water all weekend, and when something stops working — an outboard, a water pump, a fridge — they're counting on one person to show up and sort it out. That's you. There's no supervisor looking over your shoulder: you take the call, decide the approach, load the tender, and go. You're trusted to run your weekend the way it needs to be run.

Be clear about what this is: there's no workshop. Your workbench is the back deck of a houseboat, the bottom of a tender, or a marina pontoon — in the sun, the wind, and sometimes the rain, all day. It's physical work, too. Some days that means lifting winches or batteries; every day it means climbing stairs, getting down along the hull, and stepping between a moving service boat and a houseboat. You'll need genuine agility, balance, and fitness — this is a job your body does as much as your hands.

This is a rare role for someone who's as good with people as they are with a toolbox. One hand on the spanner, the other reassuring a nervous first-time skipper — often at the same time.

And the impact is real. Here's what we've learned in 34 years: whether guests come back has less to do with whether something went wrong, and more to do with how well we looked after them when it did. A breakdown handled with fast, friendly, well-communicated support often creates a more loyal customer than a trouble-free trip. The experience guests have with this person often determines whether they return — few roles in the business carry more weight per hour worked.

A houseboat is a house and a boat in one, and this role is the maintenance of both, combined with customer support. One callout might be plumbing, the next an outboard, the next a skipper who just needs reassurance. You'll be mobile and working alone on a boat on the Broadwater — diagnosing problems on the spot, with the parts and tools you brought, in front of the guest — supporting guests mid-charter across 50km of Broadwater in the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Take guest support calls and talk first-time boaters through problems calmly and patiently

- Keep guests informed — clear, timely communication about when you'll arrive and what happens next is as important as the fix itself

- Head out by tender, alone, to assist guests on the water when a phone fix isn't enough

- Troubleshoot and repair everything a house and a boat can throw at you — outboards, generators, plumbing, 12V electrical, appliances, anchoring gear

- Work outdoors all day, in whatever weather the Broadwater serves up — no workshop, everything happens on the water or the dock

- Handle physically demanding jobs at times — lifting winches and batteries, moving up and down stairs and hulls, transferring between the service boat and houseboats on the water

- Make the judgement calls yourself — prioritise jobs, plan your route, decide fix-now vs flag-for-the-weekday-team

- Check vessels for damage and report issues for the weekday maintenance team

- Log every job: issue, fix, time, parts, and location

- General fleet upkeep around the marina between callouts

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

- The ability to stay calm and solve problems under pressure, on your own, with a guest watching

- Equal comfort with tools and with people — hands-on fixing ability and genuine customer warmth in the same person

- Physical fitness, agility, and good balance — comfortable lifting heavy items like winches and batteries, climbing stairs, working along the hull, and stepping between boats on the water

- A love of working outdoors — sun, wind, and rain are part of the deal, all day, every shift

- Self-direction — you don't need someone telling you what to do next, and you take ownership of the outcome

- Genuine care for the customer's experience — you understand that how you handle a problem matters more than the problem itself

- A current boat licence (RMDL) and confidence handling a tender in open water solo

- Broad hands-on fixing ability across household and marine systems — marine, automotive, handyman, or trade background welcome

- Reliability — guests on the water are counting on you

- Availability for the full Saturday and Sunday (16 hours total) every second weekend, for the full 6-month term

DON'T TICK EVERY BOX?

Apply anyway. We know there aren't a lot of people who tick all of them — and you don't need to be a qualified tradesperson in any of the technical areas. The work isn't complicated, and our experienced team will train you and back you up with telephone support whenever you need it. What matters most is your desire to fill the role and your willingness and ability to learn. Bring that, and we can teach you the rest.

WHAT WE OFFER

- A genuine part-time commitment — 16 hours a fortnight, with every other weekend free

- Training from our experienced team, plus telephone backup whenever you need it — you're alone on the water, but never on your own

- Full autonomy — no micro-management, your weekend is yours to run

- A role where your work directly shapes whether guests come back

- Real variety — no two callouts are the same

- Your office is the Gold Coast Broadwater — no walls, no roof, no fluorescent lights

- A small, tight-knit team that's been doing this for 34 years

- Available during the week and looking for more work? two additional days of work doing houseboat briefings and labour at a lower rate (every Friday and Monday)