Assistant Manager at The Gold Leash – Naperville, Illinois

Department: Operations

Reports To: General Manager

Overview:

The Assistant Manager at The Gold Leash plays a key leadership role in ensuring smooth operations, fostering a positive environment for pets, clients, and staff, and upholding company standards. This position requires exceptional organizational, communication, and management skills to support daily operations and long-term goals.

Location: Naperville
Now Hiring Due to Internal Restructuring & Team Expansion

The Gold Leash Pet Hotel & Daycare is growing, and we are restructuring our leadership matrix to better support our team, our customers, and our continued expansion. As part of this restructure, we are adding an additional Assistant Manager to our leadership team.

This role is ideal for someone who is confident working on the floor with the dogs, but also skilled in people leadership, communication, and day-to-day operations. You will work alongside the General Manager and current Assistant Manager to share responsibilities, develop staff, and ensure smooth facility operations.

• Support daily operations including daycare, boarding, feeding, sanitation, and safety
• Lead and coach team members during shifts; reinforce standards and procedures
• Assist with scheduling, customer communication, and front desk operations
• Participate in onboarding, training, and staff development
• Support playgroup management and ensure all dogs are supervised safely
• Handle customer check-ins, tours, and professional front-of-house communication
• Assist with incident reporting, welfare checks, and operational documentation

• Growing company with internal promotion opportunities
• 20% employee discount on all services
• Free 10-day daycare package every quarter
• Weekly bonus opportunity
• 3rd party insurance with great discounts with BCBS

• We are strengthening our management structure to better support staff and operations
• The Assistant Manager team will rotate responsibilities for balanced leadership coverage
• This is an added role — not replacing anyone — to support our ongoing expansion

• Enjoys teamwork and shared leadership, not “solo management”
• Wants to grow within the company long-term
• Able to balance being hands-on with dogs and leading people
• Thrives in a structured, organized, pet-focused environment

• Previous leadership or supervisory experience preferred in pet care, veterinary, hospitality, or retail
• Comfortable working hands-on with dogs of all breeds, sizes, and temperaments
• Confident delegating, coaching, and giving feedback
• Strong multitasking, communication, and time-management skills
• Able to stay calm, professional, and solutions-focused in a fast-paced setting
• Knowledge of pet-care software (MoeGo, Gingr, PetExec) is a plus
• Weekend and holiday availability required