The Resort

The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa is made up of nine departments, being Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Front Office, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Activities, Finance, Engineering and Security. Every department's focus is on our guests, they always come first.

Each Department Head reports directly to the General Manager who manages all departments, with a team totalling 150 working at The Rarotongan, with everyone's goal being guest satisfaction.

Immigration

All nationalities (including New Zealanders) other than Cook Islanders require a work permit to work in Rarotonga. If you are successful in your application the resort will apply for a work permit on your behalf.

The general intent of the Immigration policy is to enhance the overall performance of the economy for the benefit of the Cook Islands. This means that a strong preference is given to offering work permits to those that are seen as contributing to the economy and overall society.

It is the preference of the Immigration Department and The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa to recruit applicants with formal qualifications and experience in the positions that they are applying for e.g. technical positions such as chefs, accountants and engineers, as well as those with a strong management and training background. Immigration policy allows all expatriate workers in the Cook Islands to be employed for a maximum of three years. After this time the employee must leave the country. This applies to all expatriate employers with the exception of those married to a local person.

All employment contracts offered are subject to the approval of the Immigration Department. Once an employment contract has been accepted, The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa makes the application for a work permit to the Immigration Department on your behalf. The final decision on whether the employment contract can proceed is made by the Immigration Department. However, to date, we have had only a small percentage of applications for work permits turned down.

Remuneration

Remuneration is based on position, experience and qualifications. A comprehensive remuneration package will be set out in a formal employment contract should discussions reach that stage.

Our remuneration scales tend to be higher than what is generally available in the Cook Islands for equivalent positions. Remuneration for technical, managerial and senior positions tends to be broadly in line with the New Zealand or Australian hospitality industries. However, remuneration for lower level line positions tends to be lower than that for equivalent positions in the New Zealand or Australian hospitality industries.

As wages and salaries are paid in New Zealand dollars and New Zealand pay scales tend to be lower than other metropolitan countries, pay scales are generally lower than those in North America or Europe. Pay scales are definitely lower than recognised hardship postings in Papua New Guinea, the Middle East or the cruise ships.

While we endeavour to maintain a competitive remuneration structure, for those whose primary focus is to make as much money as possible, genuine hardship postings may offer a more attractive option. Over the years, we have found that people coming from such hardship postings to avoid the "hardship" element tend not to adapt well to the Cook Islands environment.

For those who are committed to the hospitality industry and wish to develop their careers within a professional hotel company located in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, our resorts have plenty to offer along with a competitive remuneration package.

Uniform

The Resort uniform is black shorts, trousers or skirt (no shorter than knee length) with black shoes or sandals. It is best to bring these over with you as shopping on the island is limited. Island style (pareu) material is bought directly from the Resort and employees then have shirts made by one of the local dressmakers. The Resort does not launder uniforms. Shoes and sandals are of limited variety, size range and availability in the local shops so you are recommended to bring them with you.

Initial Accommodation Assistance

The Resort does not provide live-in accommodation for staff. We do however provide accommodation in-house with meals for the first 10 days of employment for all our expatriate staff. This is usually enough time to find rental accommodation.

Applications & Recruitment

The process for recruitment is as follows:

To apply for a position at The Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa please forward a detailed CV to human.resources@rarotongan.co.ck

The Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa , Cook Islands Ph: +682 31203 Fax: +682 31202 Email: info@aitutakilagoonresort.co.ck