Director of Operations
Mountain Brook Club
Birmingham, AL
The Club
Mountain Brook Club is located in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama in the town of the same name. The organizing committee, who established the club in 1929, included some of Birmingham’s most distinguished residents.
The Clubhouse, built in 1929, is fashioned in a Colonial Revival style designed to resemble a stately country house. This beautiful, decorated building serves as the gathering place for members and their guests to enjoy multiple dining options, a comfortable lounge, and enhance outdoor dining and special events often held in the grand ballroom. The Clubhouse was recently renovated in 2022 with a 20-million-dollar capital project.
The centerpiece of Mountain Brook is the 18-hole golf course. Originally designed by Donald Ross, it was later renovated by both George Cobb and John LaFoy, and more recently by Brian Silva who brought it back to its original design.
Mountain Brook also offers a large tennis facility featuring ten immaculately maintained HydroCourt clay playing surfaces along with one hard court. The Club is currently in the processes of building four world class pickle ball courts in 2023. In addition, the Club also offers a 14,000 square foot fitness facility complete with a weight room, areas for group classes, massage, childcare and locker rooms. The pool complex includes the pool locker rooms and snack bar. The Clubhouse consists of the administrative offices, kitchen, member dining areas, lounge, locker rooms and banquet facilities.
Mountain Brook Club Overview
- Members: 852
- Initiation fee: $80,000
- Annual dues: $9,480
- Gross volume: $12.10M
- Annual dues revenue: $6.92M
- F&B volume: $3.1M
- Gross payroll: $6.77M
- Employees: 200
- Board members: 26
- Active Executive Committee Members: 5
- Average Member age: 59
The Director of Club Operations Position
The Director of Club Operations (DOCO) is ultimately responsible for daily operations throughout the clubhouse, including all food & beverage, fitness, aquatics and facilities. This daily responsibility also includes general housekeeping over each of these areas and representing the General Manager in his/her absence.
The DOCO must enhance the “club culture” by taking a hands-on approach to engaging members, guests and staff, building relationships and goodwill every day. He/she shall provide anticipatory hospitality along with superb dining and other food and beverage experiences for the Club’s membership and their guests. As the “public face” of operations, the DOCO must have a deep understanding of the needs and desires of the members and ensure staff are meeting these expectations.
This managerial position works closely with, and reports to, the General Manager and provides quality leadership and contributes to the positive atmosphere of the Club and associated operations. The relationship with the Executive Chef is very important to this position to ensure collaborative, innovative, and harmonious relationships between front- and back-of-the-house operations. The DOCO also works closely with, and serves as an ad-hoc member, of all club committees.
Primary Responsibilities
Member Services:
- Consistent, sincere and significant engagement with members. A highly visible presence in the dining areas of the Club is of utmost Importance.
- Ensure all member dining and club events are well-conceived and executed along with all amenities.
- Provide quality leadership in a positive and upbeat manner for the members, guests and staff.
- Create and maintain a first-class service culture throughout the Club.
- Address and resolve all member and guest complaints and suggestions related to general service, employee attitude, maintenance and clubhouse operations.
Employee Relations:
- Oversee recruiting, hiring and development of clubhouse and recreational amenity personnel.
- Provide oversight of on-going training programs complete with up-to-date manuals designed to provide the tenets of delivering exceptional service throughout the Club.
- Coach, counsel and evaluate (subject to budget approval) subordinate managers and supervisors to prepare them for advancement.
- Instill the concept of being “team players” among staff to develop a positive spirit and healthy work environment free of safety risks and all forms of employee harassment.
- Maintain an effective communication program that treats employees in a fair, structured and consistent manner.
- Function as an administrative and communication link between departments in the Club.
- Guarantee that all clubhouse employees are regularly trained and certified in areas that help guard the safety and well-being of members, guests and other employees including, but not limited to responsible alcohol service, safe food handling, etc.
- Help to facilitate a team environment with morale, high ethical standards and efficient use of resources to ensure a healthy work environment, free of safety risks and any form of harassment, that will position Mountain Brook Club as a preferred employer in the community.
Financial Management:
- Assist the General Manager and Controller in the development and implementation of long-range (strategic) and annual (business) plans, operating reports, forecasts and budgets.
- Monitor the budgets each week/month and direct the taking of corrective action as necessary to assure that the budgeted goals are attained.
- Provide input to all clubhouse and recreation personnel regarding annual budgets, capital spending plans, fiscal controls and operational guidelines.
- Responsible for all labor cost payouts and maintains them within the constraints of the budget and through close coordination, and with approval, from the General Manager and Controller.
- Monitor payroll records to control overtime and maintain labor costs within budgetary guidelines.
Personnel Management:
- Display very hands-on approach and lead staff by example; must be approachable by staff, members and guests.
- Works with Human Resources to develop long term staffing needs for each area of responsibility.
- Responsible for the hiring, discipline, termination and documentation of all clubhouse and recreation staff.
- Review all accidents; work with HR and Safety Committees to complete required reports. Develop and implement procedures to improve workplace safety.
- Attend meetings of senior management and carry out directives resulting from the meetings as well as any other requests of the General Manager in a timely manner.
- Serve as an ad-hoc member of appropriate club committees.
- Possess a warm personality, sense of humor and ability to work effectively with all staff and members.
- Work with Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager to develop P&L statements prior to each event, prepare and retain recap of each event for future reference.
- Work with Executive Chef on menu development.
- Work with the F&B Manager to organize and market special club events with the support of appropriate member committee.
- Further his/her own continued development as a club management professional with membership in Club Management Association of America (CMAA). With the assistance and approval of the General Manager, participates in appropriate seminars/training programs, thereby enhancing his/her value and quality of services to Mountain Brook Club.
Operational Responsibilities:
- Understand and abide by Mountain Brook Club policies and departmental procedures. Suggest changes and, if required, direct the implementation of change.
- Provide content for, and manage, the preparation of communications and marketing materials for departments.
- Assure clubhouse operations and recreational amenities are run in accordance with all applicable local, state and federal laws.
- Research new products/services/vendors and develop an analysis of their costs/benefits.
- Ensure the club’s preventive maintenance and energy management programs are on schedule and in use.
- Disseminate information effectively and coordinate activities between departments on a timely basis.
- Keep the General Manager apprised of all potential problems and activities related to the smooth operation of the clubhouse and recreation amenities.
- Oversee inventory management throughout departments and complete a periodic china, glass and silver inventory to maintain par levels.
- Possess a sharp eye for detail in the overall management of the operation.
- Regularly reporting performance, financial data and any other requested information to the General Manager in a weekly report.
Direct Reports:
- Food and Beverage Manager
- Dining Services Manager
- Social and Events Director
- Director of Facilities and Common Grounds
- Aquatic Manager
- Housekeeping
Candidate Qualifications:
- Experienced in the design and implementation of training programs that ensure a consistently, high-quality member and guest experience.
- The ability to think analytically, make data-driven decisions, analyze member survey responses and develop a plan of action for programming.
- Possess a passion to lead with strong food and beverage credentials and a proven track record of providing premier-level hospitality services, with a personality that is commensurately appropriate for Mountain Brook Club culture.
- Operational leadership with the ability to establish priorities and manage his/her time to complete all responsibilities of the role.
- A verifiable track record of successfully leading and growing a dynamic food and beverage program, recreational programs and clubhouse operations including increasing revenues, controlling costs, and meeting or exceeding planned and budgeted bottom line goals and objectives.
- Ability to build relationships and find workable solutions for all involved parties.
- An in-depth knowledge of wine, beer, and spirits.
- A well-rounded knowledge of multi-dimensional à la carte dining services, training, and service standards as well as strong and verifiable skills in developing and growing catering sales and banquets.
- A highly motivated individual who is confident in his or her abilities, yet humble in personality; a person who can share the credit with their staff for achievements made as well as take responsibility when standards are not met.
- A positive attitude with a high degree of integrity, a strong work ethic that can handle a fast paced, high energy environment and clientele.
- Exhibits a continuous desire to improve with a track record of developing strong and upwardly successful associates and direct reports.
- Understands golf, fitness, aquatics and court sports and is knowledgeable of the traditions of the games.
- A confident, proactive team builder who has a history of attracting, developing and retaining high performance staff.
- An intuitive style resulting in a sincere and visibly engaged presence with members, guests, and staff; a truly engaging “people person”.
- Has a fundamental understanding of what constitutes a “premier club experience” and the proven ability to execute to that level.
- A professional career track record of operational achievement and stability with experience in a high volume, highly respected club, resort or hotel.
- Proven leadership qualities with demonstrated ability to direct, coordinate and manage all facets of a club operation.
- Must possess Point of Sale experience, Jonas preferred.
- Must have excellent technology skills, including extensive use of Microsoft Office programs.
- Financial acumen to understand club financials and manage budgets.
- Quality consciousness that pervades every part of the clubhouse operation, including a high-quality, courteous and efficient staff.
- Sound and current knowledge of human resources practices, including wage and hour laws, employment and discharge, equal opportunity employment, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the full range of employee benefits.
- Strong verbal and written communications skills. Comfortable speaking in front of a wide variety of groups including staff and board committees. Communication with members, guests and high visibility are very important attributes of the incoming Director of Club Operations.
- A minimum of 5- to 7-years of progressive leadership and management experience in a private club environment.
- A Bachelor’s degree or Associates degree from an accredited college or university preferred.
- Certified Club Manager (CCM) or in active pursuit of designation preferred.
Salary & Benefits
Salary is open and commensurate with qualifications and experience. The Club offers an excellent bonus and benefit package.
Inquiries
IMPORTANT: Interested candidates should submit resumes along with a detailed cover letter which addresses the qualifications and describes your alignment/experience with the prescribed position by Friday, March 3, 2023.
Those documents must be saved and emailed in Word or PDF format (save as “Last Name, First Name, Mountain Brook Cover Letter” and “Last Name, First Name, Mountain Brook Resume”) respectively to: execsearchus@ggapartners.com. Please e-mail resume with references.
For more information about Mountain Brook Club, please visit www.mountainbrookclub.org.
