COO & General Manager in Bellaire, Michigan at Shanty Creek Ski and Golf Resort LLC

SHANTY CREEK RESORTS MISSION

Shanty Creek Resort is committed to providing our guests with a unique Northern Michigan vacation experience. Our friendly, caring staff welcomes guests with exceptional service and genuine hospitality. We believe that honest, long-lasting relationships with our guests, employees, neighbors, and surrounding environment allow us to grow and strengthen our business.

Department: Administration:

Location: Village of Bellaire, Antrim County, Michigan (“Up North”) Shanty Creek Resort is a Four-Season Ski and Golf Resort encompassed within four villages over 2,000 acres: Lakeview/Summit, Schuss Mountain, Cedar River, and Hawks Eye.

Job Title: Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) / General Manager Reports To: Ownership

Supervises: Senior Leadership Team and, through department leaders, all Shanty Creek Resort employees (140 to 360 seasonal employee count)

Position Type: Full-Time, Year-Round FLSA Status: Exempt

Salary: commensurate with experience, with performance based bonus structure.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Chief Operating Officer/General Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, operational performance, financial health, and strategic execution of Shanty Creek Resorts, with full P&L accountability for the resort enterprise.

Reporting directly to Ownership, this position provides executive leadership across Shanty Creek Resorts' four-season operations, including lodging, ski and snow operations, golf, food and beverage, events, facilities, and related resort businesses, and ensures that departments operate in alignment with established business objectives, financial expectations, guest-service standards, and organizational values.

The COO/General Manager works through the Senior Leadership Team (“SLT”) and department leaders to establish priorities, develop and execute operating plans, manage financial performance, support leaders, maintain effective organizational systems, manage risk, and promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, service, and continuous improvement. Working within strategic direction and budgets approved by Ownership, the COO/General Manager is expected to exercise appropriate independent operating authority and timely decision-making.

This position serves as the primary representative of Shanty Creek Resorts to employees, guests, property owners, community partners, vendors, industry organizations, and other key stakeholders.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership:

• Partner with Ownership to establish short- and long-term business objectives, strategic priorities, operating plans, organizational goals, and measurable financial and operating targets.
• Translate Ownership's strategic direction into clear operational priorities and measurable objectives for the Executive Leadership Team.
• Evaluate business conditions, operational performance, guest trends, market conditions, and organizational needs and recommend changes when appropriate.
• Lead implementation of major organizational initiatives, projects, policies, and operating strategies.
• Provide executive leadership for major capital projects and resort reinvestment initiatives, including prioritization, budgeting, scheduling, disruption management, and coordination with Ownership, department leaders, contractors, consultants, and other outside professionals.
• Maintain a forward-looking approach to resort operations, identifying opportunities for growth, efficiency, service improvement, and long-term sustainability.

Operational Leadership:

• Provide executive oversight of resort operations across all properties, departments, and business units.
• Establish expectations for effective, consistent, and efficient operations throughout the organization.
• Ensure operating policies, procedures, and organizational standards are effectively communicated and implemented.
• Collaborate with executive and department leaders to identify operational challenges and develop practical solutions.
• Promote coordination and communication between departments to improve efficiency and the guest and employee experience.
• This is an active operating leadership role requiring regular engagement across the resort, particularly during peak periods and significant operating conditions. Therefore, it is critical that the COO/GM maintains a visible, hands-on presence throughout resort operations and remain knowledgeable about conditions affecting employees, guests, facilities, and business performance.
• Ensure appropriate leadership coverage and operational preparedness during peak periods, special events, severe weather, emergencies, and other significant operating conditions.

Financial Management:

• Lead the development of annual operating budgets, capital budgets, financial objectives, cash-flow expectations, and business plans in partnership with Ownership and financial leadership.
• Assume full P&L responsibility for resort operations and establish expectations for revenue generation, expense management, labor productivity, EBITDA, cash flow, profitability, and responsible use of organizational resources.
• Regularly review financial statements, forecasts, departmental performance, labor costs, EBITDA, cash flow, operating results, and other key performance indicators, and ensure leaders understand and act upon material variances. These range from weekly forecasts to monthly statements to quarterly financial reports, and pursuant to audit requirements.
• Work with executive and department leaders to address financial variances and implement corrective strategies when necessary.
• Ensure departmental operating and capital expenditures remain aligned with approved budgets and organizational priorities.
• Evaluate financial performance and communicate meaningful trends, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions to Ownership and executive leadership.

Executive and Organizational Leadership:

• Lead, support, coach, and hold accountable members of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Establish clear responsibilities, authority, accountability, goals, and performance expectations for direct reports.
• Conduct weekly Senior Leadership Team meetings focused on operations, financial performance, staffing, guest experience, safety, strategic priorities, and organizational needs.
• Evaluate executive leadership performance based on established goals, organizational expectations, policy compliance, leadership effectiveness, and contribution to resort objectives.
• Promote consistent leadership practices and decision-making throughout the organization.
• Lead succession planning, leadership development, employee engagement, retention, and organizational continuity, with particular emphasis on developing the next generation of resort leadership and preserving institutional knowledge through leadership transitions.
• Foster a workplace culture in which employees are treated professionally, understand expectations, feel valued for their contributions, and recognize their role in the success of the resort.
• Partner with Human Resources and department leadership to ensure employment practices, employee relations, accountability, and workplace standards are consistently administered.

Guest Experience:

• Champion Shanty Creek Resorts' commitment to exceptional guest service and the unique Northern Michigan experience.
• Establish expectations for guest service and ensure department leaders maintain appropriate service standards.
• Monitor guest feedback, service trends, and operational concerns and ensure significant issues are appropriately addressed in a timely manner.
• Maintain visibility and accessibility to guests during appropriate resort operations and events.
• Ensure operational and financial decisions and consider their impact on the overall guest experience and long-term reputation of the resort.

Risk Management, Safety, and Compliance:

• Ensure appropriate risk-management practices are established and supported throughout resort operations.
• Promote a strong organizational commitment to employee and guest safety.
• Partner with appropriate resort leaders to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, licensing requirements, internal policies, and industry standards.
• Ensure significant safety, compliance, legal, financial, employee-relations, and operational risks are identified and appropriately addressed.
• Support emergency preparedness, incident response, business continuity, and crisis-management planning.

Stakeholder and Community Relations:

• Serve as a senior representative and public face of Shanty Creek Resorts.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with resort property owners, homeowner and condominium associations, community leaders, local and regional government entities, vendors, suppliers, business partners, and industry organizations. Experience with navigating complex property-owner, HOA/condominium, and community relationships is highly valued.
• Represent the organization professionally in community, business, governmental, and hospitality-industry settings.
• Maintain constructive relationships with major customers, business partners, and other stakeholders whose relationships materially affect resort operations and reputation.
  
  

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in a complex resort, hospitality, recreation, or comparable multi-business operating environment.
• Demonstrated P&L responsibility and strong financial literacy, including budgeting, forecasting, labor management, EBITDA, cash flow, and capital planning.
• Proven ability to lead, develop, and hold accountable a multi-disciplinary executive and departmental leadership team.
• Experience planning and executing significant capital projects and reinvestment programs while maintaining ongoing operations.
• Experience with one or more major resort disciplines - lodging, ski operations, golf, food and beverage, events, or facilities - with broad four-season resort experience strongly preferred.
• Strong communication, judgment, relationship-management, and organizational skills, including the ability to work effectively with engaged Ownership and diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• A leadership style that combines accountability, operational discipline, visibility, collaboration, and genuine respect for employees and guests.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Shanty Creek Ski and Golf Resort offers an experienced, entrepreneurial resort executive the opportunity to lead a well-established Northern Michigan four-season destination through its next chapter of growth, reinvestment, and operational improvement. The successful candidate will work in close partnership with an engaged Ownership group while having the authority and accountability to lead day-to-day resort operations and develop a strong, sustainable leadership organization.