Chester Valley Golf Club
Malvern, Pennsylvania
General Manager
ABOUT CHESTER VALLEY GOLF CLUB
MALVERN, PENNSYLVANIA
Approaching its centennial year, the history of Chester Valley Golf Club (CVGC) dates back to 1923. CVGC was originally owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The original course, first called Pennsylvania Golf Club (PGC), opened in 1923 and was located in Delaware County. Efforts to relocate to the present site in Malvern, PA began just a few years later. To fund construction for the new course, the Railroad Company sold parcels of the land to individual railroad workers for $300 per acre. The PGC incorporated the new land and started construction on the course in 1928. It is not entirely clear which architect originally laid out the golf course. Some evidence points to Donald Ross, but Geoffrey Cornish and Ron Whitten , in The Architects of Golf, attribute the layout to Perry Maxwell. In any event, there was nothing predictable about the original design. For instance, no two consecutive holes proceeded in the same direction, which made the shifting breezes a battle. Significant changes in elevation meant golfers were faced with numerous hilly lies. Since the fairways were narrow, bunkering was confined mostly to the greens, which tended to be small and relatively simple. The club persevered even as the Great Depression was being felt everywhere; in 1931, the PGC even held a tournament to benefit unemployed residents of Chester County. Then, in 1948, the Railroad Company sold the club to the existing members, who renamed it CVGC.
The next milestone for CVGC was the 1968 re-routing of the golf course. George Fazio was hired to redesign the layout. The only original (1928) holes are numbers 2, 3 and 4 and the number 9 green. The original Clubhouse was a converted barn, more than a hundred years old, when the club opened in 1930 and was destroyed by fire in 1950. Today’s stunning, 24,000-square-foot Clubhouse was built in 1994 with large windows overlooking the course and pond.
From 1985 to 1997, CVGC was selected to host a tournament event for the Senior PGA Tour (now called PGA Tour Champions). The players viewed the course as a favorite stop, providing one of the toughest tests on the Tour. In fact, year to year, its 6th hole was ranked in the Top Five most difficult holes. World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino called Chester Valley a “hidden jewel” of Philadelphia golf.
Additional improvements to the golf course were completed in 2009. All 18 greens and fairways were redone with bent grass; eight greens were rebuilt, and the tee boxes were refurbished. The putting green and short game practice facility were also rebuilt and improved.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The General Manager (GM) will have responsibility for all day-to-day operations of Chester Valley Golf Club. He/she will direct and administer all aspects of the operations including amenities, staff, and all programs and activities to ensure outstanding service and member and guest satisfaction.
He/she is responsible for the financial and operational stability of the Club and other internal and external activities. Duties include working with the Board of Governors in setting and revising the Club’s strategic plan, tracking progress in implementing strategic directives, managing staff, and focusing on maintaining quality facilities, safety, services, and programs throughout all social and recreational offerings year-round.
The General Manager must possess a keen financial and technology/system acumen with the ability to maintain the Club’s strong operating performance, along with balancing strategic capital investments into its amenities, programming, and services. Innovation and creativity with a “continuous‐improvement management” philosophy is a desired cornerstone for the Club’s operation and a critical success factor for the future. Making thoughtful strategic recommendations to the Board of Governors related to operational and capital areas of investment (or divestment) grounded in data and industry trends is a key function of this position. The successful candidate will possess a sincere passion for excellence and a dedication to providing an exceptional and natural welcoming environment for its members, families, and guests, along with possessing a true appreciation for golf.
The General Manager at Chester Valley Golf Club is genuinely the Ambassador of the Club. He or she must embody the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, and diplomacy and be a highly active, engaged, and visible presence with both members and staff. He or she will be "the leader" who takes ownership of the operation and be a highly visible and engaged manager.
FACILITY INFORMATION
GENERAL FACILITY INFORMATION
Facility Type - Private Ownership - Member-Owned/ Equity
Employees (in season): Full-time: 175 Year-round: 85
GOLF OPERATIONS
Number of holes: 18 - Holes
Total annual rounds played: 25,000
Number of annual tournaments for members: 70-85
Number of annual corporate/charity golf outings: 8-10
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Main Grill Room
Ballroom
19th Hole (indoor/outdoor seating)
Pavilion (seasonal - outside pool bar/grille area)
Total number of annual banquets/social functions: 75-100
(50 or more people)
SPORTS FACILITIES
6 tennis courts: 2 har-tru, 4 hard courts, as well as 2 racquetball courts, 2 heated paddle courts and a paddle warming hut which provides a more complete and year-round racquet experience.
Swimming - Number of Pools: 2
BY THE NUMBERS
565 Members of which 370 are golfing members
18 - Hole Championship Golf Course
Approximately 25,000 rounds of golf played annually
Gross Dollar Volume: $7 M
Annual Food & Beverage Revenue: $2.3 M
ESSENTIAL / BASIC JOB FUNCTIONS
Outgoing service-oriented personality with strong leadership skills and effective mentoring ability; someone who clearly leads by example and compels others to do so as well.
Ability to build an exceptional food and beverage experience by systematically orienting and training the team to consistently achieve high standards of service.
Being an excellent communicator who can effectively engage with staff, board, members, and the community at large.
A Change Agent. The ideal candidate will take initiative, build consensus, and drive necessary strategic changes to ensure Chester Valley Golf Club remains a relevant and vibrant community of members into the 21st Century.
Ability to drive and embrace change, both culturally and environmentally.
Ability to anticipate the needs of the membership and smoothly transition operations using his/her management skills to reach and maintain a superior and consistent level of service while meeting members’ expectations.
Ability to set goals and execute them successfully, as well as being able to initiate change, bring the department heads together, and increase the service level at the club.
Financial and business acumen with the ability to set and work within a budget while effectively maximizing revenues. Must have effective financial management skills through oversight and development of annual operating and capital budgets. Must report on Chester Valley Golf Club’s financial performance benchmarked against the Club’s strategic objectives, as well as regional/national club industry targets.
Sincere and consistent member and staff engagement. Being highly visible, interactive, and engaging, and knowing how to balance administrative functions with key engagement opportunities.
Must have the knowledge and ability to work with, and manage staff across all departments including clubhouse, golf, course maintenance, swimming/diving, tennis, junior activities, and fitness.
The ability to lead, recruit and retain talented, engaged, and motivated department heads and staff, empowering the labor force as merited and ensuring employees respond with agility to changed strategic directives.
KNOWLEDGE SKILLS & TRAITS
A Team Builder. A person who embodies the persona of ultimate coach and motivator, bringing out the best in others by setting clear goals and expectations, providing consistent feedback and support, and treating others with respect and professionalism.
A confident, diplomatic, respectful, and competent professional who is a take-charge person and who recognizes the importance of accountability. A creative problem solver who commands respect through professional interactions and integrity.
Passion for the role, with a positive, thoughtful demeanor conducive to a fun, personalized member, and staff-centric environment.
A strong leader, who has shown and demonstrated the ability to coach, mentor, develop and advance members of the Chester Valley Golf Club team.
Possessive of strong organizational skills and an obsession with details necessary to achieve high levels of quality, satisfaction, and outstanding member experiences and high levels of staff satisfaction and member engagement.
Must have good verbal and written communication skills.
A minimum of 5-7 years of progressive leadership/management experience with multi-dimensional operations, or leading hospitality operations outside of the club industry in a similar hospitality operation.
A Bachelor’s Degree from a four-year university or college is highly desirable, preferably in Hospitality Management.
From the club industry, Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation is desired, but not required. If without such designation, a commitment to ongoing and lifelong learning and robust networking capabilities is critical. If outside of the traditional CMAA background, having verifiable professional development that provides confidence in one’s ability to lead one of the top clubs in the country.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS OVERVIEW
The club will provide competitive compensation, holiday bonus, performance bonus, and benefits package commensurate with experience and qualifications
This includes but is not limited to:
Competitive base salary
Full benefits package (medical, dental, vision, and life insurance)
Club 401k plan offered after first year of employment
Paid time off
Golf Privileges and the opportunity to learn the game
Meals provided
Clothing Allowance
Cell Phone Allowance
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
All applications MUST be submitted through the PGA of America's Career Services Department as described below.
Resume deadline is December 12th, 2022
Combine your cover letter, resume, references, and any supporting documents into one (1) PDF document with the following file naming convention: Chester Valley Golf Club I General Manager
Please address all correspondence to - Mr. Richard Godshall, Search Committee Chair
Caleb Blodgett, PGA is the lead Career Consultant for this opportunity. For additional information and questions, please contact him directly.
Email:cblodgett@pgahq.com
The employer does not wish to be contacted at this time
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