Essex County Country Club
West Orange, NJ
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ABOUT ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB
ABOUT ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB
Founded in May 1887, Essex County Country Club is the oldest club in the state of New Jersey and the sixth oldest in the country. The original charter established the club "for the encouragement of athletic exercises and sports." An original member of the Metropolitan Golf Association and New Jersey State Golf Association, ECCC was also one of the 25 founding clubs of the USGA. The highly-acclaimed golf course is a composite of golden age of golf designers Tillinghast, Raynor and Banks and is consistently rated as one of the Met area's best.
Despite being known for its long and challenging golf course, ECCC has always been committed to "promoting a diverse family membership with activities for all ages." The ECCC pool, new Har-Tru tennis courts and full golf practice facilities provide great resources to members and their families. We host one of the finest children's Summer Sports Camps and Junior Golf programs in the state. The active house schedule includes Family Barbecues, Pool Parties and Dinner Dances for all to enjoy.
HISTORY and GOLF at ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB
HISTORY and GOLF at ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB
Essex County Country Club, established in 1887, is New Jersey's oldest country club and is the sixth oldest in the country. Originally established as a hunt club in the Hutton Park section of West Orange NJ, ECCC introduced golf in 1898. The history of the golf course is a composite of the greatest names of the golden age of golf design. The club moved to the current site in 1917 and AW Tillinghast designed the "first course on the mountain." The success of his effort at ECCC is widely noted as a springboard for his career. The course was redesigned in 1928 by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. The new course retained 7 Tillinghast holes and boasts "the best back nine in the state of NJ."
The club, and its forerunner, has a long and distinguished list of members. The club counts a former US Sect'y of State, a former US Sect'y of the Navy, two former US Senators and three former NJ State Governors as well as many luminaries of business and the arts. ECCC's founding members include familiar names like Colgate, Merck, Chubb and Pfizer. ECCC's most famous member was Thomas Edison who was a member of ECCC from 1889 until his death in 1931.
The club has had visits from three US Presidents (Wilson, T. Roosevelt and Taft), sports stars such as Babe Ruth, screen legends like Bob Hope and famous golfers such as Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead.
What’s interesting about the layout is that the original design was overhauled by rival Seth Raynor and his partner Charles Banks in 1925 shortly before Raynor’s passing. The pair retained Tillinghast’s six opening holes, as well as his 9th, but tweaked a number of greens and bunkers and arranged the brilliant back nine.
Banks and Raynor favored the template holes of their mentor, Charles Blair MacDonald, and Essex County Country Club boasts a number of them: Redan, Maiden, Double Plateau, Eden, Punchbowl and Alps. The 14th hole also features another Raynor special: a Lions’s Mouth bunker.
Thanks to the sensitive restoration work by Gil Hanse and consultant George Bahto during the early part of the 2000’s, gone are many of the internal trees and shrinking fairway edges, and back are the bold green shapes and sizes, and much of the strategic fairway bunkering.
ECCC’s role in the area began as one of the founding clubs of the MGA and NJSGA as well as one of the original 25 members of the USGA. It has been host to numerous NJ State Opens and Amateurs and many MGA events.
ECCC was recently named one of the 10 best in NJ by Golf Digest, Links Magazine, Top 100 golf.com, and Golf Magazine. Today, ECCC is considered a premier golf community that is focused on providing an exceptional golfing experience for every skill level. The club prides itself in offering an intimate environment complete with activities that bring members, family and friends together to have a great time and enjoy great food and spirits. ECCC is a club that is driven to continuously improve our offerings and to create a memorable experience each and every visit.
LONG RANGE STRATEGIC PLANNING
LONG RANGE STRATEGIC PLANNING
One of the most exciting parts of this position is the club's committment to a long range vision. The successful General Manager will help define and shape the legacy of this storied club through the creation, adaptation, and implementation of a long term strategic plan that includes additional work on the couse by Gil Hanse
ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB - By the Numbers
ESSEX COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB - By the Numbers
GENERAL FACILITY INFORMATION MEMBERSHIP
Facility Type - Private 300 Golfing members with additional
Ownership - Member-Owned/ Equity dining and house members
FINANCIAL GOLF OPERATIONS
FY2023 Budget - $8 million Number of holes: 18 Holes
Current Initiation Fee - $40,000 ` Annual rounds: 22,000, Since 2020
Annual Dues - $17,000 Number of annual golf outings: 10-15
POSITION SUMMARY
Essex County Country Club is seeking an established, dynamic, energetic, innovative, and visible General Manager to enhance our current Member Experience. ECCC has a great history, vision, culture, and long-range capital improvement plan and needs an experienced General Manager to help guide the membership into the future. The right candidate will deliver an exceptional golf and social environment that provides all members and their guests with memorable experiences.
Qualified candidates will thrive in a hospitality environment focused on member engagement, staff leadership, and innovative programming designed to enhance the fun, family, and friendly nature of ECCC. The position will manage all aspects of the club including activities and relationships between the club and its Board of Governors, members, guests, employees, vendors, community, government, and industry.
The successful candidate will report to the Club President and Board of Governors. The position is a newly created position that will oversee an outstanding team of department heads including the Head Golf Professional, the Golf Course Superintendent, the Executive Chef, the Clubhouse Manager, and the Controller.
Keys to Successful Performance
Keys to Successful Performance
The General Manager is a visible, high energy and dynamic leader. All club department heads report to the GM. The role will oversee flawless execution of club activities, ensuring the highest standards for service. Responsibilities include:
Staff and club management
Upholds a standard for effective management, maintaining a high level of ethics, prudence, creativity and productivity, while demonstrating a concern for the supervision and development of the staff.
Maintains a comprehensive knowledge of operational procedures and principles used throughout the club and ensures they are applied consistently.
Responsible for interviewing, hiring, training and evaluating performance of the staff, addressing complaints and resolving problems.
Develops, maintains and administers a sound organizational plan and iall evntes nitiates improvements as needed.
Ensures all Human Resources procedures and policies are followed by management staff.
Finance and operations
Prepares a financial plan for the club and monitors long- and short-term objectives.
Prepares and monitors annual budget, revenue goals and expenses. Generates various (weekly, monthly, etc.) business volume forecasts, monitors reports regularly and takes effective corrective action when necessary and ensures that all events are meeting financial expectations
Leadership
Demonstrates regular, reliable, and visible attendance at Club functions, meetings and events; holds accountability for all club activities to both internal and external stakeholders.
Oversees all programs, services and events to ensure that objectives are met, acting as an innovative visionary to enhance club activities.
Establishes a spirit and culture of high standards for all facilities, services and communications.
Ensures the highest standards for food and beverage products and service on property.
Implements policies and procedures for multiple departments, including compliance of all company standards relating to the quality of products and services.
Maintains membership with the PGA and/or CMAA and other professional associations.
Attends workshops and meetings to keep abreast of current information and developments.
Follows all Club Bylaws, policies and procedures.
GOVERNING BOARD PARTNERSHIP
The GM is a strategic thought-partner to the Governing Board in achieving the club’s mission and vision. Positioned between the Board and the department heads, this role will seamlessly act as a liaison and integrate decision making aligned with club goals. Specifically,
The GM is a partner with the Governing Board in achieving the club's mission and discusses issues confronting the club with the Governing Board. S/he also assists the Governing Board in developing a format for assessing the progress of the club and reviews any issues of concern with the Governing Board.
The GM keeps the Governing Board apprised of the organizational climate, identifying problems either actual or anticipated, communicates with the Directors, and offers consultative assistance as well as shared responsibility with the Governing Board for the club's organizational development and organizational change programs.
The GM helps the Board to arrive at a consensus about important matters by providing pertinent information and interacts with the Board to investigate more efficient operating procedures and new club activities.
The GM apprises the Governing Board of trends, changing circumstances and unexpected occurrences that could call for innovation or adaptation of the strategic plan.
The GM has knowledge of key situations or problems facing the club. S/he monitors all activities in progress to achieve the Board's objectives and provides feedback to the Governing Board on the progress being made.
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS
Bachelor’s degree (BA) from four-year college or university with a hospitality degree is preferred; and five years’ experience at a member owned private club as a GM or Assistant GM; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Ideally, the GM will have a high level of personal integrity, strong golf knowledge, approach the role with honesty and straightforwardness, a level of professionalism, drive and a take-charge, problem solving attitude, while being an innovative change agent and team player.
Other Qualifications:
Proven history of strong financial performance and business acumen
Extensive food and beverage experience overseeing a high-volume bar, dining and catering operations
Experience managing department heads in various golf course functions preferably leading long tenured staff
Successful track record of leading and directing employees including recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training and development
Demonstrated organizational, communication, interpersonal and leadership skills
The ability to apply an entrepreneurial approach to marketing and technology that has enhanced past clubs through innovation
Experience with capital/facilities renovation projects preferred
Member of Professional organization(s) with enhanced education preferred (CCM, PGA Executive Management)
Commitment to ECCC; the club is looking for a visionary leader with a minimum tenure of 7-10 years
Willing and able to build a membership focused, premier club
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
The club will provide a competitive compensation, performance bonus and benefits package commensurate with experience and qualifications. This includes but not limited to:
Competitive base salary plus performance bonus based on personal and club metrics
Full benefits package (medical, dental, vision, and life insurance)
401k plan with company match
Paid time off in accordance with company policy
Golf Privileges and the opportunity to learn the game
Meals provided along with a Clothing, Cell Phone and Vehicle Allowance
Interested candidates with specific compensation questions can contact the Career Services team.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
All applications MUST be submitted through the PGA of America's Career Services Department as described below.
Resume deadline is Monday, February 6th, 2023
Combine your cover letter, resume, references, and any supporting documents into one (1) PDF document with the following file naming convention: Last Name, First Name, Essex County Country Club
Please address all correspondence to - Mr. Scot Pasquale | Committee Chair
Jonathan Gold, PGA is the lead Consultant for this opportunity. For additional information and questions, please contact him directly.
The employer does not wish to be contacted at this time.
To serve as the most trusted professional resource for employers seeking experts to lead an organization in the golf and hospitality industry, and support their future success by serving as lifelong partners.
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