Description

The Director of Conference Center Operations (DCCO) is a hotel GM-type role responsible for all aspects of the following conference center operations: Food Service (dining room, outlets, catering, and breaks), Guest Spaces (housekeeping, custodial, laundry), Guest Services (reservations, front desk), and Audiovisual/Conference Services (sound/video/lights team, conference space setups). The DCCO’s scope of responsibility is broad, and this individual will significantly impact guest experience. The DCCO is a highly influential, key leader and will serve as a member of Ridgecrest’s executive leadership team, helping set organizational direction and ensure organizational health.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve on Ridgecrest’s executive leadership team, helping develop and implement strategic initiatives
• Oversight of all operational aspects in Food Service, Guest Spaces, Guest Services, and Audiovisual/Conference Services
• Develop and execute annual budget
• Establish, implement, and ensure consistent achievement of guest experience standards within targeted cost parameters
• Hire, lead, develop, and support high-capacity operational leaders
• Collaborate with internal and external customers
• Consistently exemplify Ridgecrest’s core values: Serve One, Cultivate Relationships, Create Purposeful Experiences, Make It Better
• Lead in alignment with Ridgecrest’s Leadership Values and Behaviors
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Committed, growing follower of Christ
• Personal affirmation of Ridgecrest’s Statement of Faith
• Passionate about Ridgecrest’s mission: Impacting lives for God’s glory through purposeful hospitality!
• Trustworthy
• Humble
• Confident
• Culture-contributing leadership
• Calm during challenging situations, rarely overwhelmed
• Strategic thinking
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Results-oriented without micromanaging 
• Ability to effectively influence and cooperate with others both with and without positional authority to enhance guest experience
• Appropriate balance of (a) concurrent oversight of multiple operational areas and (b) understanding when deeper involvement in details and processes is merited.
• Valid driver’s license

Education, Work Experience, and Other Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business, or a related field
• Master’s degree (hospitality management or business administration) is preferred.
• Senior level management in hospitality (5 years minimum)
• Experience in high volume hospitality settings is preferred (Ridgecrest has 500 guestrooms, hosts 65,000 guests annually, and serves three meals/day for 1,500 guests during certain events)
• Customer relations skills - Advanced
• Leadership skills - Advanced
• Managerial skills - Advanced
• Administration/Organizational skills – Advanced
• Financial acumen – Advanced
• Proficiency in MS Word, Outlook, Excel, and hospitality PMS (SMS|Host by Springer-Miller is preferred)

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Must possess the necessary physical stamina for walking/standing/working for extended periods (up to 10 hours)
• Ability to lift 30 pounds repetitively
• Work will include amounts of bending, stretching, kneeling, twisting, climbing, and lifting
• Some evening and weekend work required (dependent on operational needs)
• Extended periods of sitting, working on a computer, and viewing screens

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

 Additional Context for Candidates

• Accommodation types: hotel (deluxe and standard), dorms
• # of Rooms: 550
• Guest capacity (# of pillows): 2,200
• Annual guest load: 65,000
• Annual room nights: 55,000
• Statement of Faith
• ridgecrestconferencecenter.com
• Food service operations include a dining room (capacity: ~1,000), coffee shop, and ice cream/burger shop, as well as providing catered meals and breaks in other meeting spaces.