Job description

Definition: 

The position of a Club Secretary needs defining. On the face of it, the role is commensurate with that of a Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer in a small-to-medium-sized commercial business; it is similar also to the role of a General Manager within a boutique hotel offering up-market food and beverage. At the same time, the role requires a Club Secretary to have a combination of social and “clubbable” skills that are every bit as important as purely commercial attributes. 

Key responsibilities: 

• Full responsibility of day-to-day operations. To deliver a monthly surplus and ensure that the necessary funds and cash flow are available for operations and planned activities, while maintaining the traditional environment and ethos of the Club, thereby ensuring membership happiness.
• Devising, developing and delivering on the strategic plan that differentiates the Club’s offering and fully utilises its facilities and resources.
• Reassess and create a management team, structure and culture that can effectively deliver consistently higher levels of diverse service.
• Delivering on the commercial strategy by creating alternative sources of revenue and expansion of facilities, enhancing the sustainable future of the Club. 

Organisation strategy:

• Quality & Service - By combining traditional and contemporary offerings, provide the best quality and service of private members’ clubs globally with a focus on constant improvement of standards, service and relevance. 
• Relevance - Providing the diverse membership with a choice of offerings in events and catering while maintaining a value for money, family orientation. 
• ‘Clubbable’ Membership - Developing membership that is exclusive, yet not elitist, attracting a younger and socially harmonious community that remains loyal to the ethos of the guiding principles of the Club. 
• Viability & Sustainability - Ensuring financial returns through the maintenance of affordable subscriptions and entrance fees, efficient management of P&L as well as surpluses, while creating alternative sources of revenue from property, expansion of facilities, endowments, gifts and bequests. 

The role: 

The Club Secretary is responsible for developing and presenting the Club’s strategic direction to the Main Committee, working together with subcommittees, as well as leading and planning the execution to deliver the required results. 

He/she will direct the management of the organisation in line with agreed strategies, ensuring that all resources are optimally utilised to maximise financial performance, members’ satisfaction, and staff development.

This is a strategic senior executive position and the holder will be innovative and self-motivated with demonstrable leadership skills and experience. The Club Secretary reports to the Chairman of Committees. The current management team reporting to the Club Secretary comprises the Executive Chef, Executive Housekeeper, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accountant, Personnel Manager, and Maintenance Manager. The Secretary will have the liberty and responsibility to build a team that delivers Club objectives. 

The Club Secretary’s key focus areas include: 

• Effectively executing on the business plan to ensure medium- and long-term growth. 
• Maintaining budgetary discipline - delivery of operational budgets for all products and services. 
• Overseeing the efficient production of quality products/services and their utilisation. 
• Maintaining high levels of satisfaction among Members and morale among staff. 
• Ensuring an appropriate sense of security and duty of care at all times within the Club premises. 
• Putting forward sensible proposals for innovative ways to encourage the Membership to use Club facilities and thereby increase revenue for the Club. 
• Devise and deliver “Membership Services” defined (separately from usage) as a product output. This will be measured as a KPI. 

Principal accountabilities: 

• Strategy and planning - Prepare and obtain approval from the Main Committee for long-term strategic plans (including investment and strategic capital improvements) as well as annual business plans and budgets, to meet specific targets for revenue, profit, and satisfaction of the Members of the club. 
• Operations - Assume total operational and commercial responsibility for the Club’s resources to execute a realistic business plan as agreed with the Main Committee. Have overall responsibility for all the Club’s physical and financial resources including capital plant, vehicles, and office equipment, and for company-wide budgets, authorizing expenditure at company level in accordance with signing powers and authority limits established by the Main Committee. Pursue proactive and innovative opportunities for improvement and or growth of Membership usage through internal restructuring and product development, creating awareness of the Club's facilities nationally and internationally through the network of reciprocating clubs. Maintain records of membership to enable the Secretary’s office to efficiently administer the needs of Members and reciprocating clubs. 
• Quality - Maintain and enhance the quality of products, care for Members, and service delivery. Institute and maintain regular surveys of Membership to test satisfaction with products and delivery of products and services. 
• Leadership and People - Directly supervise all departmental heads and departmental meetings, overseeing staff appraisals, performance monitoring, and career development for all staff. Initiate regular discussions on staff policy matters with senior management and the Main Committee to build, coach, and mentor a strong management team to drive the business and prepare for succession. Provide opportunities for staff development and growth to enhance morale and retain highly productive staff. Instil a philosophy of continuous improvement throughout the Club’s operations and activities. Develop a teamwork-based spirit of co-operation amongst the staff. 
• Internal and external relations - Recommend to and seek agreement from the Main Committee for changes to the committee systems that might enable greater managerial flexibility and allow Non-Executive Directors to become less involved in the day-to-day management of the Club. Hold high level negotiations on a regular basis with bankers, auditors, tax advisors, and suppliers and review and revise procurement processes where necessary. Attend regular meetings with industry-related organisations representing the Club. Be alert to risks and errors that might jeopardise the reputation of the Club and take steps to mitigate them. In addition to material management, investment decisions, people management, etc considerable tact, sensitivity, and diplomacy are essential to maintain the image and integrity of the Club among its Membership and to protect the Club’s reputation throughout a wider community in Kenya and abroad. 

Year one critical success factors: 

• Ensure constant improvement in service quality and consistency of standards. 
• Create a differentiated brand strategy for Pinks restaurant and Main Dining. 
• Devise a plan for change to deliver increased usage of the Main Clubhouse. 
• Increase room accommodation occupancy 
• Ensure staging of appropriate and sufficient events 
• Evaluate the performance of all staff, review manning levels, and propose a staff structure that is fit for purpose and led by a motivated and cohesive management team. 

Leadership required: 

• Strategic vision - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Align execution - Planning and prioritizing work to meet commitments aligned with Club objectives. 
• Cultivate innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organisation to be successful. 
• Situational adaptability - Adapting approach and demeanour in real-time to match the shifting demands of different situations. 
• Navigate networks - Building effective, formal, and informal relationships inside and outside the organisation.