Director of Membership | The Rainier Club

The Rainier Club is Seattle’s premier private social club serving as a welcoming third place for Rainier Club members and guests to entertain, build relationships, and experience hospitality at its finest. For over 136 years, The Rainer Club has been the place to meet fascinating, civic-minded people united in bettering our city, region, and beyond.
Team Members at The Rainier Club are driven individuals who value teamwork. Together, the Club is committed to enriching the lives of its membership by building lasting relationships and crafting exceptional experiences and having a lot of fun along the way. We value community, integrity, humility, stewardship, service, and personal growth.
Reporting to the General Manager, The Director of membership is responsible for the overall growth, development and administration of the Membership Department. The Director of Membership provides leadership in the execution of marketing and communication to ensure effective matriculation of candidates into new members. They manage a small team, work directly with volunteer members of The Rainier Club daily, and own the responsibility to grow the Club’s membership with the support of the Club’s Membership Committee. They are responsible for the overall financial performance of the membership department.

The Perks:

• Monthly Commission and Yearly Incentive Eligible
• Participation in Club wide year end holiday fund program
• Paid Time Off (Because Balance Matters)
• 401K Match (Free Money)
• Values Based Culture (Our RC Way)
• Benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability Coverage and Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Team Member Outings
• Diverse Work Group

What you’ll do:

• Prepares annual strategic membership growth plan and revenue budget. Aligns with General Manager, and Marketing/Communications Department for overall Membership Growth Strategic Plan.
• Responds to inbound leads in a timely manner and subsequent touches with the potential member through the sales process.
• Reports weekly achievements for prospecting, inquiries, activities, and industry events.
• Ensures the accurate production of monthly closing reports, monthly executive reports as needed.
• Monitors growth progress and submits monthly documentation for incentive payouts.
• Meets and exceeds expectations for assigned membership growth revenue targets.
• Maintains and conducts industry research to be able to project future business volume and trends.
• Develop and maintain membership retention strategies.
• Maintains relationships and is an active member within the community, including but not limited to networking events, member functions, monthly Chamber of Commerce meetings, and trade association meetings.
• Conduct Clubhouse tours and collaborates with the Operations team to ensure a WOW offering customized site tour experiences when applicable.
• Maintains communication with peers by attending weekly membership department meetings.
• Implements and supports all initiatives and programs as requested by management.
• Maintains department standards and implements systems, including continued platform management.
• Generate definite sales plans to achieve departmental revenue goals and objectives.
• Nurture relationships with existing members to ensure their happiness and willingness to recommend friends and colleagues for membership; build trust and confidence with members.
• Identify and enroll new members into The Rainier Club.
• Create and implement effective, targeted membership initiatives and promotional campaigns.
• Collaborate with Communications team to identify external marketing initiatives to garner attention of potential new members.
• Effectively manage Membership Department team members.
• Work directly with member-led Membership Committee to prepare reports, strategize and participate in monthly meetings.
• Enforce house rules and membership policies.
• Demonstrate a history of community/civic involvement; attend external networking events to increase visibility of The Rainier Club.
• May require additional job functions as needed based on the business needs of the club and team as requested by the General Manager.

The Nitty Gritty:

• Four-year college degree preferred and four years of related experience in Private Club or hospitality service industry, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Strong sales skills required.
• Proven track record of sales and membership performance in private club memberships.
• Proficient in computer software including Microsoft Word, Excel and CRM.
• Solid time management, organization, and prioritization skills; ability to work independently.
• Excellent customer service orientation and focus on customer satisfaction required.
• Strong leadership and people skills, plus the ability to build and foster a team environment.
• Ability to effectively work with the Club membership and external customers, some of whom will require high levels of patience, tact and diplomacy.
• Ability to manage and protect highly-sensitive, confidential information.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• A strong understanding and appreciation for personalized service.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to multi-task and manage workload effectively and in a timely manner.
• Self-starter and self-motivated; strong work ethic.
• Ability to collaborate with various internal departments.
• Knowledge/familiarity with private club culture and hospitality industry required.

Job Tasks/Duties:

• Maintains the club’s database (membership register) of members’ files.
• Develops and ensures that established procedures for processing prospective members’ applications are consistently followed.
• Plans and implements strategies to meet club membership goals.
• Ensure the proper processing of all requests for and transfers of membership.
• Assists prospective members in fulfilling application requirements.
• Conducts tours for prospective members.
• Conducts orientation program for new members.
• Holds prospective member functions.
• Calls and requests active members to make personal referrals and to assist with recruitment efforts.
• Processes member resignations; develops reports and undertakes special projects as applicable if membership retention problems arise.
• Determines markets to be canvassed for qualified individuals and completes and maintains perpetual member invitee roster.
• Assesses the need for and makes recommendations regarding membership classifications to help ensure that the needs of ever-changing markets are met.
• Personally meets each club member and instills confidence that the club is operated in the best interests of the membership.
• Serves on applicable club committees to assure members’ interests are consistently addressed.
• Follows-up on marketing efforts, member referrals, leads from staff, catering contracts, newspaper articles, lists, publications, etc.
• Organizes production of membership kits for sales calls, “blitzes” and direct mail activities.
• Researches the need for ongoing sales promotions regarding demographics, market segmentation data, etc.
• Provides sales and other applicable training for staff members.
• Tracks the success and overall performance of all membership activities.
• Maintains a file of club history information.
• Coordinates all club public relations efforts, members’ newsletters, news and media events, use of social media, and club promotional materials.
• Attends management and staff meetings.
• Effectively responds to member comments in accordance with club standards, policies and rules; uses ideas, feedback and suggestions to continuously improve the services provided to members.
• Develops and adheres to a departmental budget; after approval, monitors and takes corrective action as necessary to help assure that budget goals are attained.
• Recruits, trains, supervises, schedules and evaluates subordinates according to established club procedures.
• Work with the membership coordinator to initiate proper administration of their memberships; ensures that applications are completely and properly filled out, that initiation fees are collected and that new members understand the privileges and costs of becoming a member.
• Provides notices and agenda for and invites and maintains minutes of the club’s membership committee.
• Maintains club’s member bulletin boards.
• Serves as manager on duty as scheduled.
• Works with the Food and Beverage Department as needed to coordinate special member events.
• Oversees the administration of all membership rules and regulations to ensure consistency in interpretation and application; updates club rules and regulations and keeps members informed of changes.
• Responsible for all correspondence to members regarding rules infractions.
• Manages suspension list and handles communication with dissatisfied members.
• Responsible for transfer of club equity memberships through interaction with sales agents, attorneys and title companies on behalf of buyers and sellers.
• Responsible for maintaining confidentiality of all member information.
• Is present during club operating hours and events to assist in meeting and greeting members and guests including some holidays and weekends as needed.
• Completes other appropriate assignments made by the General Manager.

The individual selected for the role of Membership Director will be employed by the Rainier Club and will have no affiliation with Columbia Hospitality; who is serving as a third-party agent; managing the search on behalf of the Rainier Club.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At Columbia Hospitality we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles.

The Fine Print:

Columbia Hospitality, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive environment without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. We strive for excellence in every position within the company and select the most qualified people who embrace our service philosophy and these values.

Accountability | Creativity | Enthusiasm | Honesty | Inclusion | Respect

Columbia Hospitality is a national management and consulting company with more than 25 years of experience in creating hospitality solutions and delivering exceptional experiences. Our portfolio includes award-winning hotels and resorts, premier residential communities, restaurants and bars, private and public golf clubs, conference centers, and distinctive venues. Columbia Hospitality has been consistently recognized as one of the Top Companies to Work for in Washington by Seattle Business Magazine and Puget Sound Business Journal for their commitment to creating a fun, dynamic and nurturing work environment for team members.