Operations Forester Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior Director of Guest Retreats is a full-time, on-site executive leadership position responsible for directing the strategic vision, growth, operational excellence, and spiritual ministry impact of Forest Home's Guest Retreats teams. Reporting directly to the President/CEO, this role provides operational andleadership oversight to Guest Retreat Hosting, Guest Retreat Event Planning, and Program Reservations departments, with flexibility to assume oversight of additional departments or teams as organizational needs evolve. The Senior Director ensures that all church partners, groups, and guests experience exceptional

hospitality, seamless event planning / booking processes, and transformative ministry experiences that align directly with Forest Home's Mission, Vision, and Core Values.
EXECUTIVE & STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

• Executive Leadership Team: Serve as an active member of the Executive Leadership Team, collaborating with the President/CEO and executive peers on overall ministry strategy, fiscal stewardship, cross-departmental alignment, culture building, and operational growth.
• Strategic Plan Execution: Develop and drive operational roadmaps across assigned departments and teams to accomplish Forest Home's 1-Year, 3-Year, and 10-Year organizational goals, introducing innovative retreat models and operational efficiencies.
• Spiritual Alignment: Maintain alignment with Forest Home's Statement of Faith, actively participating in and leading staff devotions / core-value reminders on regular basis.
• Special Leadership Projects: Lead, facilitate, and execute strategic projects and operational improvements as requested by the President/CEO.
  

DEPARTMENTAL & OPERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Direct Department Oversight: Provide direct leadership, strategic direction, and daily oversight to the Guest Retreat Hosting, Guest Retreat Event Planning, and Program Reservations teams. Adapt leadership scope gracefully as additional departments or teams are assigned.
• Team Leadership & Culture: Recruit, hire, train, coach, and retain highly engaged teams. Build a high-trust, highly accountable operational culture grounded in Level-5 Servant Leadership principles (Jim Collins) and tracked through Gallup Q12 engagement metrics.
• Reservations Optimization: Direct and optimize the Program Reservations team in managing group inquiries and rebooking processes. Create an accountable environment with recorded calls, script training, and CRM tracking for quality assurance.
• Event Hosting & Experience: Train and empower Event Planners and Hosts to build strong relationships with partner churches while maximizing operational efficiency and time management to deliver world-class guest experiences on site.
• Church Partner Advocacy & Relations: Cultivate deep, long-term relationships with key partner churches and retreat leaders. Function as a primary guest advocate, ensuring team operations directly support partner ministry objectives.
• Performance Metrics & Financial Stewardship: Achieve organizational targets for Net Promoter Score (NPS), guest retention, rebooking rates, and staff engagement. Develop, manage, and report on operating budgets across all supervised departments and hire, train, and lead highly engaged teams,ensuring alignment with Forest Home's Mission, Vision, Core Values, and goals.
• Systems Excellence & Reservation Integrity:Oversee and optimize registration systems, reservation platforms, and operational workflows across all programs and guest retreats. Ensure high data integrity, streamlined user experience for guests and partner churches, and maximum workflow efficiency for staff.
  

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• College degree required in relevant field. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 7-10 years of progressive leadership experience in hospitality, camp/conference management, event operations, or major para-church ministry leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• On-Site Requirement: Ability and willingness to work on site at Forest Home, providing visible, accessible leadership to staff, church partners, and retreat guests.
• Spiritual Maturity: Demonstrated mature Christian faith, active local church involvement, signed Statement of Faith, and strong comfort praying with staff, leaders, and guests in person or over the phone.
• Leadership & Administration: Proven success in leading direct-report teams, fostering employee engagement, resolving conflicts with wisdom, managing department budgets, and driving operational excellence.
• Communication Skills: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and one-on-one relational effectiveness.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES This position is responsible for Guest Retreats, Guest Reservations, Guest Dining, Retail and Accommodations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with a disability to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, and requires sufficient hand, arm, and finger dexterity to operate office machines. Requires mild physical work; some lifting, pushing, or pulling of objects over 20 pounds. Requires visual acuity to read words and numbers and speaking and hearing ability sufficient to communicate in person or over the phone.

ADA: The employer will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This job description will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.
WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Work involves moderate exposure to unusual elements such as extreme temperatures, dirt, dust, fumes, smoke, unpleasant odors. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but can be loud at times.
FOREST HOME EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT: Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. All terms and conditions of Forest Home's at-will employment, duties, and responsibilities are subject to the Forest Home Employee Handbook.

FOREST HOME CORE VALUES

Surrender to Christ (Romans 12:1-2)

• Abide with the Lord daily through study of His Word and prayer
• Surrender to the Lord daily through obedience to His Word
• Worship the Lord with the Forest Home Community
• Commit to grow in your faith through regular attendance at a local church
• Prioritize God, Family, and Work appropriately
• Be prepared to share your testimony with staff or guests
• Walk in Biblical purity (1 Timothy 4:12) by rejecting one's sinful nature

Love (I Corinthians 13)

• Display the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22)
• Be respectful to others
• Demonstrate compassion

Serve (Philippians 2:3-11)

• Give generously to God and others through time, talent and treasure
• Seek to put others' needs above your own
• Demonstrate humility in both spirit and deed
• Actively look for ways to serve

Walk in Integrity (Titus 2:11-12, Proverbs 4:23-27)

• Show loyalty to others, even when they are not present
• Do the right thing, even when others are not present
• Extend trust and seek to believe the best in others
• Ask for forgiveness quickly when necessary
• Be truthful and transparent with others

Strive for Excellence (Colossians 3:23-24)

• Demonstrate accountability with time and resources
• Request and receive training
• Desire to improve, and challenge others to do the same
• Commit to exceeding guest expectations
• Refuse mediocrity

Engage in Community (I Thessalonians 5:11-13)

• Seek first to understand before being understood
• Communicate clearly, empathetically and respectfully
• Work through conflict Biblically (Matthew 18-15-17)
• Participate in intentional and purposeful community activities
• Partner with teammates for the goal of unity and team effectiveness
• Play and appreciate "campy" fun
• Faithfully pray for one another

Innovate (Ephesians 3:20-21)

• Dream Big
• Proactively seek solutions
• Think outside the box
• Dream, plan and execute new ideas
• Acknowledge and trust that all things are possible through Jesus Christ our Lord (Matthew 19:26)