Nordic Center Manager

Paul Smith's College•Paul Smiths, NY

About The Position

Paul Smith’s College seeks a hands-on Nordic Center Manager to lead and support the continued operation, growth, and integration of the College’s Nordic Center at its Visitor Interpretive Center/Outdoor Center (VIC/Outdoor Center). The Center serves as a regional destination, event venue, community recreation resource, student-learning environment, and earned-revenue operation. The Manager will help increase year-round visibility and use through Nordic programming, races and events, public and partner engagement, passes, participation growth, and a consistently high-quality visitor experience. Working collaboratively with the VIC Director, Trails & Facilities Manager, and other College partners, the Manager will align daily operations, winter readiness, programming, facility use, and strategic improvements with the College’s goals for student experience, enrollment, community relationships, and sustainable earned revenue. Depending on the successful candidate’s experience and strengths, the position may guide, independently oversee, or collaboratively execute additional operations such as winter grooming, trail construction and maintenance, race operations, youth programming, revenue-development initiatives, and long-range planning.

Requirements

Experience in outdoor recreation, event management, hospitality, community programming, destination development, customer service, Nordic skiing, or a related field.
Demonstrated ability to help develop and deliver events, programs, services, partnerships, or customer experiences.
Strong planning, communication, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to supervise and mentor student employees, seasonal staff, volunteers, or crews.
Ability to work collaboratively across campus and with external partners.
Ability to work outdoors in variable winter conditions and early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and variable hours as needed.
Strong computer and administrative skills, including proficiency with email, spreadsheets, scheduling, and digital recordkeeping.
Ability to use or quickly learn point-of-sale, rental/reservation, equipment-inventory, trail-condition, and College operational systems.
Ability to safely navigate icy, snow-covered, and steep trails on foot.
Ability to lift and move equipment weighing up to 50 pounds.
Ability to operate or learn to operate outdoor winter utility vehicles, including snowmobiles and tracked UTVs.
Physical endurance to respond quickly to situations in deep snow.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing a Nordic center, winter recreation venue, trail system, outdoor-recreation enterprise, event operation, or comparable public-facing operation.
Experience with pass or membership programs, registration, earned-revenue services, marketing, sponsorships, tourism partnerships, Nordic events, or cross-country skiing competition.
Experience with or strong knowledge of Nordic grooming, snowmobile operation, grooming equipment, trail maintenance, or winter trail operations.

Responsibilities

Support the Nordic Center’s development as a welcoming, high-quality regional destination for students, teams, visitors, and community members.
Identify, pursue, plan, promote, and support races, training opportunities, clinics, youth programs, community events, group outings, and other activities that increase use of the Center.
Build public programming, including learn-to-ski opportunities, skills clinics, youth and school programs, camps, guided outings, and community races.
Build and maintain relationships with Nordic clubs, race directors, coaches, schools, collegiate programs, tourism partners, outdoor-recreation organizations, businesses, and community groups.
Contribute to visitation and earned-revenue growth through passes, programs, events, facility use, partnerships, sponsorships, and other approved offerings.
Coordinate day-to-day Nordic Center operations, including public access, trail and course readiness, user communications, event and program scheduling, safety procedures, and service standards.
Work with the VIC Director, Trails & Facilities Manager, Athletics, and other College partners to balance athlete and team needs, public access, programming, events, equipment, and venue priorities.
Identify and recommend trail, course, facility, equipment, signage, and visitor-service improvements that support reliability, accessibility, event readiness, and a positive visitor experience.
Recruit, train, schedule, supervise, and mentor student employees, seasonal staff, and volunteers supporting events, programs, visitor services, and operations.
Serve as Manager on Duty and perform other duties as needed or assigned by the Director.
Depending on experience and strengths, guide, oversee, or collaboratively execute winter grooming schedules, trail-condition updates, grooming-equipment operation, and equipment maintenance.
Assist with and supervise staff and students working on sustainable trail construction and maintenance.
Advance race recruitment and operations, including regional, high school, collegiate, and club relationships and competition-specific course planning.
Expand clinics, camps, youth programming, school partnerships, and inclusive community recreation.
Support pass sales, rentals, retail, sponsorships, marketing, tourism partnerships, social media, customer experience, and revenue-development initiatives.
Contribute to long-range planning for trails, courses, facilities, amenities, capital improvements, and the Center’s continued development as a winter destination.