Director of Agronomy

Take leadership of Northern Michigan's premier resort landscapes. As the Director of Agronomy at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, you will oversee all aspects of outdoor maintenance, championship golf course conditioning, groundskeeping, and fleet maintenance. This critical role ensures our vast property meets the highest standards of quality, safety, and visual appeal expected by our guests, members, and residents. If you are an experienced agronomy professional with a passion for leading high-performing teams, managing complex operations, and upholding top-tier resort standards, we invite you to lead our outdoor operations.

• Lead the golf course and ground maintenance operations, including but not limited to course maintenance, fleet equipment and vehicle repair, management of resort grounds, landscaping, and employee housing property grounds
• Develop, implement, and oversee comprehensive turf and landscape maintenance programs, including mowing, fertilizing, pesticide application, irrigation, and snow removal
• Foster a culture of professionalism, safety, training, and continuous improvement
• Maintain the highest standards of course conditioning and member satisfaction
• Develop, implement, and oversee comprehensive turf and landscape maintenance programs, including mowing, fertilizing, pesticide application, irrigation, and snow removal
• Maintain compliance with all Federal, State, and Local environmental regulations, including pesticide and fertilizer applications
• Supervise and coordinate work with outside contractors for grounds or fleet projects
• Respond to guest and internal requests for grounds maintenance and facility support with professionalism and a sense of urgency
• Analyze and evaluate golf courses and provide effective direction & support ensuring quality course conditions and implementation of best practices.
• Maintain a daily record log for weather, course conditioning, cultural practices, equipment maintenance, fertilizer, and pesticide applications, etc.
• Make daily decisions with sound judgment and that are consistent with the Resort core values.
• Schedule to proper business levels and within budgeted staffing guides.
• Establish and uphold workplace health and safety operating procedures, ensure they adhered to and comply with MIOSHA/OSHA
• Exemplify and model GTRS Core Values in all interactions

• Oversee the departmental SOP for employee injury and accident reporting procedures; ensure employees and managers report timely and additional training is provided, as needed, ensuring unnecessary injuries and/or MIOSHA violations are prevented.

• Communicate with Human Resources on staff needs, opens position requisitions, reviews resumes/applicants daily, conducts interviews and selects candidates based upon required KSA’s of the positions.
• Ensure employees are treated fairly, equitably and consistently; creates a workplace culture of open communication and respect while ensuring employee retention.
• Lead by example. Set the benchmark of performance to the department in the areas of motivation, teamwork, sense of ownership, and dedication to quality of product.
• Hold all team members accountable for their areas of responsibility.
• Identify the developmental needs of others and coaches, mentors, trains and develop others; improving their knowledge or skills.
• Build schedules; maintains appropriate staffing to budget levels, approves time away requests and timecards, ensures direct reports are managing call in , call off and/or tardy documentation SOP timely.
• Supervise team members in accordance with the Resort policies and procedures; including planning, assigning and at times performing activities of team members supervised.
• Administers performance reviews for direct reports and rest of the team as needed, etc.
• Manage the employee progressive discipline procedures for areas of responsibility; hold team accountability for addressing employee behaviors, policy violations, performance expectations and guest experience
• Ensure disciplinary procedures and documentation are completed according to expected process, company policy/procedure including timely handling of coaching and counseling, disciplinary action and/or terminations.
• Model and enforce dress, grooming, and conduct standards as set forth by the Employee Handbook and departmental expectations
• Provide information to executive team members, GM, CFO, managers and supervisors, co-workers, and…