A private club membership director owns new member sales, from first inquiry to signed application, plus the reporting that shows the board how sales are going. A good job description says that plainly, sets measurable goals, and makes clear what the role does not own. Below is a copy-ready template you can adapt, followed by notes on how to customize it.
Rather not write a posting at all? Capstone Hospitality can run the search for you, or provide a Capstone director while you hire. See where to find a membership director for how the options compare.
What makes a membership director job description work?
Most postings for this role read like a list of chores. The candidates you want are salespeople, and salespeople look for three things:
- Clear targets. What does success look like in year one?
- Real support. Is there a CRM, a marketing budget, and a GM who backs the sales process?
- A focused role. Will they spend their time selling, or covering events and front desk shifts?
The template below is built around those three things.
The template
Copy everything from the role title down to the application line, then replace each item in brackets.
Membership Director, [Club Name]
About the club
[Club Name] is a [golf and country / yacht / city / social] club in [City, State] with [number] members across [list categories]. [One sentence on what makes the club distinct.]
The role
The Membership Director leads new member sales for the club. You own the pipeline from first inquiry to signed application, and you report results to the General Manager and the Membership Committee every week.
What you will do
- Respond to every membership inquiry within [one business day].
- Prospect for new members through member referrals, community partnerships, local businesses, and events.
- Give tours that show the club the way members experience it.
- Follow up on every lead until it closes or is no longer interested.
- Present membership categories, fees, and dues clearly and accurately.
- Manage the full pipeline in the club's CRM, with every call, tour, and sale recorded.
- Onboard new members in their first 90 days so they use the club early and stay.
- Track resignations and retention, and flag at-risk members to the GM.
- Report weekly to the GM and Membership Committee on leads, tours, conversion, and sales by category.
- Work with the marketing team on campaigns, landing pages, and events that bring in qualified prospects.
Year-one goals
- [Number] new members across [categories].
- [Number] tours per month.
- Tour-to-sale conversion of [percent].
- Lead response within [time] for every inquiry.
What this role does not own
[List anything that stays with other staff, such as event planning, member communications, or front desk coverage.]
What we are looking for
- [Number]+ years in membership sales, hospitality sales, or another high-ticket sales role. Private club experience is a plus.
- A track record you can describe in numbers: tours, conversion, and sales per year.
- Comfort with a CRM and weekly reporting.
- Strong presence in person, on the phone, and in writing.
- A genuine interest in the club, its members, and its culture.
Compensation
Base salary of [range], plus commission on new memberships sold, plus [benefits and club privileges].
To apply
Send your resume and a short note about your best sales year to [email].
How do you customize it for your club?
A few edits make the biggest difference.
Use real goals. Base year-one targets on your last three years of sales and the room you have under your membership cap. A target with no history behind it will not convince a strong candidate.
Be honest about the role. If the director will also run events, write it in the posting. Then expect sales to move slower, or consider separating the two roles.
Name the tools. Candidates want to know if they will inherit a CRM and lead history, or start from a spreadsheet. If you have neither, say what you plan to put in place.
Show the compensation structure. Membership director pay is usually a base salary plus commission. The mix and the total vary by market, club size, and initiation fees. Posting the structure brings better applicants than "competitive pay."
Where should you post it?
If you would rather skip the posting and screening, hand the search to Capstone Executive Placement. If you post it yourself, start with club industry channels like CMAA ClubCareers, then share it with GMs you trust and on LinkedIn. General job boards bring volume, but expect to screen hard for private club sales experience.
We compare the three ways to fill the role, including how long each takes and what happens if a hire does not work out, on our membership director hiring page.
What if you need someone selling now?
Writing the posting is the first step of a search that can take months. If your pipeline cannot wait, an outsourced director can cover sales while you hire. At a partner club in Virginia, Capstone's remote sales program sold 82 new memberships in five months without an on-site director.
Capstone can also run the search for you through Executive Placement: we present three qualified candidates, and if the hire does not work out, we find a replacement at no extra cost for up to 12 months.
To talk through which path fits your club, schedule a free consultation.
