Ski Club of Great Britain Chief Exec resigns

A snowHead

I'm sure someone (from Guildford or another part of Surrey) will be along to say how wrong we all are.

Popcorn?

A snowHead

I've seen a couple of posts on social media from people who have had emails from SCGB saying that if they want to renew their Platinum membership (which includes annual travel insurance up to 45 days skiing in a year) it's gone up by £100.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Alastair Pink, I think we may all be in for a shock on insurance from whatever source, so I'm not overly surprised.

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I cancelled mine back in October, looking on the website the price I paid has gone up around £35 however the age cut off for the higher rate is now 35 not 50 that I think it used to be so could effect younger people's premiums by a lot more.

https://www.skiclub.co.uk/ski-club-travel-insurance/ski-club-platinum-membership-20

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I was expecting the price of the Platinum membership with travel insurance to go up, and so was not too surprised to get an email telling me about the price. I wasn't expecting another email telling me the increased price was a wrong and the real price was even higher. Then looking at the cover offered I discovered that there is no cover (even at additional cost) for going on holiday on the motorbike. The most they can offer is cover for occasional use of a motorcycle over 125cc (not as the primary method of transport) within Activity Pack 3. The previous policy allowed use of your own motorcycle as a standard.

Reluctantly, I have cancelled the auto renewal of the Direct Debit for the Ski Club membership.

After all it is free

@bolderz, cancelled my renewal for exactly the same reason and found other insurance that covers motorcycle touring as standard.

@Alastair Pink, mine went up last year to £230 when I hit 70 - nothing else had changed rolling eyes

@bolderz, I hadn't bothered to renew this year but if that's right about biking it looks as though I'll be looking elsewhere, so membership may have been a waste of money as well Sad

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Used to be Platinum when insurance made it worthwhile but now no longer a member.

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Well I suppose that they've now nailed their coffin shut with the insurance offer that seems to have their spendiest members quitting in droves. Chapeau. Look forward to the undignified scramble of those keen to get their last beanos in before the doors are shuttered.

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I renewed my EHIC insurance recently. I was presuming that the arrangements would probably continue as they are if there was a deal (as it applies to Switzerland as well who are not in EU)

However, the devil is in the detail and the UK are probably taken advantage over with this exchange so it would be beneficial economically if it was dropped. Can't see it being dropped through, given the history and the administrative nightmare of making changes.

@Dave of the Marmottes, I think you're very close to the truth there... insurance was a significant income generator for the Club... if those customers depart, the rush to exit will indeed be undignified...

You know it makes sense.

@hamilton,

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Tough for the club from now on. Chalets look like pretty much a no no, leading is pretty much off and now insurance is unattractive sadly the question is "whats left?"

A snowHead

Even the discounts are pretty unexciting.

A snowHead

The ski club website seems to have disappeared now.
Technical glitch or OS the bell tolling?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I guess they don't work weekends and forgot to use spend money on systems resilience.

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Ominous or inefficiency???

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Well as they have no in-house IT team, I’d guess they don’t have 24x7 monitoring or on-call support.

Or they’ve not paid the bill.

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I believe they're doing away with it. Incidentally, I'm still getting updates from their meetings even though I'm no longer a member and haven't been for a while. Now if I was a good sort I would let them know...

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@esaw1, they are doing away with the website??

After all it is free

@pieman666, no need - would only be relevant if anyone wanted to join who was under 85 wink

@pieman666, Sorry, my mistake. It is the Chat Forum which, in their words is going to be "retired".

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Given that their director who does such a good job convincing people that the great and good of the SCGB aren't total t##ts is back here trolling one wonders if his efforts aren't slightly misguided.

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The SCGB website is back!

You know it makes sense.

@Pruman, Will they grant an extension, pay money back pro-rata, or what?

Whilst everyone involved is desperately sucking whatever they can get *out* of the trough before it runs dry, I doubt very much they'll be doing that.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Any Snowheads applied?

The Ski Club of Great Britain has a vacancy for the General Manager role
Full Time
£80,000 plus up to 20% performance bonus

This is an exciting role for anyone interested in winter sports, the outdoors, and making a difference for thousands of people. From a business perspective, this is a great opportunity to take a large membership organisation and have a big impact on its membership, the services offered, its holiday operation, and in creating a great legacy for thousands of winter sports enthusiasts for years to come

General Manager Job Description and Requirements
Objectives of the Ski Club of Great Britain (SCGB): The Club exists to encourage skiing, snowboarding, and other snowsports; in particular, recreational skiing and to help members improve their technical and safety skills. The club is passionate about providing members with great experiences on snow and in the mountains and is uniquely positioned to provide a wide range of opportunities for like-minded skiers of similar ability to ski and learn together.

Current Situation: The Ski Club is a large membership organisation with around 13,000 households and c. 22,000 individuals, this number has been in decline over the last ten years. The Club provides these members with a range of opportunities to ski together and other benefits related to their time in the mountains. The Club has undergone some large changes in personnel in the last two years with several of the more experienced members of the team leaving. There has also been a poorly conceived and executed plan which has resulted in two years of substantial losses in 2018/19 and 2019/20. However, the situation is now under much better control, there has been an overhaul of the holiday model and pricing, the Rep role, substantial cost reductions and a plan to move away from the expensive office rental Spending is now under control but there is a need to build on the work done already to agree and execute a vision, strategy and a strengthened membership offer for the future growth of the Club.

Key Operational Aspects of the Club:

Member Services: This is the area of the club that concentrates on the benefits and value which comes with the membership fee. Its activities, including the membership fee, amount to c. £1.7m Revenue, all of which is spent on Member Services.

In resort services from the c.200 Ski Club volunteer Representatives (Reps) in 17 resorts, including 11 resorts with Instructor-Led Guiding.
Partnerships which source discounts for members and advertising/sponsorship for the Club.
The Membership team manage the renewal process and the new member process as well as managing the Ski Club Travel Insurance service.
Publishing which manages with Marketing the member publications – newsletters and Ski & Board Magazine.
Ski Club Holidays: The holiday brands Freshtracks and Mountain Tracks have revenue of c. £3.5 - £4.0m (in a non-Covid year).

Freshtracks: This is the core holidays brand of the Club, offering Members the opportunity to travel with other members and ski in similar ability groups. 75% of the holidays have Instructors or Guides to add to the adventure and the learning experience.
Mountain Tracks: This is a much smaller brand which appeals to the most adventurous skiers plus it offers Ski Mountaineering, Summer Mountaineering and Trekking. It was bought a few years ago to help build an as-yet unrealised vision of expanding club trips into the summer.
Marketing: The Marketing team supports the other revenue generating parts of the business using the paper and online magazines, the website, email marketing, social media and a small amount of PR and conventions.

Finance Team: Self-evidently, this team looks after all the financial management of the Club.

Objectives of the role:
The General Manager of the Ski Club acts as the Council’s “Senior Employee” as set out in the Articles of Association of the Club. This incorporates any part of the operation which Council delegates to the role. The position reports through the Chairman to Council.

In practice, this means the day-to-day operations of the Club and input to and execution of the Club’s strategy, and the creation and execution of the annual plan/budget. In particular:

Manage the Club responsibly for the membership by ensuring it meets their needs and remains operationally and financially viable for the future. This will include sound financial oversight, operational control, understanding of the membership's needs and wants through strong listening skills as well as quantitative and qualitative research.
Build a trusting relationship with Council: This essentially means that the role is one of “working for the Council” rather than “managing the Board”. The Club Council is not like a non-executive Board; the Club is organised such that the Council is responsible for both strategy and its execution, but chooses to delegate much of those activities to the GM. As a result, while reporting through the Chairman, the GM has also to work with the Council as a whole, rather as if a line manager. This requires tact, listening skills, good communication skills, and a sense of urgency to ensure that the Council is confident the Club is in safe hands.
Retain and build membership: through good value services which appeal to existing and new members. This will require a good understanding of the operation across holidays, in-resort services, partnership benefits and income, and the out-sourced travel insurance product. In addition, an ability to be creative or to manage others who are creative in terms of refreshing some of the services and inventing new ones.
Be a “servant leader” for the Ski Club team: The team has seen a lot of change and the ones who remain both know what they need to do operationally and are very committed to the Club. They do not need wholesale reorganisation or replacement, they need a leader who displays empathy and who takes people with them, a team player who wants the whole team to win.
In more detail, these are the key tasks:

Strategy
Help develop, communicate, and execute a three-year strategy that will support the Club’s core values and objectives, and deliver surpluses that can be reinvested into the business
Implement and ensure execution of short, medium- and long-term plans, which will support the Club’s ambitions.
Bring new ideas to the table and encourage new ideas from the SMT.
Operations and Finance
Oversee/manage the operational and financial performance of the Club against plan, take corrective action if/when appropriate; revise the plan in light of any market changes.
Ensure financial information and management reports are appropriate.
Track performance against agreed KPIs to ensure delivery is on time and to budget.
Ensure the organisational structure remains fit for purpose.
Ensure the Club has the processes, IT capability and talent required to operate successfully and securely.
Review health and safety, on-snow operations, training and remuneration policies.
Report regularly to the Council on both strategic and operating performance.
Leadership
Lead and develop the Club’s employees and c.300 volunteer snow-sports leaders.
Give clear direction and priorities as well as coaching and developing the team in place.
Guide the new recruits and the senior management team so all are fully supported.
Encourage new ideas and initiatives and reward outstanding customer service.
Assess employee performance against objectives and establish clear development and succession plans for senior employees.
Build a cohesive, engaged, results orientated team.
Commercial
Ensure the Ski Club continues to meet existing and future members’ requirements.
Identify new opportunities and product and service enhancements.
Take an active role in developing and managing new and existing partnerships.
Refresh services and propositions to grow the membership base among an appropriate target audience – either demographic (40-50 year olds skiing “post kids”) or attitudinal (“love snow sports and really want to get the best out of my time on the mountains, ideally whilst improving my skills”).
Steer the development of direct marketing, PR, sponsorship, events, and co-marketing deals to raise the profile of The Ski Club with all stakeholders, members and non-members both at home and internationally.
Improve general awareness and communication of benefits and services available.
Develop branding, marketing, pricing, and packaging of Freshtracks and Mountain Tracks holidays ensuring they remain unique and competitive.
Stakeholder management
Identify and pro-actively manage and build successful relationships with key partners, suppliers, and other organisations upon whom the Club depends for goodwill, e.g. ski resort tourism authorities, ski schools, professional mountain guides, and representative bodies.
Work in conjunction with the Honorary President, Chairman, Treasurer and Council members as a visible and respected figurehead for the Club.
Risk
Review implications of market, competitive and regulatory changes on the Ski Club’s activities and develop plans to adapt and evolve offers and services accordingly for customers wanting to ski in Europe and beyond.
Key Performance Indicators and measures
Delivery of the objectives in the Strategic Plan
Income from subscriptions and paid members
Member Satisfaction and feedback
Acquisition of new members, in particular, younger profiles
Income across all revenue generative activities, sufficient to increase the reserves of the Club and ensure at least break-even each year.
Professional Experience
It would be useful to have a recreational, sport, leisure, travel or similar business background, with knowledge of holiday and recreational markets; membership clubs, tourism, on-line marketing, digital media and/or publishing.
Either an established MD looking to apply skills in a smaller operating environment or a talented and commercial operator looking for their first MD role.
Results-oriented demonstrating success in consumer, revenue, and financial growth as well as higher brand/business awareness.
Likely to have experience in operations or commercial.
Financially literate; have owned a P&L and have day-to-day profit protection and operating budget management experience.
Strong stakeholder management; evidence of success as a consensus builder and bringing together disparate stakeholders.
Personal Attributes & Abilities
Ideally, love snowsports and have participated in them. It would be difficult for a non-skier to easily fit into the Club and its membership.
Team Leadership:
Empowering in style and interested in coaching and
Mentoring individuals.
Someone who brings others with them, doesn’t leave them behind. Actively seeks out and embraces diversity in the team.
Consistent in their behaviour so that team members can predict the way in which you react, you don’t have emotional outbursts and you don’t change your behaviour.
Committed: you demonstrate a commitment to the organisation which provides a demonstration to others what you expect.
Positive: you create a positive atmosphere where you portray the confidence that problems can be overcome and do not allocate blame, rather look for solutions.
Integrity: a mix of both honesty and openness, a desire to never mislead, to own up when things go wrong and to act without a hidden political agenda.
An ability to flex across diverse concerns and functions.
Keen to and able to work in a small operating environment; hands-on when need be and resourceful; able to stretch resources a long way.
A ‘can-do’ attitude: good at finding practical solutions, bringing ideas to reality, and making the complex simple.
Entrepreneurial: whilst delivering to the agreed strategy and accompanying projects, always be on the lookout, or thinking about, additional opportunities.
To apply please submit your CV and Cover Letter to recruitment@skiclub.co.uk by Monday 8th February 2021.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I think having to report to a charmer like @gerry is probably enough for any sane and capable candidate to exclude themselves.

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@Dave of the Marmottes, they’re looking for a miracle worker on a middle management salary inside the M25.

No one who knows anything about SCGB would take it on.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

To be fair it's probably targeted as such to exclude the money grubbers and find someone truly passionate. Could be a decent enough gig for someone competent who has already made their pot IF they get a free reign to execute well and don't have to spend their time playing politics with the "board". Sadly the "board" need to know how to spot that degree of competence. Presumably competence would imply being honest at interview about what a basket case they appear to be taking on....

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Job description in short:
Either get those Cheese Eating Surender Monkees to see sense and allow plucky SCGB leaders to do their thing again; or failing that magic up a way to give the remaining members value to renew their subs other than for dodgy insurance and discounts they can get elsewhere pretty sharpish before they realise the game is up and they cancel their Direct Debits

After all it is free

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Help!!

Ski Club of Great Britain Chief Exec resigns

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