Operations Manager

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Nova Destinations – Pulaski, PA
Full-Time | Wednesday–Sunday

Nova Destinations is looking for an experienced, hands-on Operations Manager to help lead our team, improve our systems, and continue building one of the region’s most unique family destinations.

This is not a desk-only management position.

We are looking for someone who wants to be involved in the operation every day—training staff, preparing the property, solving problems, improving the guest experience, helping execute events, and continually finding ways to make Nova better.

Nova Destinations is more than a winery, brewery, cidery, distillery, coffee shop, or restaurant.

We are building a destination.

Our property combines craft beverages, food, events, live entertainment, family activities, playgrounds, outdoor spaces, festivals, seasonal experiences, and new attractions that continue to evolve.

And we are still early.

The person who joins us in this role will have a real opportunity to help shape what Nova becomes over the next several years.

THE ROLE

The Operations Manager will work directly with ownership to help oversee day-to-day operations across Nova Destinations.

The focus of this role is simple:

Build a better team. Run a better operation. Create a better guest experience.

You will help make sure the property is prepared, employees are trained, standards are followed, events run smoothly, and problems are identified and corrected before they become bigger issues.

We are not looking for someone who simply maintains the current operation.

We want someone who walks the property and constantly thinks:

“How can we make this better?”

SCHEDULE

This position is primarily:

Wednesday through Sunday

Weekend availability is required.

Our busiest periods are Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, festivals, special events, and holidays.

This position must be comfortable working when the business is busiest and when strong leadership matters most.

Some schedule flexibility will be required depending on events, seasonal operations, and business needs.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIESSTAFF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

A major responsibility of this position will be building a stronger, more consistent team.

You will help:

• Train new employees
• Improve employee onboarding
• Train servers, bartenders, food staff, cashiers, and hospitality employees
• Teach customer service expectations
• Reinforce operating standards
• Coach employees who need improvement
• Develop strong employees into future supervisors and leaders
• Make sure employees understand their responsibilities before each shift
• Improve communication between departments
• Help create training materials, procedures, and checklists
• Hold employees accountable to expectations

Our goal is not simply to put people on a schedule.

Our goal is to build a team that understands how Nova operates, what we expect, and how we want guests to be treated.

DAILY PROPERTY SETUP

The Operations Manager will help ensure Nova is ready before guests arrive.

That includes overseeing and checking:

• Bars and service stations
• Dining and outdoor seating areas
• Signage
• Restocking
• Bathrooms
• Trash and cleanliness
• Employee assignments
• Music and atmosphere
• Event spaces
• Point-of-sale readiness
• Food and beverage service areas
• General property appearance
• Opening procedures

You should be able to walk the property before opening and quickly identify anything that is not ready.

GUEST EXPERIENCE

The guest experience is one of the most important parts of this job.

Nova is not a place where guests simply come in, eat, and leave.

People may spend several hours walking the property, visiting different venues, attending festivals, listening to music, bringing their children, eating, drinking, shopping, and exploring.

The Operations Manager will constantly look at Nova from the guest’s perspective.

That means asking questions like:

• Is the property easy to understand?
• Do guests know where to go?
• Is signage clear?
• Are employees welcoming?
• Are tables and guest areas clean?
• Are service times reasonable?
• Are lines moving efficiently?
• Are different areas of the property working together?
• Are guest complaints being handled professionally?
• Does the property look and feel like somewhere people want to spend the day?
• What can we improve?

We are looking for someone who notices the details other people walk past.

WEEKEND & EVENT OPERATIONS

Nova Destinations hosts festivals, special events, live entertainment, private events, and high-volume weekends throughout the year.

The Operations Manager will help coordinate:

• Staffing
• Employee assignments
• Property setup
• Event setup
• Guest flow
• Food and beverage operations
• Parking and logistics
• Restocking
• Vendor coordination when needed
• Troubleshooting during events
• Cleanup and reset
• Communication between departments

When things get busy, we need someone who stays calm, understands priorities, and knows how to move people and resources where they are needed.

SYSTEMS & OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT

One of the most important responsibilities of this role is helping us become a better-operated company.

You will work directly with ownership to improve:

• Opening procedures
• Closing procedures
• Employee training
• Staff responsibilities
• Scheduling
• Communication
• Cleaning standards
• Inventory processes
• Event procedures
• Guest flow
• Service speed
• Property organization
• Employee accountability
• Customer service
• Operational efficiency

If the same problem keeps happening, we do not want to keep working around it.

We want to fix the system causing the problem.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Previous management experience is required.

Experience in hospitality, restaurants, breweries, wineries, entertainment venues, resorts, event venues, attractions, amusement, or similar operational environments is strongly preferred.

The right person should be:

• A strong leader
• Highly organized
• Dependable
• Comfortable training employees
• Comfortable managing employees
• Comfortable giving direction
• Comfortable holding people accountable
• Calm under pressure
• Able to make decisions
• Detail-oriented
• Customer-focused
• Hands-on
• Willing to jump in when necessary
• Able to manage several areas at once
• Comfortable working directly with ownership
• Able to identify problems and propose solutions
• Interested in improving systems instead of simply following them

You should be the type of person who can walk into a busy Saturday operation, understand what is happening, identify the bottleneck, and help fix it.

THIS POSITION IS FOR YOU IF:

You want to be part of something that is still being built.

Nova Destinations is growing beyond a traditional hospitality business.

We are building a larger destination experience centered around food, craft beverages, entertainment, events, family activities, themed experiences, and reasons for people to come back again and again.

We are still at the beginning of that journey.

That means the person who joins us now will have the opportunity to help shape how the destination operates as we grow.

If you are excited by the idea of helping build something from the ground up—improving the guest experience, developing the team, creating better systems, and helping turn big ideas into reality—this position may be for you.

Our long-term vision is much bigger than simply operating a successful restaurant, winery, or brewery.

We want to continue developing Nova into a true regional destination—the kind of place families plan trips around, return to throughout the year, and discover something new every time they visit.

Think less:

“Manage a restaurant.”

Think more:

“Help us build the next great family destination.”

We have a long way to go.

That is exactly why this role matters.

If the idea of joining near the beginning and helping build what Nova becomes over the next five, ten, and twenty years excites you, we want to hear from you.

THIS POSITION IS PROBABLY NOT FOR YOU IF:

You want a Monday-Friday office management position.

You do not like working weekends.

You prefer managing from behind a desk.

You are uncomfortable correcting employees or holding people accountable.

You need every responsibility spelled out before taking action.

You walk past a problem because it belongs to another department.

You are looking for a place where everything is already built, polished, and finished.

Nova is growing and changing.

That requires people who are comfortable improving things as we go.

At Nova, everyone ultimately has the same job:

Take care of the guest and make the destination better.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

This is a key leadership role for Nova Destinations.

As we continue adding experiences, events, attractions, technology, and new reasons for guests to visit, the operational side of the business has to grow with it.

We need someone who can help turn ideas into repeatable systems.

Someone who can help employees become better.

Someone who understands that the difference between a good destination and a great destination is often the hundreds of small operational details guests may never consciously notice.

The person in this position will work closely with ownership and have the opportunity to influence:

• Staff development
• Operating procedures
• Events
• Customer experience
• Property layout and flow
• Service standards
• New experiences
• Future growth

We are looking for someone who wants more than a management job.

We are looking for someone who wants to help build something.

COMPENSATION

Starting salary: $45,000+ based on experience

This position includes a defined performance review and opportunity for compensation growth as responsibilities and the operation continue to grow.

TO APPLY

Please send your resume along with a brief introduction explaining:

• Your previous management experience
• The size and type of teams you have managed
• Your hospitality or operational experience
• Why you believe you would be a good fit for Nova Destinations
• Why the idea of helping build a growing destination interests you

Location: Nova Destinations – Pulaski, Pennsylvania
Position: Full-Time Operations Manager
Schedule: Wednesday–Sunday
Experience: Previous management experience required

Pay: $36,000.00 - $50,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee discount
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person