DIRECTOR OF FITNESS & WELLNESS
About the Role
At Desert Highlands, we believe the best clubs aren't defined simply by their amenities—they're defined by their people. We're a nationally recognized private club community in North Scottsdale, known for the culture we've built: a family serving a family. We're seeking a Director of Fitness & Wellness to lead our program with a balance of expertise, leadership, and genuine connection.
We want someone who knows fitness and wellness inside and out—programming, personal training, group exercise, and emerging trends—but equally values who you are as a person. We’re looking for a leader who takes their role seriously without taking themselves too seriously: someone who works hard, laughs often, knows Members by name, develops their team, and jumps in wherever help is needed. Leadership here means making the people around you better.
Who We Are
Desert Highlands is a private residential golf community offering exceptional amenities and service to our exclusive members. Recognized as a Five-Star Platinum Club, ranked #11 in the top 100 Golf Clubs, a Distinguished Emerald Club, and one of America’s Healthiest Clubs, we pride ourselves on a service-oriented culture where every employee embodies our Mission, Vision, and Values.
Our Mission: We provide exceptional experiences that instill pride in our community.
Our Vision: We strive to be recognized as the finest member-owned club community in the nation.
Our Values:
- Dynamic: inspire creativity to continually evolve experiences, amenities, and communication
- Heritage: honor our history, traditions, and natural surroundings
- Respect: show kindness to members, guests, staff, and the environment
- Integrity: display honesty, sincerity, fairness, and sound fiscal practices
- Community: support an authentic, welcoming environment to foster friendships and engagement
- Excellence: provide superior amenities and experiences to infuse pride throughout the community
These values aren’t just words—they guide how we serve our Members, treat one another, and contribute to our community every day.
Who We're Looking For
Our next Director of Fitness & Wellness will be a leader, relationship-builder, operator, and innovator. You should be someone who:
- Genuinely loves people and enjoys building relationships with Members and teammates
- Creates an environment where Members want to spend time, not just work out
- Understands that wellness extends beyond weights and cardio and is excited to evolve our programs
- Is visible, approachable, and engaged
- Can build, coach, and inspire a team of fitness professionals
- Brings energy and new ideas without changing things just for the sake of change
- Understands budgets, programming, scheduling, and the business side of fitness operations
- Collaborates naturally with other departments and avoids silos
- Is comfortable teaching a class, talking with a Member, developing a budget, coaching an employee, or rolling up your sleeves when needed
- Has high standards without a high ego
- Can have fun while delivering at an exceptionally high level
- Believes culture matters
Responsibilities
- Develop creative and engaging fitness and wellness programming for a diverse membership
- Lead personal training, group fitness, and wellness offerings
- Recruit, hire, train, coach, and develop an outstanding team of fitness professionals
- Build relationships with Members and listen for ways to improve their experience
- Ensure Fitness facilities are welcoming, well-maintained, and operated safely
- Develop and manage departmental budgets, revenue goals, and expenses
- Evaluate trends, equipment, technology, and programming to enhance the Member experience
- Work with communications and marketing to build participation and excitement around programs
- Collaborate with leaders across Desert Highlands to create experiences beyond the fitness center
- Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, hospitality, and fun
- Be willing to take on any reasonable task to help the team succeed
Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree in exercise science, kinesiology, physical education, recreation, wellness, or a related field, or comparable professional experience
- Leadership experience in fitness, wellness, recreation, hospitality, or a related environment
- Experience leading and developing teams
- Current nationally recognized fitness certification(s)
- CPR/AED and First Aid certification
- Strong knowledge of fitness programming, personal training, and group exercise
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Financial and operational acumen
- Comfort with technology and modern fitness/wellness platforms
- Experience in a private club, resort, or luxury hospitality environment is a plus
Great leadership and cultural fit matter more to us than where you’ve worked before.
One More Thing
If you’re looking for a job where you sit behind a desk and manage from afar, this isn’t it. If you believe your title makes you more important than the people you lead, this definitely isn’t it. But if you:
- Love creating experiences people remember
- Get energy from developing others
- Are curious about the future of fitness and wellness
- Believe high standards and fun can coexist
- Want to work with people who care deeply about what they do and each other
We’d love to meet you. Come help us continue building something special at Desert Highlands.