Project Director - Palisades Tahoe

Alterra Mountain Company · Olympic Valley · $218,000–$275,000 (stated in the posting)

Year Round

COLLABORATION | AUTHENTICITY | PURPOSE | EMPOWERMENT

Alterra Mountain Company is a family of iconic year-round mountain destinations, the world’s largest heli-skiing operation, and Ikon Pass - the premier ski and snowboard season pass offering access to more than 50 iconic mountain destinations around the world. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado and born out of a shared love of the mountains and adventure, Alterra Mountain Company exists to shape the future of mountain adventure.

WHAT WE OFFER

Free Ikon Pass for all eligible employees + additional free skiing/riding privileges across the family of Alterra Mountain Company resorts for eligible employees and their dependents
Discounted skiing/riding for friends and family of eligible employees across the family of Alterra Mountain Company resorts
Flexible Time Off (FTO) and Paid Time Off (PTO) policies for eligible employees to relax and recharge
Generous discounts on outdoor gear, apparel, rental cars, etc.
Medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, short-term & long-term disability insurance, EAP, HSAs, FSAs, and more
401(k) plan with generous company match
Paid parental leave of up to 6 weeks for eligible employees
Commuter benefits (Denver employees only)
Hybrid workplace policy encouraging regular in-person collaboration in our dog-friendly company headquarters office located in Denver’s RiNo Art District neighborhood (for eligible employees).

For information on Alterra Mountain Company’s Social Responsibility work, please see our webpage at https://www.alterramtn.co/impact. Among other resources, Alterra has a slate of Employee Resource Groups to support our workforce.

Position Summary

Within the Alterra Mountain Company development and real estate team, we design, plan, and develop the built environment which enables the Company to deliver the most compelling outdoor adventure experiences imaginable. Always focused on the guest experience and driving growth for our Resorts, our innovative, world-class development practices fuse entertainment, sustainability, and placemaking to deliver new standards in the industry.

This Project Director leads the end-to-end development, delivery, and financial performance of a flagship, multi-billion-dollar real estate transformation project, with primary responsibility for shaping a cohesive built environment that integrates hospitality, residential, commercial, and recreational uses into a unified mountain destination. These executive works closely with the Resort to drive project vision, land use strategy, development execution, and long-term asset value creation, ensuring that each phase of development contributes to a durable sense of place, strengthens the resort ecosystem, and enhances how owners, visitors, and the broader community experience the environment over time.

As lead Master Developer, you will spearhead the strategic planning, entitlement, public partnerships and delivery of a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use mountain resort development, encompassing large-scale master planning, vertical development of hotels, branded residential product, commercial and civic uses, mobility and infrastructure systems, and outdoor amenity networks. The role is responsible for establishing the placemaking and development framework that guides how architecture, public realm, connectivity, and experiential programming come together to create a coherent and commercially successful destination. A key responsibility is working closely with the Chief Development Officer to structure and managing joint venture partnerships for vertical development opportunities across the resort portfolio. This role blends visionary master development leadership with sophisticated real estate execution, capital partnership strategy, and oversight of complex multi-stakeholder development processes.

Essential Duties

Master Development & Project Leadership

Master Developer Leadership: Own and direct the end-to-end master planning process — site analysis, land use planning, infrastructure, sustainability frameworks, zoning compliance, and phased resort buildout — ensuring a cohesive, world-class destination aligned with brand vision and market positioning.
Vertical Development Oversight: Guide design, JV partnerships, and construction of all vertical assets, including the Gondola Transit Center, parking, hotels, branded residences, wellness/spa, and F&B outlets ensuring integration with the masterplan and uncompromising quality standards.
Financial Stewardship: Drive overall project financial modeling, budgeting, cost control, and performance measurement across masterplan infrastructure and vertical projects. Ensure partnerships support investor returns and secure project funding throughout phases.
Schedule & Quality Control: Establish and monitor critical milestone schedules for masterplan and vertical development phases; enforce rigorous quality control assuring world-class guest experience and brand standards.
Reporting: Deliver comprehensive progress reports, risk assessments, financial updates, and executive-level communications to senior leadership and Board stakeholders.

Placemaking & Guest Experience

Placemaking Framework Ownership: Working closely with Resort leadership, own the resort's placemaking vision — activation zones, wayfinding systems, public realm design, public art, landscape character, and programming anchors — ensuring that physical investments create emotionally resonant destinations where guests stay longer, spend more, and return season after season.
Guest Experience Programming: Working closely with Resort leadership, design and oversee a year-round programming calendar that creates compelling reasons to visit, stay, and recommend — from seasonal festivals and apres culture to summer mountain events and shoulder-season activations. Identify and close experience gaps surfaced by guest data including NPS drivers, retention patterns, and booking trends.
Tenant & Hospitality Ecosystem: Lead strategy for base area retail, F&B, and activity tenant mix attracting operators who elevate rather than commoditize the resort experience. Collaborate with hospitality partners on lodging product positioning, premium experience tiers, and programming that reinforces the brand.
Design & Experience Standards: Define and hold design and experience standards across all resort-controlled parcels and partner-managed assets ensuring that every physical and programmatic touchpoint reflects a coherent brand identity from pre-arrival through departure.
Experience Gap Analysis: Partner with operations, Ski & Ride School, Lodging, Retail, and F&B teams to design integrated guest journeys that reduce friction, extend dwell time, and increase ancillary capture.

Stakeholder, Community & Relationship Management

Stakeholder & Relationship Management: Develop and maintain strong, trust-based relationships with the community stakeholders, investors, brand operators, government authorities, architects, consultants, and contractors. Represent the project in high-level negotiations and landmark approvals.
Community & Government Relations: Serve as a trusted, visible representative of the resort in community conversations related to development, growth, and placemaking. In partnership with the Head of Public-Private Partnerships and the Resort President, help build and maintain durable working relationships with municipal and county governments, housing authorities, and neighborhood stakeholders. Collaborate closely to navigate community dynamics, policy matters, and public-private partnership structures with skill, diplomacy, and good faith.
Risk Management & Compliance: Proactively assess and mitigate risks across land development, finance, permitting, construction, and operational readiness. Ensure all regulatory, environmental, and sustainability requirements are met or exceeded.

Team Leadership

Team Leadership & Coordination: Lead and coordinate matrixed interdisciplinary teams across planning, design, legal, finance, construction, and programming to achieve delivery milestones. Leverage Alterra’s broader matrixed talent and subject matter experts to drive execution, while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and innovation. Guide a focused placemaking and programming function in partnership with external design, activation, and consulting partners.

Required Qualifications

Experience

Minimum 15 years of senior experience in large-scale mixed-use real estate or resort development, with a demonstrated record that includes both project execution and placemaking outcomes.
Direct experience shaping or managing the physical development of a multi-use destination a mountain resort, national park gateway, waterfront district, or comparable live-work-play environment.
Proven track record of successfully structuring and managing Co-GP or other joint venture partnerships for project verticals, with strong commercial acumen in deal negotiations and capital structuring.
Deep expertise in master planning, site infrastructure, luxury vertical construction, project finance, and stakeholder engagement.
Demonstrated track record of reducing guest churn and increasing repeat visitation through experience design and programming — not only through capital investment.
Experience navigating public-private partnerships, community planning processes, and municipal relationships.
Fluency with the full guest journey — from pre-arrival through departure — and ability to identify and close friction points at every stage.
Experience working with luxury or premium development partners while preserving an authentic, non-pretentious brand identity.

Technical Skills

Advanced understanding of development project finance, entitlements, design management, and construction oversight.
Proven expertise in P&L management for large-scale real estate assets.
Deep knowledge of commercial negotiations, contracts, risk analysis, and regulatory frameworks.
In-depth knowledge of resort development regulations, sustainability practices, and luxury hospitality brand standards.

Leadership & Mindset

A systems thinker who understands that great places are the product of hundreds of aligned decisions not one grand gesture. Brings the same rigor to placemaking as financial modeling.
Genuine passion for mountain culture, outdoor recreation, and the community dynamics of resort towns not performative enthusiasm.
Comfortable operating in constructive ambiguity: master plans evolve, partners change, and communities push back.
Exceptional presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills with board-level reporting experience, and the ability to translate vision with equal clarity to contractors, C-suite executives, elected officials, and front-line staff.
Commitment to safety, sustainability, innovation, and ethical conduct.

Differentiating Qualities

Has lived and worked in a mountain or resort community — understands the pace, culture, and community dynamics from the inside.
Has turned around or significantly elevated a base area or public space that was underperforming its potential.
Thinks in stories, memories, and emotional resonance — not only in square footage, amenity counts, or RevPAR tables.
Draws on diverse reference points: great ski villages, urban waterfronts, national park gateways, festival design, and culinary destinations.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, Business, Finance, or related field; Master's degree or MBA preferred.

Compensation

The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position. Actual salaries will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including but not limited to experience, education, training, location, merit system, quantity or quality of production, responsibilities, and regular and/or necessary travel. The range listed is just one component of the Company's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term and long-term incentives and many region-specific benefits.

Base salary range: $218,000 - $275,000 per year

Application Deadline: This position is open and still accepting applications.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations.

Alterra Mountain Company and its affiliates are equal opportunity employers.

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