Facilities Manager

Live and work on site at this beautiful, remote, off grid location in northern NM. The Facilities Manager maintains the retreat center facilities and grounds in addition to supporting key aspects of our on-site operations. Gain experience in land & natural resource management, facility maintenance, retreat management, customer service and mindfulness practice. Applicants must be resourceful, responsible, caring, handy, have strong personhood and some property/land management experience. This position reports directly to the Executive Director. Job is shared with other facilities managers and runs during our open season from mid-April to mid-November. Applicants must be interested in living in a very remote, high altitude, off grid location during their work period.

Responsibilities include:

Ensuring proper maintenance and function of irrigation, water/well, vehicles, solar system
Maintaining all facilities (approx. 40 structures)
Keeping a clean and safe environment for guests
Driving guest shuttle on opening and closing day of retreats (30 minutes each way)
Assisting retreat manager with timely guest response/communication
Tree management in high traffic areas including collecting and ensuring enough firewood for operations (Experience with a chainsaw required)
Monitoring propane use and coordinating refill logistics
Conducting two weekly town runs (1-1/2 hours each way to transport laundry, food, trash, recycle, supplies, etc.)
Monitoring trash, recycle and compost efforts
Maintaining barbed wire fencing of the property
Managing opening and closing of the property and facilities seasonally
Coordinating volunteers when appropriate
Assisting with guest orientation talk and work meditation job training for guests
Anticipating and responding to guests needs and safety
Maintaining medical kit and emergency supplies
Trail maintenance and familiarity with trail system
Point person for the emergency plan execution at the center
CPR/Wilderness First Aid Certified or ability to acquire (required)

Team oriented person with strong interpersonal skills while being comfortable working independently.
Able to communicate mindfully, very flexible and adaptable to changing needs, ability to problem solve and be resourceful in a calm and effective manner.
Welcoming disposition and ability to interact with guests with varying needs and expectations.
Strong planning and organization skills due to our remote location.
Good knowledge of the skills, equipment and materials needed to maintain the retreat center facilities and land in good working order. (using a chainsaw, tractor, generator, power tools, etc.)
Willingness to learn – periodic training/resources provided on various areas of the practice and our value of deep welcome including race, gender, sexual orientation, and more.
Scheduling flexibility is required.
Position requires lifting, carrying, pushing/pulling up to 50 pounds or more.
Emphasis on safety: Aptitude to learn, assess and refine safety policies and procedures.

Availability: We are looking for both seasonal and back up Facilities Managers, separately.

Seasonal Facility Manager – this position start date is April 2020 with the opportunity for work Oct 2019.
- 2 weeks on site end of April/early May for opening the center.
- Retreat season is shared with another Facilities Manager in a mutually agreed upon schedule to allow for appropriate breaks (breaks are off-site).
- 2 weeks on site late October/early November for closing the center.
Back up Factility Manager
- Attend 1-2 weeks on site end of April/early May for opening the center.
- Back up Facility Manager during season as schedule needs (as little as a few days up to a few retreats)
- Attend 1-2 weeks on site late October/early November for closing the center.

Benefits:

We offer fair compensation as a W2 employee plus gourmet vegetarian meals and single occupancy heated accommodation. (Please note there is no electricity to any of the accommodations at Vallecitos.)
Staff is offered one retreat per season at Vallecitos at no charge.
Staff is invited to attend sits/talks during retreats when teachers allow.
We cover the cost of approved training (CPR, Wilderness First Aid, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and more).

All interested parties please email a letter of interest to director@vallecitos.org. You must include:

Why you believe you are an ideal candidate for the position
If you have ever been to Vallecitos before or your connection to the organization
Your related experience
Your availability
Your contact information

posted 9/5/19

...17 years ago, I received an invitation to sit for 10 days of silence at Vallecitos. I accepted the invitation with no idea of the lasting impact the retreat would have on me. Over the years, the annual pilgrimage has provided me with tools to sustain and deepen my ongoing mediation practice. Sweeping fields of wildflowers, star-dotted nights, and bubbling streams provide a unique opportunity to directly experience interconnectedness. This gentle, wild setting is a profound environment to recharge mind, spirit, and body.

Katie Gall

...Vallecitos has truly become a home to me. Working with such great teachers and mentors is an honor and being able to absorb all the knowledge and blessings that flow through the gorgeous land has shaped my soul and nourished my mind. It really is a magical place that I am forever grateful for.

Krys Kornmeier

...The view of the Aspen trees outside my casita, the cool silent mornings of meditation, the warmth of the lodge, and the exquisite majesty of the land created a gentle but powerful impression... in one short visit I have come to treasure Vallecitos.

Debra Susan Abbot

...I had a tremendous experience at Vallecitos, which is one of the most rewarding and positive things I’ve done within my lifetime. I have incorporated many of the things I learned into my daily life, and it has been very healthy for me. I had to experience loving kindness, sympathetic joy and generosity to understand the full power and grace of these profound feelings and actions.

...I came to Vallecitos for a retreat years ago and fell in love with it. Now as a volunteer and yogi I try to come back every summer to soak up the stunning landscapes as well as the rich dharma. This place truly calls me home.

Mark Coleman

...Vallecitos has always been one of my spiritual homes. It is a place where I have learned so much about the refuge of wilderness. It is where I have discovered so much about my own nature, from the wildness of nature there. Not only is it exquisitely beautiful and pristine, it is also profoundly serene and a place of deep renewal. I feel so blessed to have been able to visit every year for the past twenty years. I am eternally grateful for that land.

Cristina Mormorunni

...I am so much more aware of the path I want to be on and the power of the sacred in my life.

Khalil Hassan

...I cannot express in words alone how important the retreat was for me. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is the importance of listening to my inner self. Vallecitos provided the necessary environment that makes it impossible not to go inward. When I returned home, I hit the ground running, but with a more focused direction. I attribute that to my stay at Vallecitos.

Mushim Ikeda

...I was teaching at Vallecitos one year in August, during the meteor showers. Our sensitivity heightened by hours of silent meditation, we would stand outside at night and watch trails of light cross the vast dark sky, signs from what I call the Greater Reality. Unforgettable.

Swati Prakash

...The time and the space to reflect and cultivate inner calm were so valuable. This was a very healing experience for me. It also started me on the practice of meditating. I meditate every day now, just for 10 minutes, but it makes a huge difference in my everyday life and with work.

Jane Cronlund

...Since the retreat, my pace of personal breakthroughs has quickened and old dynamics seem to be changing in positive ways. I am better able to deal with previously tense situations and successfully resolve them. I have increased feelings of peace. Thank you!

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