Retreat Planner

Overview

• Freelance contract: 20 - 30 hours per week
• Location: Anywhere (Remote)
• Language: English; knowledge of Greek, Spanish, Portuguese or French is a plus
• Salary: £35 per hour
• Applications closing: 12th October

Job Description

The Retreat Planner is at the operational heart of MLA. You own the logistics and partnerships that make our retreats world-class. From pre-retreat planning to delivery and post-event learnings, the Retreat Planner ensures our itineraries are scalable and executed as planned: everything runs on time, on budget, and at a gold-standard level. You make complex execution look effortless and create the conditions for transformative guest experiences.

Responsibilities

• Own retreat itineraries and operations to deliver world-class retreats
• Own the logistics for multiple retreats per year and ensure the successful scaling of our operations.
• Ensure 100% of retreat logistics are finalised in time for marketing and sales calendars.
• Communicate dependencies to the CEO and the rest of the team.
• Supplier and partner management: build long-term relationships with venues, caterers, transport, and activity leaders. Negotiate for value, reliability, and service guarantees.
• Coach and host liaison: Work with the team to ensure every coach and host is fully briefed, supported, and aligned with MLA's ethos.
• Itinerary and logistics management: prepare detailed, repeatable itineraries with room for local adjustments.
• On-the-ground recce: travel to retreats as needed to scout, negotiate, and secure local partnerships.
• Ensure all events meet our B Corp commitments. Training will be provided for this part of the role in Q1 2026.
• Suggest processes to improve event and community management.
• Create post-retreat reports within 7 days for 100% of events to identify and document key learnings from each event to improve future execution.
• Work with the MLA team to increase repeat bookings by 20% year-over-year.

Process and systems

• Build scalable workflows, templates, and checklists that reduce cycle time and error rate.
• Deliver post-event reports within 7 days of every retreat, turning insights into future improvements.
• Drive cost efficiency while safeguarding quality and guest experience.
• Maintain risk registers and contingency plans for weather, transport, health and safety, and supplier failure.

Optimise retreat profitability

• Update and manage retreat budgets weekly.
• Keep retreat budgets within 5% variance of planned costs.
• Strive to achieve 10-15% cost savings through supplier negotiation and partnerships.

Build local partnerships

• Research and help secure 3-5 local partnerships in each location that align with B Corp values and contribute to event programming. Assistance will be provided with this.
• Help MLA generate 20% of event revenue through partnerships.

Role Requirements Essential Skills and Experience

• Fluent negotiator with a record of securing cost improvements, value adds, and service-level guarantees.
• Proven delivery of events or retreats across multiple locations, or equivalent field operations.
• Financial acumen including building budgets, forecasting, tracking actuals, and variance analysis at the event or retreat level.
• High agency and ownership with strong judgment and bias to action.
• Highly personable relationship builder who earns trust with suppliers, venues, coaches, and guests.
• Problem-solving under pressure with robust contingency planning and calm decision making.
• Project management mastery including critical path planning, dependency management, and deadline discipline.
• Outstanding communication in writing and in person, with clear guest comms and coach briefings.
• Fluency in project tools such as Monday, Asana, or similar, and basic CRM.
• Travel readiness with the ability to travel in Europe for recces and retreat delivery. Valid passport required.

Great if you also have

• Experience in wellness, adventure travel, or high-end hospitality.
• Working knowledge of B Corp principles and sustainable procurement.
• Health and safety risk assessment experience.
• Languages such as Greek, Portuguese, French, or Spanish.
• Familiarity with budget tools.
• Clean driving licence.

How to apply?

To apply for this position, please fill in the application form.