Director of Guest Operations

About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a twofold mission of preservation and education, and was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Our dedicated staff leverages the power of a beautiful, resonant, and carefully preserved historic site to tell unflinching stories of America's complex origins and fitful progress toward the ideals Jefferson articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.

Reporting to the Vice President for Education and Guest Experience, the Director of Guest Operations is responsible for the following:

• Fostering a culture placing our guests at the forefront of our decision-making. This includes the management of robust guest feedback systems and developing staff training programs to ensure that Monticello maintains its world-class guest experience ratings.
• Managing budgets and personnel for Admissions, Guest Services, and Transportation, including three manager-level direct reports.
• Planning operational logistics for major events, including Monticello's annual July 4th Naturalization Ceremony.
• Setting policies for online and on-site admissions, access control, service recovery, accessibility, and way finding.
• Managing Monticello's fleet of six shuttle buses, and collaborating with other departments on security screening procedures, safety programs, and DOT compliance.

• A bachelor's degree; a master's degree in a relevant field is preferred.
• Demonstrated director-level experience planning guest facilities, operations, and experiences at scale.
• Strong knowledge of ticketing, admissions, and guest-facing CRM platforms, with the ability to use reporting and data export functions to drive operational decisions.
• A passion for guest service, and demonstrated ability to cultivating an institutional culture that places guest experience first.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• A record of team-driven results and effective leadership.
• High-level analytical and project management skills, with experience managing collaborative projects.
• The ability to anticipate how events, programs, and plans will affect guest flow — and to build plans that mitigate negative impact before it happens.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work across a diverse range of staff and visitors.

• As a seven-day-a-week operation, this role requires availability for non-traditional shifts — evenings, weekends, and holidays — and on-call availability for emergencies.
• Monticello sits on a mountaintop: the job requires working outdoors in all weather and walking steep, uneven terrain on a regular basis.

• Excellent benefits package (including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) retirement savings plan plus 6% match, life insurance, and more!).
• Fitness club membership discount.
• Discount in the Monticello Cafe, gift shop, and Monticello online catalog.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - free for employee and dependents.
• $500 employee referral bonus.