Director, Guest Experience

Director, Guest Experience

Employee Status: Regular Full Time

Work From Home Option: Not Applicable

FLSA Status: Exempt

Job Overview:

NYRA is seeking a Director, Guest Experience to lead the strategic vision and operational execution of world-class hospitality at Belmont Park and Saratoga Racecourse. This visionary leader will shape how fans connect with NYRA across every touchpointfrom arrival to departurecreating experiences that drive deeper engagement, loyalty, and return visitation. As the senior leader of the Guest Experience department, you will oversee admissions, ushers, tours, and guest services operations across both premier venues, ensuring seamless service delivery and brand consistency. You'll lead a team of supervisors and individual contributors, providing strategic direction, performance management, and resource allocation to achieve departmental goals. This role serves as the primary liaison between Guest Experience and cross-functional partners including operations, marketing, facilities, and F&B, ensuring integrated, fan-first strategies across the organization. The ideal candidate is an innovative hospitality leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence, a passion for elevating guest experiences, and proven ability to build high-performing teams. You'll bring experience scaling guest service operations in sports, entertainment, or hospitality venues, with a track record of driving measurable improvements in guest satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Essential Functions:

Lead the Guest Experience management team through coaching, strategic guidance, and resource support to drive excellence across all guest-facing operations.

Monitor and coach frontline staff across all departments to ensure adherence to NYRA's guest service philosophy and brand expectations.

Motivate event staff by creating a positive working environment and culture where employees are stimulated and inspired to do exceptional work.

Facilitate a coaching and counseling program that maintains consistency of effort among event staff. As well as identify and develop event staff into specialized supporting roles.

Oversee development and distribution of guest-facing and employee materials including accessibility guides, fan guides, event staff handbooks, and operational resources.

Ensures that the department is in full compliance with collective bargaining agreement, and any state or federal labor laws.

Meet with event operations departments to resolve Guest Experience needs and requirements on a per-event basis.

Oversee workforce planning and staff deployment for all events, balancing service excellence, safety requirements, and cost management objectives.

To maintain emergency preparedness, the Guest Experience Director must have a solid understanding of all applicable safety regulations and security procedures for the racecourses.

Ensure that event plans and layouts support the highest standards of accessibility and ADA regulations.

Conduct comprehensive pre-event briefings for Guest Experience leadership and frontline staff, aligning teams on service standards, safety protocols, and event-specific procedures.

Provide on-site leadership during events to coordinate response to guest incidents including injuries, lost children, ejections, seating issues, and emergency situations.

Anticipate guest issues by consistently supervising crowd flow and service issues.

Work with the Event Operations Department to develop and/or implement staffing levels and budgets for each event.

Develop and maintain event staff depth charts for all Guest Experience event staff.

Direct payroll reconciliation for Guest Experience staff and complete departmental reporting to support financial tracking and compliance.

Prepare, present, and manage the Guest Experience annual budget, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and fiscal responsibility.

Other Duties as Assigned.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in hospitality, business administration or a related field or equivalent amount of education and work experience in a related field.

Strongly preferred 6 years of guest or event service experience in a managerial capacity in stadium or arena management.

Strongly preferred 6 years of experience in sports and entertainment facilities.

Able and willing to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Strong public speaking skills and experience, comfort with speaking in front of audiences ranging from 10 to 500 people.

Demonstrated ability to proactively create solutions to problems and situations before and after they arise with little or no supervision.

Strong leadership and personnel management experience with the ability to coach, mentor and motivate a diverse workforce.

Bilingual capabilities ideal (Spanish preferred)

Experience with union environments

Skills:

Leading and developing high-performing teams (10+ direct/indirect reports)

Performance management, coaching, and talent development

Conflict resolution and employee relations

Strategic vision and long-term planning

Guest experience strategy development and implementation

Large-scale guest services operations (high-volume venues)

Crowd management and flow optimization

Crisis management and incident response

Executive-level communication and reporting

Cross-departmental collaboration (operations, marketing, F&B, facilities, security)

Vendor and partner relationship management

Guest feedback analysis and reporting

Net Promoter Score (NPS) and satisfaction metrics

CRM and database management

Workforce management systems

Ticketing and admissions platforms

Microsoft Office Suite (advanced Excel, PowerPoint)

Data visualization and reporting tools

Summary of Physical Requirements and Work Environment:

This role is primarily sedentary and performed in an office or office-like environment with no special physical demands required. The position involves extended periods of sitting with intermittent standing and walking, as well as occasional bending, reaching, and other routine movements typical of a professional workplace. The role requires regular hand manipulation, including daily typing and repetitive hand movements while working on a computer. Occasional light lifting (generally up to 10 lbs., and infrequently up to 30 lbs.) may be required. The work environment does not typically expose the employee to hazardous conditions. There is minimal exposure to environmental hazards such as moving mechanical parts, fumes, extreme weather, or high-risk work areas. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Pay Range / Salary: $120,000 - $130,000

New York Racing Association