Brand Home Manager

our company•Shelbyville, KY

15d•$120,000 - $140,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Brand Home Manager will lead the guest experience at The Maven Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, building and managing the operation from its pre-opening phase. The role is accountable for all guest-facing areas, including VIP hosting, tours and tastings, retail, the bar program, and events. Initially, guests will include industry insiders, allocated-bottle holders, trade and tourism partners, media, barrel purchasers, and invited guests; the distillery plans to begin private walkthroughs in late 2026, with broader guest experiences and public access phased in through 2027. The manager will provide personalized, discreet hospitality and own the logistics of VIP visits, while establishing systems, service standards, training, and a team that can scale without losing the personal touch. Responsibilities also include operating the tour and experience calendar, maintaining a safe guest route on an active production campus, building the retail and beverage programs, executing events, recruiting and developing staff, and managing the guest experience P&L and operational systems. The role works onsite and in partnership with teams across Production, Marketing & Communications, Sales, Finance, Legal, and Facilities.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience in hospitality, luxury guest experience, tourism, restaurant, or retail operations, including at least 3 years leading and developing teams.
Demonstrated ownership of a high-touch guest program, such as at a luxury hotel or resort, fine dining operation, private club, winery, distillery, or comparable destination.
Direct experience operating a tour, tasting, or visitor program, including capacity management, guide training, and delivery.
Hands-on retail and/or food and beverage operating experience, including inventory, POS, cost controls, and service standards.
Proven ability to host senior, high-net-worth, or high-profile guests with warmth, discretion, and composure.
Strong operating discipline and comfort with schedules, budgets, staffing models, SOPs, and reporting, including building these systems when they do not exist.
Excellent written and verbal communication and the judgment to represent the brand without supervision.
Ability to work 100% onsite in Shelbyville, including evenings, select weekends, and holidays.
Must be at least 21 years old and able to obtain any required alcohol service certification.

Nice To Haves

Experience opening a new venue, property, or program from pre-opening through stabilization.
Knowledge of American whiskey, bourbon production, and the Kentucky bourbon tourism market.
Track record of creating or curating new guest experiences, rather than only executing existing ones.
Familiarity with booking, ticketing, and CRM platforms, and with Kentucky ABC regulations.
Existing relationships across Kentucky hospitality, tourism, and trade.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary contact and host for high-value visitors, including allocation holders, barrel purchasers, trade and media guests, brand partners, and executive visitors.
Manage end-to-end VIP visit logistics, including pre-arrival communication, itinerary design, arrival, pacing, food and beverage, gifting, and follow-up.
Anticipate guest needs and maintain accurate guest records and preferences in coordination with Sales, Marketing, and Communications.
Resolve service issues and establish standards to prevent recurrence.
Own scheduling, routing, capacity, staffing, and guest flow for tours and experiences as the program expands.
Build and lead training for tour content, delivery, and storytelling, including rehearsals before new offerings launch.
Deliver tours and experiences, including tastings, blend-your-own-bottle activities, cocktail classes, and private barrel selections as they become available.
Maintain a safe, compliant, and immaculate guest route across the active production campus in partnership with Production, Safety, and Facilities.
Establish and operate the retail program, including assortment, merchandising, inventory, receiving, cycle counts, shrink control, and POS.
Drive retail revenue and experience attachment, using guest insights to inform buying decisions.
Coordinate guest gifting and support bottle engraving, personalization, barrel-related retail fulfillment, uniforms, branded merchandise, and partnership items.
Operate the mixology bar and trolley service, including menus, cost and pour controls, par levels, ordering, glassware, and service standards.
Partner on cocktail menu development and ensure responsible alcohol service, including staff training and certification, ID verification, and regulatory compliance.
Support execution of launch events, the Grand Opening, Cocktails in the Garden evenings, trade and sales events, external meetings, and community events.
Coordinate event staffing, run of show, setup, breakdown, and day-of execution with internal teams and catering and private-chef partners.
Make decisions during events that balance guest experience with operational and safety needs.
Recruit, hire, onboard, schedule, and develop experience leads and associates, bartenders and servers, retail staff, and stewards as the organization grows through 2027.
Maintain service standards through training, coaching, feedback, and performance management; lead daily stand-ups and weekly leader meetings.
Build a cross-trained team and a culture that treats hospitality as a craft.
Manage the guest experience P&L, including revenue by offering, labor model and scheduling efficiency, cost of goods, and operating expenses.
Own booking, ticketing, CRM systems, reporting, forecasts, staffing plans, and operational debriefs.
Track and report guest satisfaction, conversion and attachment, revenue per guest, retail and bar performance, and repeat visitation among high-value guests.
Partner with Production, Marketing & Communications, Sales, Finance, Legal, and Facilities as part of the onsite leadership team.