Vice President of Guest Experience

Smugglers' Notch Resort•Cambridge, VT

10h•$95,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President of Guest Experience leads the resort’s core guest-facing departments to deliver a connected, welcoming, and consistently high-quality experience. This leader will preserve what makes Smugglers’ Notch distinctive as America’s Family Resort while improving service, programming, facilities, and operating processes. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on operational engagement. The VP will build trust with experienced teams, respect the resort’s history and institutional knowledge, and lead practical changes with clear priorities, accountability, and follow-through. This position reports directly to the Smugglers’ Notch General Manager and is a member of the resort Senior Leadership Team.

Requirements

8–10 years of senior leadership experience in a complex hospitality, resort, recreation, attractions, or related guest-facing service environment.
Demonstrated success leading multiple operating functions, developing experienced leaders, and guiding operational or organizational change while sustaining employee trust and engagement.
Strong execution and project leadership skills, with the ability to translate strategy into clear priorities, accountable ownership, and completed work.
Strong business and financial acumen, including budget management, labor productivity, and the ability to connect guest experience decisions to revenue, cost, and profitability.
Experience partnering with Sales and Marketing on demand generation, product positioning, or guest growth strategies.
Ability to move between strategic planning and hands-on operational leadership and use guest feedback, operating data, and financial results to guide decisions.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a seasonal resort or family recreation environment, with an understanding of the different operating demands of winter, summer, and shoulder seasons.
A record of connecting guest-facing departments and modernizing service processes, programming, or the physical guest experience.
Experience developing recreation, youth, family, or event programming that attracts day guests, engages the surrounding community, and generates incremental revenue.
An interest in skiing and snowboarding, with an understanding of how the mountain experience connects to resort village services and activities.

Responsibilities

Departmental oversight includes resort activities and recreation, including the FunZone, Championship Disc Golf, Nordic skiing, and mountain biking; retail operations, including hard and soft goods shops and the General Store; ski rentals, tuning, and equipment demo outlets; Ski & Snowboard School; summer camps and youth programming; TREASURES Daycare; the Guest Service Desk; and the Ski & Ride Sales Desk, including lift ticket, camp, Ski School, and season pass sales.
Lead a consistent, connected guest experience across departments, improving service, programming, physical presentation, and operating processes while preserving the resort’s family-centered character.
Build and develop a strong leadership team. Assess organizational structure and capabilities, clarify ownership and decision-making, and empower department leaders to deliver results.
Set priorities, timelines, and performance expectations; guide operational change with respect for institutional knowledge and clear follow-through on commitments.
Lead departmental budgets, labor planning, revenue performance, and operating contribution in partnership with Finance and the General Manager. Identify and prioritize capital needs for guest-facing departments through the resort’s capital planning process.
Use guest feedback and operating and financial metrics to identify service gaps, measure progress, and prioritize improvements and investment.
Partner with Sales and Marketing leadership on product offerings, pricing, promotions, and sales channels. Lead on-resort sales and service execution, staffing, transactions, and guest problem resolution.
Adapt staffing, service levels, and programming to winter, summer, and shoulder-season demand. Work across departments to connect the on-mountain experience with village services and activities so guests experience Smuggs as one resort.