At Vanderbilt University , our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of “America’s Best Large Employers” as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice.
We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story.
Position Summary:
The Deputy Director of Hospitality serves as the operational and strategic number two within Vanderbilt Enterprises’ hospitality portfolio, helping lead event sales and service while advancing a consistent culture of hospitality across the university.
This role oversees the sales and service functions supporting events and catering, while also working across Vanderbilt Athletics, Oak View Group (OVG), retail, and other campus partners to elevate hospitality standards and create a more cohesive guest experience.
The position is both an operator and a hospitality leader—responsible for ensuring events are executed at a high level while helping Vanderbilt build a recognizable standard of service across its venues, programs, and customer-facing spaces.
Key Functions and Expected Performance:
1. Event Sales & Service
- Oversee the sales and service functions supporting Vanderbilt events and catering.
- Lead the client journey from initial inquiry and contracting through event planning, execution, and post-event follow-up.
- Establish service standards and processes that create a consistent, high-quality experience for internal and external clients.
- Partner with sales, catering, operations, and venue teams to ensure seamless handoffs and execution.
- Identify opportunities to grow event and catering revenue while maintaining Vanderbilt’s service standards.
- Develop systems for client feedback, service recovery, and continuous improvement.
2. Hospitality Strategy & Standards
- Help develop and implement a university-wide hospitality philosophy and service standard.
- Create hospitality training, service expectations, and best practices that can be adapted across Vanderbilt Enterprises.
- Evaluate the guest journey across Vanderbilt venues and programs and identify opportunities to improve service, communication, wayfinding, amenities, and overall experience.
- Establish measurable hospitality standards and help departments track performance and improvement.
- Serve as a resource and subject-matter expert for teams seeking to elevate their hospitality programs.
- Work collaboratively between Athletics and Vanderbilt Enterprises to provide guidance and support that will elevate the overall Athletics hospitality experience.
3. Retail Hospitality
- Partner with Vanderbilt retail operations to help make campus retail spaces more welcoming, service-oriented, and reflective of the Vanderbilt brand.
- Evaluate the customer journey within retail locations and recommend improvements to service, presentation, communication, and overall hospitality.
- Help establish customer-service standards and training for retail-facing employees.
- Identify opportunities for retail locations to better contribute to the overall Vanderbilt campus experience.
Supervisory Relationships:
- Serve as a senior leader within Vanderbilt Enterprises’ hospitality and events operation.
- Act as a key partner to the Senior Director of Event Sales & Operations and provide leadership coverage as needed.
- Build strong relationships across Athletics, OVG, security, guest services, retail, catering, events, facilities, and other university departments.
- Lead through influence across teams that may not directly report to the position.
- Foster a culture centered on hospitality, accountability, communication, and continuous improvement.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and 10+ years relevant professional experience.
- Significant experience in hospitality, events, venue management, premium service, guest services, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing complex, customer-facing operations.
- Strong understanding of event sales, event services, and hospitality operations.
- Experience developing and implementing service standards, training programs, or guest-experience initiatives.
- Strong communication, relationship-building, and cross-functional leadership skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment, including nights, weekends, and major events as necessary.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience within a university, professional sports organization, major entertainment venue, hotel, convention center, or similar complex hospitality environment.
- Experience working with food and beverage operators or third-party hospitality partners.
- Experience supporting premium hospitality, suites, clubs, or VIP programs.
- Experience working within collegiate or professional athletics.
- Experience improving hospitality or customer service within retail environments.
- Demonstrated success building hospitality programs across multiple departments or business units.
- Experience developing measurable service standards, training programs, and customer-feedback systems.