Guest Experience Team Leader

Build your career at Sazerac! With almost 400 years of rich history Sazerac Company has thrived as an independent American family-owned company with operations in the United States and around the world. Since the 2000s Sazerac has averaged double digit growth every year! Sazerac Company produces and markets the most award-winning bourbons and whiskeys in the world including Buffalo Trace Pappy Van Winkle Eagle Rare Blantons and Sazerac Rye. Additionally Sazerac owns many popular brands across a range of spirits including Fireball Southern Comfort Seagrams V.O. Myerss Goldschläger Parrot Bay 99 Brand and Platinum Vodka.

Were proud of our award-winning culture and distilleries. Our Louisville office has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky four times and our Buffalo Trace Distillery has earned the title of worlds most award-winning distillery through the dedication of our craftsmen for well over 200 years. Whether youre a recent graduate or an experienced professional Sazerac provides extraordinary opportunities for growth with competitive salaries and benefits in an exciting entrepreneurial industry.

Nestled at the corner of Canal Street and Magazine Street and less than 350 yards from the original Sazerac Coffee House The Sazerac House will be New Orleans most memorable destination offering an enriching sensory experience that embodies the citys spirited and historic character.

The Sazerac House will take its visitors through a journey of the history and culture of spirits in New Orleans showcasing the companys brands relevant to the city of yesterday and today.

The Guest Experience Team Lead supports the delivery of a world-class visitor experience at the Sazerac House. As a key member of the leadership team this role oversees daily operations guides and trains Experience Team Members and ensures every guest interaction reflects the highest level of hospitality. The Team Lead supports strategic tour route planning suggests new and engaging content for tours and tastings and plays an active role in brand-building efforts through participation in on- and off-site events tastings and media opportunities. This position helps drive guest satisfaction team development and brand loyalty through excellence in execution and service.

• Maintain knowledge of retail items as a way to link products to tasting experiences at The Sazerac House. Partner with the Gift Shop Team Lead to align on sample cart offerings ensure consistency in preferred product usage and support accurate ordering and inventory planning. Make informed merchandise suggestions based on guest interactions and feedback. Maintain up-to-date and relevant knowledge of featured brands to drive gift shop sales and enhance storytelling. Actively encourage tour guests to visit the Gift Shop during their visit and serve as an advocate for Sazerac Houses featured brands within the community.
• Use PDS as a tool to monitor performance and evaluate own skills. Participate in PDS discussions with supervisor to prepare for future growth within the company. Identify key team members for potential growth and work with them on skill development.
• Assist the Guest Experience Manager in fostering cross-departmental collaboration as part of the Sazerac House Leadership Team. Share ideas that enhance the guest experience while supporting broader team goals and aligning plans across departments for smooth execution. Leverage guest feedback and performance data to strengthen team strategies and drive key outcomes. Work with the Sazerac House team to generate revenue and create raving fans. Identify focus areas for visiting groups and tailor tours to deliver meaningful memorable experiences.
• Oversee and leads daily tours tastings events and programming to ensure world-class service. Serves as a visible role model of exceptional customer service to internal and external stakeholders at all times. Provides direct leadership to Experience and Premium Experience Team Members overseeing onboarding training and ongoing development. Establishes and reinforces service standards. Monitors interactions offering recognition and accountability. Responds to guest feedback and concerns promptly. Addresses staff issues per policy and partners with the Guest Experience Manager on service enhancements.
• When acting as Manager on Duty ensure the Gift Shop is clean organized and guest-ready. Spends majority of the shift providing visible leadership on the floor. Support the Manager in training new Experience Ambassadors. Monitor prepped kitchen items for both quantity and shelf life and advise the daily point person on adjustments as needed. Assist with creating the Experience Teams weekly schedule aligning with the Events Team and Guest Experience Manager to ensure proper staffing. Oversee team inventory place kitchen and dry goods orders and support weekly team communication.
• Reinforce ongoing responsibilities priorities and tasks with Gift Shop and Tour Guide staff. Assign daily tasks as needed ensuring balanced workloads and appropriate breaks. Provide feedback on new processes and assist with implementation. Offer suggestions to enhance tours and tastings by incorporating fresh engaging content. Support offsite tastings pop-up retail requests and donation gift baskets. Participate in on- and off-site brand-building events and contribute feedback to help shape future event selection and planning.
• Anticipate daily visitor flow and plan tour routes to avoid overlap with scheduled tours events and tastings. Coordinate with the Guest Experience Manager and Events Team to ensure smooth operations. Provide engaging brand-aligned experiences that create raving fans of the Sazerac House. Monitor prepped kitchen items for quantity and shelf life. Suggest updates to tours and storytelling to enhance guest engagement. Support new process rollouts and provide feedback. Ensure compliance with all Personal Safety Food Safety Quality and Environmental standards.
• Provide recognition and accountability where appropriate to uphold performance standards. Ensure team members are subject matter experts in tours tastings and featured brands to deliver confident informed experiences. Build relationships with tour operators and industry partners to enhance guest engagement and support data-driven follow-up that drives future visitation and brand loyalty.
• Work with the Gift Shop and Experience Teams to ensure all team members are subject matter experts on featured products. Collaborate with both teams to make every consumer interaction impactful turning guests into enthusiastic advocates for our brands. Secure relevant information from interested consumers to support future grassroots marketing and personalized follow-up efforts.
• Ensure experience ambassador team has a working knowledge of Public Relations efforts and press releases in order to address visitors inquiries. Keep General Manager informed of any questions/comments related to Sazerac news from consumers that is out of the ordinary.

MUST

• Ability and willingness to work non-traditional hours (nights/weekends)
• Excellent oral & written communication skills
• High School diploma or GED equivalent
• Ability to handle multiple tasks at one time
• Strong presentation skills
• Ability to communicate with all levels of an org
• Ability to project a professional image
• Demonstrate the ability to work as a team as well as self-directed
• Experience in Alcohol Beverage Industry or CPG overall
• At least 21 years of age

PREFERRED

• Bachelors Degree
• Yes Experience in Alcohol Beverage Industry or CPG overall
• 3 years Hospitality industry experience
• 1 year Experience consulting managing and setting up VIP Guest Visits

Physical Requirements

• In-person job attendance
• Ability to pick up and/or move objects up to 25 pounds without assistance

#LI-JJ1