Director of Operations

Responsibilities

• Operational Strategy & Leadership
• Own and lead the domestic attractions and meals fulfillment operational strategy in support of WorldStrides' educational travel programs.
• Design and scale operating models that support high-volume, seasonal, and geographically diverse programs.
• Serve as a senior operational leader, contributing to enterprise-level decisions impacting program design, cost structure, and execution.
• Lead and develop teams responsible for supplier management, fulfillment, and operational performance.
• Partner with field and program operations to ensure accurate forecasting, scheduling, and execution.
• Attractions / Meals Procurement & Fulfillment
• Lead sourcing, contracting, and fulfillment of domestic attractions, including museums, cultural institutions, performances, educational venues, and experiential activities.
• Negotiate pricing, capacity, access, and policies that support group travel and educational outcomes.
• Ensure attraction selections align with program goals, student engagement objectives, and safety requirements.
• Oversee fulfillment accuracy and operational readiness across all booked attractions and meals.
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with meal and attraction suppliers nationwide.
• Establish clear performance expectations, service-level standards, and accountability measures.
• Conduct ongoing supplier performance reviews and audits to ensure consistent delivery and continuous improvement.
• Identify and onboard new partners to expand coverage, address capacity needs, and mitigate operational risk.
• Financial & Contract Management
• Lead contract negotiations for meals and attractions, securing competitive pricing, favorable terms, and appropriate protections.
• Own budget oversight and cost management for meals and attractions spend, balancing value with experience quality.
• Partner with Finance to forecast demand, manage margins, and identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Ensure contracts meet legal, compliance, and risk standards appropriate for student travel programs.
• Risk Management & Quality Assurance
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational risks related to food safety, capacity constraints, fulfillment failures, and attraction availability.
• Ensure partners comply with health, safety, and emergency response requirements.
• Establish escalation protocols and contingency plans to support field teams and minimize program disruption.
• Monitor and resolve issues impacting program delivery or participant satisfaction.
• Data, Insights & Continuous Improvement
• Use operational and financial data to assess performance, identify trends, and drive improvement across meals and attractions.
• Establish KPIs and reporting to measure fulfillment accuracy, supplier performance, cost efficiency, and quality outcomes.
• Lead initiatives to streamline processes, reduce complexity, and improve scalability.
• Apply lessons learned from program feedback to inform future sourcing and operational decisions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Partner closely with Program Operations, Product Management, Risk, Legal, Finance, and Customer Experience teams to ensure aligned execution.
• Support on-the-ground teams with clear processes,

Benefits

Additional Information

Company Introduction WorldStrides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. WorldStrides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports. Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world - and themselves - in new ways. Job Description: The Director of Operations - Domestic Meals & Attractions is responsible for leading the strategy, procurement, and operational fulfillment of meals and attractions across WorldStrides' domestic education programs. This role plays a critical part in delivering safe, engaging, high-quality, and reliable experiences that support learning beyond the classroom for students and educators. Reporting into Vice President Product Delivery, this role owns the end-to-end operational lifecycle for attractions-from sourcing and contracting through fulfillment, execution, and continuous improvement-ensuring consistency, scalability, cost management, and risk mitigation across all U.S. destinations as well as overseeing the meals fulfillment. The Senior Director leads a team of Operations managers and meals and attractions coordinators both in the US and in Merida. As well, partners closely with Program Operations, Product, Risk, Finance, and Customer Experience teams to ensure programs operate seamlessly and meet WorldStrides' high standards for student travel.

Your Match

How well this role fits your profile.

Company Intel

What employees say

Worked at world4822stri986des? Share your experience