Senior Director, Travel Services

About this role

When it comes to creating educational travel adventures that enrich the lives and fulfill the dreams of more than 100,000 people every year, there's no organization better than Road Scholar. What's our secret? Dedicated and talented staff who believe in our mission.
At Road Scholar, we are committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity and belonging. We believe that by valuing a wide range of perspectives and experiences, we create a stronger, more innovative organization that reflects the communities we serve.
In addition, we are dedicated to being an environmentally sustainable organization. From the way we design our programs to how we operate as a team, we are striving to reduce our environmental impact and create a positive legacy for future generations.
About the role...
The Senior Director, Travel Services sets the strategic direction and provides overall leadership for Travel Services, strengthening the function’s capabilities and its ability to deliver a high-quality, consistent participant experience. Leading through a team of senior leaders, this role ensures the operation is effectively led and executed while remaining focused on long-term strategy, innovation, and continuous improvement. The Senior Director designs and leads a function that enables the team to navigate the complexity of the airline landscape, manage high operational demands, and deliver on Road Scholar’s mission and business goals.
Road Scholar offers a remote work environment. The compensation range for this exempt level salaried position is $119,500 - $144,500 based on experience.
In this role, you will provide...
Strategy & Functional Direction:

• Define and drive the vision and long-term direction for Travel Services, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities

• Establish and communicate a clear service and operating model across inbound, outbound, and support teams

• Ensure the function evolves to meet changing participant and organizational needs

Continuous Improvement & Change Leadership:

• Lead strategic and systemic improvement efforts across the function Champion changes that enhance service quality, efficiency, in both the employee and participant experience

• Translate insight into action by delivering measurable operation and experience improvements

Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment:

• Serve as the primary cross-department leader for Travel Services, partnering across teams to influence outcomes and drive alignment

• Ensure clarity in roles, responsibilities, and handoffs across functions (e.g., Air Operations, Program teams, PX, PS)

• Connect the work of Travel Services to broader organizational goals and initiatives

Performance Framework & Operational Excellence:

• Oversee the establishment of operational goals, KPIs, and best practices that reflect the true goals of the function

• Define performance standards across service, quality, and efficiency, ensuring they are meaningful and actionable

• Ensure a performance management framework is in place, enabling leaders to monitor results and adjust operations in real time to achieve targets

Organizational Leadership & Structure:

• Lead and develop a team of senior leaders, including the Senior Operations Manager, Senior Training Manager, and the Director, Travel Services

• Senior Operations Manager

• Senior Training Manager

• Director, Travel Services

• Design an organizational structure that supports clarity, scalability, and effective spans of control Coach leaders to operate at the appropriate level, balancing strategic thinking with execution

Capability Building: Training, Communications & Operations:

• Set direction for the Training function, led by a Senior Manager, to ensure programs effectively build capability and reinforce service, quality, and efficiency standards

• Set direction for the Operations function, led by an Operations Manager, to ensure strong workforce planning, performance monitoring, and actionable insight

• Ensure alignment across Training and Operations to drive consistency in execution and support informed, data-driven decision-making

Outcomes & Organizational Impact:

• Deliver measurable improvements in participant experience, operational efficiency, and team effectiveness

• Position Travel Services as a strategic contributor to the organization’s broader success Ensure team efforts are clearly connected to participant impact and business outcomes

We're seeking...

• 8+ years of leading complex service, operations, customer experience, contact center, hospitality, travel, healthcare, or other service-oriented organizations

• 5+ years of experience leading organizational change, process improvement, and operational transformation initiatives

• 5+ years of experience leading leaders, developing emerging leaders and building high-performing teams
Experience balancing strategic planning with operational execution in a complex, service-oriented environment

• Proven ability to quickly learn complex business functions and lead teams comprised of subject matter experts

• Demonstrated ability to make sound decisions in areas where others possess deeper technical expertise

• Experience building strong partnerships with operational subject matter experts to drive business outcomes

Additional Skills:

• Strong service orientation and commitment to delivering high-quality customer experiences

• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into action

• Strong change leadership and organizational development skills

• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities

• Demonstrated ability to lead through ambiguity and complexity

• Ability to balance participant needs, employee experience, and business objectives

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Ability to lead effectively without being the technical expert in every area of responsibility

• Curiosity and learning agility; quickly develops understanding of complex business processes and…