Senior Director, Venue Optimization

Who We Are

We are Tennis! The USTA (United States Tennis Association) is the national governing body for the sport of tennis and the leader in promoting and developing the sport's growth on every level in the United States, from local communities to the crown jewel of the professional game, the US Open.

Why Work for the USTA?

We are a passionate team of staff and volunteers focused on growing the sport of tennis and making it accessible to all. We are committed to removing barriers and creating opportunities for ALL to participate. Don't know tennis? Don't worry, you can still find yourself in the game!

The Role

The Senior Director, Venue Optimization is a critical leadership position, straddling both our coaching and venue services functions, and is responsible for maximizing the utilization, profitability, and overall success of tennis venues across the US. This role is a strategic fusion of tennis coaching expertise and venue consultation, leveraging the extensive infrastructure of USTA Coaching and the operational expertise of USTA Venue Services. The Sr. Director will lead the effort to deploy a holistic strategy, working in direct partnership with the 17 USTA Sections, recognizing the inseparable connection between coaching quality, programming and operational excellence, directly impacting the success of venues across the United States, with the explicit goal of growing the sport of Tennis. The Director will have direct accountability for working closely with leadership at the USTA's premier national facilities: the National Tennis Center in Queens, NY (site of the US Open) and the Orlando/Lake Nona Tennis Campus. The goal is to ensure both campuses operate as best-of-class operational models, contributing to the growth and development of tennis at the highest level.

Strategic Consultation and Optimization Process

Strategic Partnership with Sections: Collaborate closely with the 17 USTA Sections to identify venues with significant growth potential, critical geographic importance, or operational challenges, and strategically consult to stimulate long-term, sustainable, and maximized use of venues across the US.
• Consultative Support: Lead high-level consultative engagements with USTA Section and local venue leadership to properly diagnose the root causes of underperformance, which may lie in business operations, coaching delivery, or both.
• Venue Optimization: Conduct in-depth venue assessments, simultaneously analyzing operational systems (marketing, pricing, scheduling, utilization) and the quality/delivery of coaching programs. The goal is to fix the whole picture, not just pieces, by ensuring operational systems and coaching development are addressed simultaneously.
• Leveraging the National Toolkit: Act as a critical connector to the comprehensive resources provided by USTA National. This includes strategic deployment and implementation of the USTA Venue Services (g., grants, optimization strategies, operational systems, marketing guidance) and USTA Coaching (e.g., certified curriculum, instructor networks, training programs) toolkits. This also includes mining best-of-class venue operations and sharing those practices more broadly across the sections.
• Profitability & Participation: Drive significant improvement in venue profitability and overall tennis participation by implementing systems that ensure strong utilization and a coaching experience delivers exceptional value to the player.

• Coaching-Venue Nexus: Ensure USTA Venue Services and USTA Coaching work hand-in-hand. You cannot optimize facilities by looking only at operations or only at coaching as they are completely interconnected. Facilities can't make money without good coaching. Good coaching can't survive without solid operations.
• New Play Format Implementation: Act as the critical link between the Chief Growth Officer's new play format development and successful delivery at the local level.
• Delivery Infrastructure: Work with USTA Coaching for training delivery, and USTA Venue Services for operational implementation. This direct connection is vital for new formats to reach their potential.

Preventing Failure at Delivery: Ensure new programs reach their full potential by preventing "great programs that fail at the delivery level" due to a lack of integrated coaching and facility readiness. Marketing, pricing, and scheduling only work if the coaching delivers an experience people want to pay for

Who You Are

• Proven executive experience in both the business/operations side of sports or venue management AND the programming/coaching side, preferably within the tennis industry.
• Experience working with or at a NJTL, understanding the challenges, complexities and opportunities with undeserved communities.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and lead high-level discussions and consultation with leadership at the Sections and at participating venues.
• Deep understanding of USTA infrastructure, particularly USTA Coaching and USTA Venue Services, and experience navigating organizational structure with the 17 USTA Sections.
• Expertise in financial modeling, marketing strategies, and operational systems for high-utilization venues.
• Exceptional diagnostic, analytical, and problem-solving skills with an ability to create integrated, full-picture solutions.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and align diverse national and sectional stakeholders.

What We Offer

At the USTA, we know people are our most important asset. For this reason, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to meet the needs of a diverse workforce!

Flexibility: Our Hybrid with Flexibility approach combines a balance of remote working with in-office collaboration to spark teamwork and creativity.

Comprehensive benefits designed to meet your unique needs: Medical, dental, vision, access to doctors virtually, a flexible spending account to manage your health and dependent care expenses, and life and disability insurance are a small part of our offerings.

Time to recharge and energize:Generous paid time off policy - including vacation, sick, personal, and paid holidays, parental leave, and a paid winter recess.

Plan for your future financially and professionally: 401(k) with employer matching (up to 3%), promotional and growth opportunities, Learning and Development programs to learn on the job

Mental and emotional wellness: Resources for overall well-being including mental health and meditation benefits.

Other cool perks: A personalized health management program, pet insurance, commuter benefits, identity theft protection, discounts with our network of partners, and fun events are just a few of the optional benefits available.

The expected range for the base salary for this position is $131,000 - 166,000 plus potential ICP bonus. This range does not include any additional pay or benefits for which a person may qualify. The actual base salary offered is determined by several variables, including, as appropriate, the applicant's qualifications for the position, the years of relevant experience, their unique skills, and the location from which they will be performing the job.

Come One, Come All

We strongly encourage you to apply if you're interested; we'd love to learn how you can "serve" our team with your unique experience!

USTA is dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities for all individuals, regardless of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, pregnancy, veteran status, marital status, family status, alienage or citizenship status, creed, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.