With a master's degree in art history and archeology from Université Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand and a DEA in medieval art history from Université Paris X Nanterre, Virginie Goutayer has been an assistant administrator at the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (Center of the National Monuments) for twenty years. She has also been the assistant administrator of the abbey and the Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie (Museum of Art and Archeology) of Cluny as well as of the Chapelle des Moines in Berzé-la-Ville in the Saône-et-Loire department since September 2015. Virginie Goutayer is also in charge of the cultural and educational offer for Cluny Abbey, the castle of Bussy-Rabutin in the Côte-d'Or department, and Voltaire's castle in the Ain department.