Visitor Experience Manager

Painswick Rococo Garden Trust; Stroud; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% employer pension contributions

Free admission

20% café and shop discount

Lunch provided

Job summary

Painswick Rococo Garden Trust is seeking a Visitor Experience Manager to lead our visitor experience programme, events, family trails, interpretation and customer service, bringing the 18th-century garden to life.

You will manage a small team and volunteers, drive income through events and venue hire, ensure high standards of service, and collaborate with designers and suppliers. This is a full-time role based in Painswick, Gloucestershire, with weekend commitments.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience delivering interpretation and visitor operations in a heritage/visitor attraction setting.
• Experience leading staff and volunteers with strong leadership skills.
• Ability to mix strategic planning with day-to-day delivery and to meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to inspire delivery and provide excellent customer service.
• Experience in running profitable events and managing budgets to maximise income.

Responsibilities

• Develop the annual visitor experience strategy with events, trails and activities.
• Lead and develop a small team and volunteers, with clear objectives and feedback.
• Ensure excellent customer service and a welcoming visitor environment.
• Oversee interpretation, site materials, and tours, working with external designers.
• Set and monitor financial targets to maximise profitability of events.
• Oversee volunteers, safeguarding, health and safety compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Customer service

Strategic planning

Budgeting

Communication

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Are you a creative, organised and people-focused leader who can turn a great visit into an unforgettable one?

It is an exciting time to join the Garden as we embark on an ambitious 10 year business plan which will include the delivery of a new visitor centre and the development of our community outreach programme.

The Visitor Experience Manager ensures that every visit to Painswick Rococo Garden is enjoyable and inspiring. You’ll be an integral part of bringing our beautiful and quirky 18th-century garden to life by leading our programme of events and family trails, interpretation, customer service and presentation standards.

Passionate, entrepreneurial and a self-starter, you will design a high-quality visitor experience that makes visitors feel more connected to the garden and generates vital income for the charity.

Closing date: Monday 16 November

First interviews: Tuesday 24 November

Second interviews: Tuesday 1 December

Visitor Experience Manager

Full time (40hrs per week)

Based in Painswick, Gloucestershire

Role summary

The Visitor Experience Manager ensures that all visitors have an enjoyable and inspiring time at Painswick Rococo Garden. They help bring this beautiful and quirky 18th-century garden to life by leading our programme of events and family trails, interpretation, customer service and presentation standards. They manage a small team of staff and lead the volunteer experience to ensure it is varied, productive and rewarding for all involved. Highly organised, entrepreneurial and a self-starter, the postholder generates vital income for the charity through events and other opportunities such as venue hire.

Occasionally situations may arise that require the post holder to perform other duties or tasks as may be reasonably requested by Painswick Rococo Garden Trust.

Key responsibilities

Experience and interpretation

• Develop the annual visitor experience strategy. You’ll design and deliver a highquality, fun, and inspiring visitor programme of events, trails and activities that make visitors feel more connected to the garden. This includes horticultural and arts events, outdoor theatre, and family trails to enhance the core experience for existing audiences, help us reach new audiences, and to achieve our visitor targets.
• You’ll lead, manage and develop a small team of visitor experience staff and volunteers, creating an enjoyable and engaging place for them to work. You’ll drive strong performance through setting clear objectives and giving regular feedback.
• You will lead a culture of excellent customer service within the visitor experience team, making sure all our visitors feel welcome and have a great day out.
• You’ll ensure that we share our unique history in engaging and relevant ways through developing our site interpretation, printed materials and guided tours. You will be confident in working with external designers and suppliers.

Income generation

• You will be responsible for setting, monitoring and achieving financial targets, working with the Marketing Manager and Finance Officer to ensure that we maximise the profitability of events and activities.
• You will seek out opportunities to grow income, working collaboratively with the team to make ideas come to life. You will use data and learn from customer feedback in order to improve and develop the business.
• You’ll research and introduce packages to increase the profit for the charity including small weddings, proposals, photography and venue hire.

Volunteers, community and inclusion

• You’ll lead the volunteer experience, including recruitment, induction, retention and skills development. You’ll work with the other department leads to ensure that our volunteer experience is varied, productive and rewarding for all involved.
• You’ll explore ways of engaging with a wider range of audiences and our community so that more people can benefit from the garden, nature and our heritage.
• You will improve accessibility and remove barriers so that all visitors can better enjoy the Rococo Garden.
• You’ll explore partnerships and initiatives to help ensure we grow as a well-loved and well-used resource for our local communities.

Compliance

• You’ll be responsible for the health and safety of the visitor offer, working with the Garden Director and Facilities Officer to identify and manage risks, and to support the safe operation of the Garden as a heritage visitor attraction and workplace.
• You will make sure that you and your team are safe and compliant so that risks to the public and the team are minimised. This includes writing risk assessments, delivering training to your team, and undertake actions from our health and safety audits for your department.
• You will act as the site’s safeguarding officer.
• This role includes regular duty management on a rota basis, including weekends, bank holidays and evenings. In addition, all employees are expected to work within the terms of their contract of employment.

Person specification

• Hands-on experience of delivering interpretation and visitor operations in a heritage/visitor attraction setting.
• The ability to inspire delivery through others. Experience managing staff and volunteers, demonstrating great leadership skills.
• Ability to flex between strategic planning and operational delivery.
• Excellent organisational skills. The ability to prioritise to meet deadlines.
• Experience of leading a culture of exceptional customer service.
• Experience of running high-quality profitable events.
• Excellent team working and influencing skills, with the ability to build great relationships and work collaboratively to achieve the charity’s goals.
• Good understanding of different visitor audiences and the ability to draw on / develop audience insight
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience of managing operational risk in a visitor operations setting.
• Ability to manage budgets effectively to maximise income. Demonstrates a responsible attitude to available resources and using them efficiently and effectively.
• Great IT skills including with Microsoft Office.
• First aid qualification or willingness to learn.

This role includes weekend, bank holiday and evening work on a rota basis.

Place of work

Painswick Rococo Garden, GL6 6TH

Salary

£33,000 plus discretionary benefits such as 8% employer pension contributions, free admission, a 20% discount in our café and shop, and a simple lunch

Holidays

28 days paid holiday (including bank holidays) per annum

References

Two professional references will be required, including one from a current or most recent employer

Probation period

Four months

Notice period

Six weeks

Line Manager

Garden Director