Visitor Operations Manager

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty; Yelverton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension up to 10%

Free entry for you and guest

Season ticket loan

EV car lease

Perks at work discounts

Holiday entitlement 32 days

Job summary

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is seeking a Visitor Operations Manager to lead across Antony House, Buckland Abbey and Cotehele. You will manage teams across three properties, oversee visitor experiences, and ensure high standards of presentation and customer service while coordinating weekend and duty rotas.

In this role you will champion inclusion, work with staff, volunteers and external partners, and help shape business plans that reflect visitor needs

Qualifications

• Experience leading teams and working with staff, volunteers and external partners.
• Champion for inclusion and diversity.
• Skilled at creating and evaluating visitor experiences and events.
• Strong prioritisation and delegation and empowering staff and volunteers.
• Attention to high standards of presentation, interpretation and customer service.
• Ability to adapt quickly and solve problems.
• Comfortable managing budgets and resources to meet targets.

Responsibilities

• Lead across Antony House, Buckland Abbey and Cotehele properties and oversee duty management rota.
• Inspire teams across three sites to deliver exceptional visitor experiences.
• Collaborate with staff, volunteers and external partners to plan events and activities.
• Ensure budgets and resources are managed to meet targets and maintain standards.
• Embed the Trust’s values and promote inclusivity in all visitor interactions.
• Coordinate weekend work and bank holidays as part of rota across the sites.

Skills

Leading and inspiring others

Inclusion and diversity champion

Experience design for visitors/events

Prioritising and delegating

Presentation and customer service

Budget and resources management

Job description

We’re looking for someone who’s calm under pressure and finds ways to help teams run efficiently and achieve the highest standards. If this sounds like you, we’d love you to join us as Visitor Operations Manager across the three National Trust properties of Antony House, Buckland Abbey and Cotehele,

This is a chance to make a real difference, welcoming and including people of all interests and backgrounds and helping to look after nature, beauty and history for everyone.

What it's like to work here

The three properties, Antony House & Gardens; Buckland Abbey and Cotehele are three beautiful properties, two of which are situated in the Tamar Valley National Landscape, with Dartmoor National Park and many unspoilt beaches nearby. The properties are brimming with character, and are each located in stunning gardens as well as the estates at Buckland Abbey and Cotehele. The team pride themselves on providing superb customer service, and the family atmosphere amongst the team makes a very special place to work.

The role involves working across all three properties. Due to their location, it’s likely you will need your own transport to get between properties.

You will be required to undertake regular weekend working and bank holidays. You will be a part of the Duty Management rota.

You’ll have a key role in making sure that operational considerations and the needs and expectations of visitors are built into business plans and designs. You’ll lead from the front and champion the Trust’s values, ensuring everyone feels welcome and valued.

You’ll set the overall direction for how people experience a visit to Antony, Buckland Abbey and Cotehele, including the Mill at Cotehele, aiming for the highest standards in presentation and customer service. You’ll lead and line manage your teams based across the three properties, inspiring them to feel motivated, ambitious and always focused on helping people to enjoy their best possible visit.

No two days will be the same. This is a busy and rewarding role in a supportive and inclusive environment.

You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role.

You will be working regular weekends, bank holidays and undertaking Duty Management as a part of the rota across the three properties.

Who we're looking for

We’d love to hear from you if you’re:

• experienced in leading and inspiring others, and working with a range of staff, volunteers and external partners
• a champion for inclusion and diversity
• skilled at creating and evaluating experiences and events for visitors, including those being run by external partners
• good at prioritising and delegating, empowering staff and volunteers at every level
• precise and observant, focused on excellent standards of presentation, interpretation and customer service
• able to think on your feet and adapt to change, working with others to solve problems and react to opportunities
• comfortable with managing budgets and resources to meet set targets

The package

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.

National Trust place

Buckland Abbey, Yelverton, PL20 6EY

Documents

Visitor Operations Manager - Grade 7.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date: 11 October 2026

Interview Date: 27 October 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here .

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.