Commercial Manager

Museums Aotearoa; Wellington; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Wheako Pōneke, operating Wellington's beloved museums and cultural experiences, seeks a Commercial Manager to lead growth across tourism, retail, partnerships and events. You will identify opportunities, develop innovative visitor products, and provide commercial leadership that supports financial sustainability while delivering outstanding visitor experiences.

You will collaborate with diverse teams to embed commercial thinking in planning and decision-making, aligning strategy with our values

Qualifications

• 5+ years in commercial development, partnerships, or tourism.
• Strong commercial acumen with track record of growth.
• Excellent relationship management and negotiation skills.
• Experience budgeting and performance measurement.
• Collaborative leadership across diverse teams.
• Passion for visitor experiences and Wellington.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new commercial opportunities that grow revenue, visitation, and audience engagement.
• Develop compelling visitor products, experiences, packages, and offers that strengthen our market position.
• Lead commercial planning, performance monitoring, budgeting, and reporting.
• Grow strategic partnerships across the tourism, cultural, corporate, and community sectors.
• Provide leadership across retail, venue hire, and other revenue-generating activities.
• Use customer insights, market intelligence, and industry trends to inform decision-making and innovation.
• Champion a commercially minded, collaborative culture across the organisation.
• Lead and support teams to deliver high-quality experiences and sustainable commercial outcomes.

Skills

Commercial leadership

Budgeting

Partnership development

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Visitor economy

Job description

Wheako Pōneke operates some of Wellington's most loved museums, galleries, heritage attractions, and cultural experiences. We are seeking an experienced and commercially savvy Commercial Manager to lead the growth of our commercial strategies and activities.

Reporting to the Director of Visitor Experience and Partnerships this is a unique opportunity to lead commercial growth across a diverse portfolio including tourism, retail, venue hire, partnerships, events, visitor experiences, and support programming strategies.

Working across the organisation, you will identify new opportunities, build strategic partnerships, develop innovative products and experiences, and provide commercial leadership that supports both financial sustainability and outstanding visitor experiences.

You will work closely with teams across the organisation to embed commercial thinking into planning and decision-making, while ensuring our values, purpose, and visitor experience remain at the heart of what we do.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new commercial opportunities that grow revenue, visitation, and audience engagement.
• Develop compelling visitor products, experiences, packages, and offers that strengthen our market position.
• Lead commercial planning, performance monitoring, budgeting, and reporting.
• Grow strategic partnerships across the tourism, cultural, corporate, and community sectors.
• Provide leadership across retail, venue hire, and other revenue-generating activities.
• Use customer insights, market intelligence, and industry trends to inform decision-making and innovation.
• Champion a commercially minded, collaborative culture across the organisation.
• Lead and support teams to deliver high-quality experiences and sustainable commercial outcomes.

About You

You'll be a relationship-focused experienced commercial leader who combines strategic thinking with a practical ability to deliver results.

You'll Bring

• 5 years + experience in commercial development, business development, tourism, partnerships, retail, venue hire, or a related field.
• Strong commercial acumen and a track record of identifying and delivering growth opportunities.
• Excellent relationship management, negotiation, and influencing skills.
• 5 years + experience managing budgets, targets, and business performance.
• A collaborative leadership style and the ability to work across diverse teams.
• A passion for visitor experiences, culture, tourism, and Wellington.

This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to Wellington's cultural and visitor landscape while helping ensure our experiences remain vibrant, relevant, and financially sustainable. If you're excited by the challenge of combining commercial success with purpose-driven impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Applications close 30 September

We are reviewing applications as they are received and advertising for this role may close earlier.