Visitor Operations Manager

Sacrewell, a part of the William Scott Abbott Trust, has something very special to share. It starts with a warm welcome and sense of a fun day out for the whole family. Everyone comments on this, whether visitors, staff or volunteers. So how can we take this ‘something special’ and make it truly remarkable?

Sacrewell is on the cusp of something great and has a great deal of recognised potential which will secure its place as a key visitor attraction and education charity in the greater Peterborough/Cambridgeshire area.

The Trust is actively implementing a new Vision for Sacrewell. Recent projects have included the refurbishment of a rare 18th century watermill into a national centre for milling excellence – with the help of a £1.8 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We want the Mill to help increase our visitor numbers as we establish ourselves as a strong heritage offer within the region. We’re also proud of our Play Barn, which offers a terrific soft play area in all weather.

Our visitor numbers have grown over the past few years, and with further investment and focus Sacrewell is likely to get to 185,000 visitors over the next 5 -10 years. Our thinking is already around sustainability and the property team will be working with consultants on a 10-year master plan which will inform our thinking around investment for the future. You’ll play a key part in that plan.

Reporting to the General Manager, you will be instrumental in bringing the Sacrewell vision to life. Your focus is to oversee the visitor welcome and retail operations and the visitor experience delivery team - including events and programming - ensuring that we offer an outstanding and individual experience to all our visitors. You’ll also have “dotted-line” management of the Marketing team, ensuring that our visitors are receiving the right messages across the right channels. Your team are the ones that entice people to come and visit us; they are the ones who offer the warmest of welcomes and enable visitors to get the most out of their day. And importantly, it’s your team who will offer a friendly goodbye and provide reasons to return.

You will work collaboratively with the property Leadership Team to develop an exciting and engaging programme, making every day count for our visitors. You will also be instrumental in achieving financial targets, and you’ll be supported by your own management team who will help you achieve this.

This role is part of the property Leadership Team and will play an active part in developing Sacrewell and leading delivery of the Property Business Plan.

However, occasionally situations may arise that require the post holder to perform other duties or tasks as may be reasonably requested by the Trust.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

  • It’s all about personality: You will demonstrate a confident, individual leadership style. You will be authentic and guided by an unstuffy professionalism that suit Sacrewell and its unique offer. You will lead and manage the staff and volunteers in your team according to our values; putting people at the heart of what we do and creating a work environment which fosters individual responsibility alongside supportive teamwork.
  • It’s about great visitor experience: We want everyone to have a thoroughly enjoyable visit every day of the year. You will lead the team that make this happen, ensuring exceptional customer service and the highest standards of presentation. You will understand who is visiting us and what their expectations are so that we can exceed them.
  • It’s about income delivery: You will plan, monitor and deliver against all your delegated budgets and financial targets; contributing to the long-term sustainability of the property by developing the financial contribution of the visitor business. You will work with the property team, Trustees and external consultants, as appropriate, to develop and identify new sources of income.
  • It’s about great story telling: Working with the property team, you will help devise creative and inspiring ways to share our stories with our visitors. You’ll celebrate our vision for practical, hands-on agricultural education in a variety of ways, through daily programming and one-off events.
  • It’s about understanding our audience: You’ll work with the Sacrewell’s marketing team to develop the marketing strategy and implementation. By using customer profiling and research, you’ll work with the Site Operations Manager to ensure all facilities, services and activities on site are appropriate and relevant for our different audiences and their access needs.
  • Some basic commitments: You will be accountable for your personal development through the appraisal process as well as those of your team. You will also take reasonable care for the health and safety of yourself and of others who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work. You’ll play an active role as part of the property leadership team; acting as Day Manager; and deputising for the General Manager as necessary.

In addition, all employees are expected to work within the terms of their contract of employment and adhere to Trust Instructions, Values and Behaviours.

ACCOUNTABILITIES OF THE ROLE:

Line Management Responsibility:

The Visitor Operations Manager has direct line management responsibility for the following roles:

Visitor Welcome and Retail Manager
Events and Programming Officer
Visitor Experience Assistants

Volunteers reporting to the role

As a line manager you are accountable for the performance leadership and development of your team.

Departmental Budget Responsibility:

Income (retail, membership recruitment, events) > £250K
Non-Wage expenditure <£200K

Plus any additional agreed projects

Asset Responsibility:

IT and commercial fixed assets within department

Internal Contacts:

General Manager and Sacrewell Leadership Team
Trustees

Volunteering Team

External Contacts:

Local and regional business and tourism contacts and forums

Local community groups

Interpretation, design and marketing agencies

Key/ Representative Duties:

Day Manager on a rota and Deputy General Manager as required

Other Relevant Information:

There is an expectation that the post-holder will work a minimum of one weekend in four and some Bank Holidays. There will also be the requirement to work some evenings to attend meetings and any planned events.

Our busiest times are during Easter, school holidays, and all of December; therefore, we discourage taking annual leave during these busy periods.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

KNOWLEDGE:

Essential:

  • Understanding of the leisure and tourism, farm park and heritage industry
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent
  • An excellent understanding of commercial practices, including financial management and budgetary control
  • Good knowledge of marketing and business planning
  • Management of staff and resources
  • Understanding of customer service standards
  • Understanding of aspects of health and safety legislation and practice
  • Knowledge of word and excel programmes
  • First Aid at Work (or willingness to train)

Desirable:

  • IOSH qualification
  • Working knowledge of relevant legislation, including Equality Act and Health & Safety for Farm Parks
  • Personal Licence holder, ideally BIIC
  • Project Management
  • Awareness of the William Scott Abbott Trust’s core priorities

SKILLS:

Essential:

  • Positive, enthusiastic, customer-focused approach
  • Strong leadership, management and team building skills with a minimum of 3 years’ experience of managing staff through others across multiple outlets
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Ability to communicate effectively and confidently with diverse groups of people
  • Effective planner with strategic outlook
  • Proven team management/coaching/motivation skills
  • Strong influencing and negotiating skills including diplomacy, advocacy and persuasion
  • Numerate, IT literate and confident
  • Team player with a proven track record of developing good relations with colleagues as well as managing own teams
  • Ability to work on own initiative
  • Good presentation skills
  • Strong commercial understanding with the ability to present and interpret financial and insight data

Desirable:

  • Event management
  • Customer care training techniques
  • Experience of developing and running training courses
  • Writing or designing interpretation

EXPERIENCE:

Essential:

  • Strong operational management experience
  • Managing a customer-facing team including performance management, team building and coaching
  • Proven experience of developing and sustaining visitors/customers and income growth in excess of £250,000 across multiple income streams
  • Demonstrable experience of supporter engagement and of delivering high levels of customer care
  • Relevant experience of working in a customer-facing environment, e.g. catering, retail, or a visitor attraction
  • Financial planning and budgeting
  • Stakeholder management
  • Use of social media for marketing or PR
  • Visitor programming

Desirable:

  • Managing volunteers or working with volunteers
  • Strategy development and business growth
  • Market research, analysis and delivery of marketing plans and activity
  • Experience of managing change
  • Experience of working with designers, or of visual merchandising and display

FINAL VOM role profile / Debbie Queen / December 2015

Sacrewell Ltd is part of the William Scott Abbott Trust
Registered charity no: 233603

01780 782254