Jobs

JOB PURPOSE

The VSM Visitor Experience will be responsible for the operational delivery of the visitor experience at Brodie Castle & estate, including responsibility for the Welcome, Housekeeping, Retail, Events, Collection Care and Holiday Cottages. Delivering performance standards and targets to ensure enjoyment of the property by visitors and members is maximised and key commercial, financial and development objectives are achieved to make the property fully sustainable. The role is part of a broader management team responsible for delivering an overall visitor service strategy, promoting good communication across the site and a joined up service provision reporting to the Operations Manager based at Brodie Castle.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Staff and volunteers – (recruitment, induction, development, motivation, performance management) such that they are fully equipped and motivated to undertake their duties to the required Trust standards and that staffing budgets are adhered to;
• Instill a Health & Safety culture across the property, ensuring the team work within the property’s ‘Safe System of Work’ to reduce risk of incidents and accidents to volunteers, employees and visitors.
• Budgets – (setting, phasing, monitoring, reporting, pro-active and re-active adjustments together with the Operations Manager) to ensure that the welcome, retail and events department finances are sustainable within the context of the wider property budgets;
• Create a culture of ‘exceptional service, every time’, delivering high standards of customer experience and a consistently warm welcome to everyone.
• Driving the welcome, retail & events departments to achieve their financial targets, maximising income and profitability, using the Trust’s procedures and instructions. You will strive to be efficient and ensure cost effectiveness in all the work you do.
• Managing the Collection at Brodie Castle ensuring that it cared for and conserved in line with the Trusts strategy and responsibilities.
• Overseeing the Holiday Cottages ensuring that turn rounds and presentation are of highest standards in line with the standards of Brodie Estate.
• You will ensure high standards of presentation across the property. You may have delegated tasks within other departments and you will understand and help deliver the overall property business plan.
• Taking responsibility for opening and closing and security of buildings as well as emergency procedure implementation, duty management and providing relief cover as required;
• This role is one for which the duties/responsibilities/accountabilities of the role require you to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, which replaces the ‘Enhanced Disclosure’ check and is administered by Disclosure Scotland.

Department specific – Welcome
• To create a world class visitor welcome at both Brodie Castle & Playful Garden working towards 5* rating.
• To quality check and manage the guided tours and free flow guiding of the Castle.
• To ensure visitor expectations are exceeded through creative and imaginative new ways of telling the stories of Brodie Castle and its history.

Department specific – retail
• To ensure the planning, ordering, and merchandising of the retail area to the standards required by the Trust for a facility with annual income target of £100k.
• To ensure that the location meets statutory and company requirements of Health and Safety.
• Accountable for stock levels and making key decisions about stock control;
• Responsible for analysing sales figures and forecasting future sales;
• Adhering to the sale of alcohol legislation.

Department specific – Events
• Working with a 3rd party events company to develop, deliver and review a regionally significant events programme.
• To ensure the onsite delivery of the Brodie Castle Event programme to the standards required by the Trust for a facility with estimated annual income target c. £100K in events.
• To evaluate and make necessary changes to future calendar events based on performance, suitability and demand of a varying visitor profile.
• To ensure that the location meets statutory and company requirements of Health and Safety.

Department specific – Collection Care
• To oversee the Collection Care assistant and volunteers ensuring that all collection items are conserved and managed in line with the conservation policy of the Trust.
• Ensure IPM and environmental conditions are optimum for collection across the site.
• Ensure that all movement forms, condition surveys and other required compliance is up to date and complete.
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Department specific – Holiday Cottages
• To manage our holiday lets following the guidance provided.
• Ensure we are legally compliant at all times including all health and safety requirements.
• Provide out of hour call out as and when required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

The above outlines the key skills the post-holder will need to possess and exercise. In addition, either knowledge of or experience in the following is required:

Essential
• Direct experience of managing within a busy visitor services environment;
• Possess excellent communication skills (written and oral);
• Experience and understanding of finance management; i.e. budget control, cash management and reporting statistics;
• Computer literacy with excellent ability on MS software;
• Excellent leadership and influencing skills
• Well-developed time management and organisational skills;
• Ability to display a real passion for customer service;
• Experience of recruiting and managing volunteers
• Current First Aid certification (or willingness to train and use).

Desirable
• Experience within a heritage or tourist attraction.
• Experience within the events sector
• Experience within the retail sector

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB

People Management
• Daily interaction with customers/clients (including members, visitors, coach and tour organisers).
• Direct line management responsibility for 1 full-time Visitor Services Supervisor (Welcome), 1 part-time Visitor Services Supervisor (Collection Care), 1 full time Visitor Services Supervisor (Events), with a number of part time visitor services assistants and volunteers.
• Volunteer management as part of overall property responsibilities and during events.

Finance Management
• Has delegated management of the welcome, retail, events and conservation budgets at Brodie Castle and works alongside the budget holder (Operations Manager) to deliver this.
• Is responsible for managing staffing costs within the departments as per delegated budgets.

Tools/equipment
• Access to desktop PC and relevant IT systems, i.e. standard NTS management systems including Intranet, T:Drive, Core HR, CRM, EPOS.

The Purpose, Context, Key Responsibilities, and Person Specification reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.

Application Deadline: Friday 07/04/2023