Head of Admissions and Retail
Head of Admissions and Retail
Permanent contract with full–time hours
We are Chester Zoo, and for nearly 90 years we've been a leading conservation and education charity, and an amazing, award–winning visitor attraction.
We're also a team of passionate, talented, enthusiastic and expert people, doing everything we can to prevent extinction, from caring for animals to discovering new conservation ideas, and giving our visitors an inspirational day out.
We work hard because we love animals, we care about nature, we love Chester Zoo and, despite all the challenges that 2020 has thrown at us, we still want to be the best zoo in the world! If you think you can help us to achieve that, then we'd love to hear from you.
We currently have an exciting vacancy for a Head of Admissions and Retail to join our Operations team on a permanent basis.
The Head of Admissions and Retail role:
* To lead the Admissions and Retail Department ensuring it is generating income and surplus for Chester Zoo through delivering products and services that are leading, inspiring, and relevant, whilst maximising admission and secondary revenue opportunities and providing a world class customer experience and visitor welcome
* Support the wider visitor operation by actively working with the Director of Operations, Head of Food & Beverage and Head of Operations in all aspects of their responsible areas in a one team, one experience approach
* To achieve departmental income and KPI targets whilst maximising operating surplus for the department through effective planning, commercial activity, sales drive and cost management (including but not limited to ticket sales, admissions, visitor services, zoo experience sales, zoo event sales, retail, experiential retailing, photography, and online retail shop)
* Drive improvement in the customer experience both at arrival/departure but also via proactive pre/post visit enquiries/review management (inbound calls/contact management/review websites), working with other internal stakeholders to provide accurate feedback analysis on the customer experience and support in adapting where enhancements require being made
* Develop commercial product ranges, services and zoo events ensuring they are relevant and inspiring, on brand, commercially successful, legislatively compliant and are aligned to the zoo's strategic direction
* To actively manage and monitor health and safety within the department ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined within the team, appropriate risk management is in place and implemented, H&S action plans are developed and your team are effectively trained
* Lead, coach, develop and motivate the admissions and retail team, providing training and development opportunities, demonstrating effective performance management and ensuring a robust succession plan is in place
* Support team members to understand and adhere to people processes and work with the People and Culture Manager, actively seeking opportunities to input into and feedback on those processes to ensure they are industry leading
The ideal candidate for this Head of Admissions and Retail will have:
* Management experience operating at a senior level i.e. Head of Department or General Manager within a retail environment
* Educated to degree level and proven experience in a similar environment such as visitor attractions, large retailers, large visitor operations
* An experienced people manager, leading and inspiring a large team in a range of disciplines
* Exceptional customer service skills within a customer focused environment
* Experience of creating and implementing operationally related policies and procedures
* Experience of budgeting, forecasting and setting targets
* Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to liaise at a senior management level
* Computer literate with extensive working knowledge of EPOS and IT particularly Excel and other Microsoft products
* Experience of balancing customer requirements and service capabilities with the need to return a profit
* Experience in devising and implementing effective performance monitoring systems
* A natural trader with the ability to spot a commercial opportunity and follow that through to implementation
* Ability to understand and work with colleagues whose priorities may differ from those in Admissions and Retail
The salary is GBP55,907.58 per annum based on working 40 hours per week working 5 days out of 7. In addition we offer a range of amazing benefits which can be found on the Chester Zoo careers page.
To apply for this Head of Admissions and Retail position, please click the 'apply' button on this page where you'll be redirected to the vacancy on the Chester Zoo website. You will then be required to provide your current CV and complete the application form highlighting your skills and experience including why you believe you should be considered for this Head of Admissions and Retail role.
Closing date for applications is 11th October 2020.
Shortlisting of applications and interviews for the role will take place while the advert is live; the advert will close once the successful candidate is found. Interested candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as quickly as possible.
All applications for this Head of Admissions and Retail role are to be submitted online, and strictly no agency calls or agency CV submission
Permanent contract with full–time hours
We are Chester Zoo, and for nearly 90 years we've been a leading conservation and education charity, and an amazing, award–winning visitor attraction.
We're also a team of passionate, talented, enthusiastic and expert people, doing everything we can to prevent extinction, from caring for animals to discovering new conservation ideas, and giving our visitors an inspirational day out.
We work hard because we love animals, we care about nature, we love Chester Zoo and, despite all the challenges that 2020 has thrown at us, we still want to be the best zoo in the world! If you think you can help us to achieve that, then we'd love to hear from you.
We currently have an exciting vacancy for a Head of Admissions and Retail to join our Operations team on a permanent basis.
The Head of Admissions and Retail role:
* To lead the Admissions and Retail Department ensuring it is generating income and surplus for Chester Zoo through delivering products and services that are leading, inspiring, and relevant, whilst maximising admission and secondary revenue opportunities and providing a world class customer experience and visitor welcome
* Support the wider visitor operation by actively working with the Director of Operations, Head of Food & Beverage and Head of Operations in all aspects of their responsible areas in a one team, one experience approach
* To achieve departmental income and KPI targets whilst maximising operating surplus for the department through effective planning, commercial activity, sales drive and cost management (including but not limited to ticket sales, admissions, visitor services, zoo experience sales, zoo event sales, retail, experiential retailing, photography, and online retail shop)
* Drive improvement in the customer experience both at arrival/departure but also via proactive pre/post visit enquiries/review management (inbound calls/contact management/review websites), working with other internal stakeholders to provide accurate feedback analysis on the customer experience and support in adapting where enhancements require being made
* Develop commercial product ranges, services and zoo events ensuring they are relevant and inspiring, on brand, commercially successful, legislatively compliant and are aligned to the zoo's strategic direction
* To actively manage and monitor health and safety within the department ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined within the team, appropriate risk management is in place and implemented, H&S action plans are developed and your team are effectively trained
* Lead, coach, develop and motivate the admissions and retail team, providing training and development opportunities, demonstrating effective performance management and ensuring a robust succession plan is in place
* Support team members to understand and adhere to people processes and work with the People and Culture Manager, actively seeking opportunities to input into and feedback on those processes to ensure they are industry leading
The ideal candidate for this Head of Admissions and Retail will have:
* Management experience operating at a senior level i.e. Head of Department or General Manager within a retail environment
* Educated to degree level and proven experience in a similar environment such as visitor attractions, large retailers, large visitor operations
* An experienced people manager, leading and inspiring a large team in a range of disciplines
* Exceptional customer service skills within a customer focused environment
* Experience of creating and implementing operationally related policies and procedures
* Experience of budgeting, forecasting and setting targets
* Excellent written and verbal communication with the ability to liaise at a senior management level
* Computer literate with extensive working knowledge of EPOS and IT particularly Excel and other Microsoft products
* Experience of balancing customer requirements and service capabilities with the need to return a profit
* Experience in devising and implementing effective performance monitoring systems
* A natural trader with the ability to spot a commercial opportunity and follow that through to implementation
* Ability to understand and work with colleagues whose priorities may differ from those in Admissions and Retail
The salary is GBP55,907.58 per annum based on working 40 hours per week working 5 days out of 7. In addition we offer a range of amazing benefits which can be found on the Chester Zoo careers page.
To apply for this Head of Admissions and Retail position, please click the 'apply' button on this page where you'll be redirected to the vacancy on the Chester Zoo website. You will then be required to provide your current CV and complete the application form highlighting your skills and experience including why you believe you should be considered for this Head of Admissions and Retail role.
Closing date for applications is 11th October 2020.
Shortlisting of applications and interviews for the role will take place while the advert is live; the advert will close once the successful candidate is found. Interested candidates are therefore encouraged to submit applications as quickly as possible.
All applications for this Head of Admissions and Retail role are to be submitted online, and strictly no agency calls or agency CV submission
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