Visitor Experience Manager

Job Description

Do you enjoy enthusing people about nature? Do you enjoy working in a varied role? Would you like to work on a stunning nature reserve full of fantastic wildlife? Then we have a very exciting opportunity for you to join our team here at Newport Wetlands.

What's the role about?

Newport Wetlands is a special area for wildlife, lying between the Severn estuary and the river Usk. It is one of the most important areas of wetland habitat in Wales, providing a haven for wildlife on the edge of the city. Specialist wetland birds such as bearded tits, little egrets, and the elusive bittern can be found here year round. In the summer the reserve is a stronghold for the rare shrill carder bee and in the autumn waders and waterfowl appear in large flocks, along with the spectacle of fabulous starlings murmurations.

We are looking for a self-motivated team leader to join us in delivering an amazing experience for our visitors. You will need to be creative, an excellent communicator and have experience of people engagement and interpretation, ideally in a visitor attraction setting. We need someone who understands the importance of brand values, and who can create an experience for all visitors to enjoy, ensuring they leave having had a memorable time. You will lead on visitor experience and education and work within the team at Newport to deliver a quality experience for our visitors.

This role is for someone who wants to create innovative experiences for visitors from all walks of life, has a passion for people engagement and learning, and understands what good visitor standards look like. You will need to look for new opportunities to develop the interpretation and visitor experience on site and have a clear understanding of income generation and your contribution to this. If you are looking for a role where you can develop and grow and really make a difference to saving nature, then this might be the role for you.

This role will require regular weekend and bank holiday working so flexibility is essential.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• Computer literate to include professional use of social media adhering to brand
• Good working knowledge of visitor engagement techniques.
• Successful experience of managing or supporting a team of staff and/or volunteers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to plan and prioritise workloads.
• A natural leader who can motivate and inspire people.
• Problem solving skills and ability to work on own initiative.
• Ability to manage and respond to customer needs and feedback.
• Ability to maximise opportunities for visitor engagement and income generation.
• Able to build and maintain strong working relationships.
• Proven track record or managing a successful visitor project or visitor attraction
• Experience of managing and delivering against targets and KPI’s.
• Experience of analysing and interpreting data in a visitor experience environment.
• Experience of planning and delivery of a high quality visitor offer

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Tourism or leisure related qualification, ideally at HND level or equivalent.
• Working knowledge of Equal Opportunities and Diversity.
• Health & Safety in the workplace.

This is a Permanent, Full-Time role for 37.5 hours per week. We are looking to conduct interviews for this position on Tuesday 7th March 2023. For further information please contact lorraine.leicester@rspb.org.uk

As part of this application process you will be asked to provide a copy of your CV and complete an application form including evidence on how you meet the skills, knowledge, and experience listed above.

We are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse RSPB, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to be their full selves. To achieve our vision of creating a world richer in nature, we need more people, and more diverse people, on nature’s side. People of colour and disabled people are currently underrepresented across the environment, climate, sustainability, and conservation sector. If you identify as a person of colour and/or disabled, we are particularly interested in receiving your application. Contact us to discuss any additional support you may need to complete your application.

The RSPB is an equal opportunities employer. This role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Before applying for this role, we recommend reading through the candidate guidance notes attached to the top of this advert.