This role will be responsible for the smooth and efficient running of operations at Poole’s Cavern and Buxton Country Park. As a key member of the leadership and management team you will be responsible for delivering income targets which are vital to the longevity of the charity, alongside the highest possible levels of visitor experience, customer service standards, and development of community engagement and education provision. You will need to be able to organise and inspire your team, developing their skills to deliver high quality, memorable visitor experiences, alongside excellent commercial results. You will also be responsible for the maintenance, conservation, and presentation of our premises and collections, including the SSSI listed cave Poole’s Cavern. An eye for detail, and good understanding of legislative requirements is therefore a must. You will need to be highly visible and not afraid to challenge your team to go the extra mile, whilst showing the empathy and understanding of individual colleague motivations needed in modern management. You will also need to be creative; collaborating with colleagues to help to develop new strategies, experiences and ways of working that will help ensure that BCA’s visitor offer and membership remains competitive in the market place, and Poole’s Cavern & Buxton Country Park remains a ‘must-do’ visit for those visiting the Peak District, and its reputation, along with that of BCA, continues to grow. Principal duties and responsibilities Strategic Responsibility: • Take a pro-active but consultative approach to instigating, implementing and evaluating new systems and business opportunities, notably within our visitor centre and caves, whilst being careful to acknowledge and maintain what is working well. • Be responsible for the identification of business opportunities and development of investment cases that will support the development and sustainability of BCA and Poole’s Cavern, recognising the importance of income, conservation and public engagement. • Play a key role in the BCA management team, supporting the future development of the organisation by leading day-to-day operations and playing a visible and active part in change-management, with the goal of continually raising standards. • Contribute to the development and execution of key strategies and associated documentation, including Commercial Development, Audience Development, Community Engagement, Education, Volunteering, Collections Care, Maintenance and Health & Safety taking the leading role as delegated and required, but inspiring staff, volunteers, members and stakeholders to get involved in co-creation. • Act as required as a deputy for the Chief Executive, making timely decisions independently, but where appropriate liaising with the board of trustees, staff, volunteers, members, stakeholders and contractors. • Play a key role in setting budgets, recognising the need for realism and pragmatism, whilst appreciating emerging trends and opportunities. Visitor Experience: • Be accountable for the preparation of staff rotas, recognising the need to provide excellent customer service and meet health & safety requirements, whilst remaining within identified staffing budgets. • Act as a champion for increasing volunteer involvement within our visitor services, conveying the benefits that this can bring to both the organisation and individuals. Develop new ways volunteers can be involved with the operation to improve community engagement and financial efficiency. • Lead the development, preparation and delivery of a variety of visitor experiences and events for tourists, local residents and BCA members, recognising the need for business cases, which recognise contribution to conservation, engagement and financial outputs. You should appreciate the need to generate repeat visits and a visitor experience that increases dwell time and secondary spend. • Provide regular reports on progress against KPI’s noting impact on targets, and pro actively making suggestions for service improvements with associated needs for investment or changes in ways of working. • Work with colleagues to develop effective visitor feedback and evaluation tools, sharing learning from a data-driven approach, informing strategy. • Work closely with colleagues, to promote our sites and the BCA and Poole’s Cavern brands, ensuring that all marketing materials, signage and uniform are of appropriate quality and on brand. Take a pro-active approach in managing on-site messaging and presentation (including guided tours) to ensure its tone of voice is in keeping with BCA values. • Attend promotional events to promote the work of BCA and services Poole’s Cavern can offer, leading presentations where required. • Take the lead on Health & Safety matters at an operational level. Education and Engagement: • Devise and implement a formal education strategy, exploring alternative operating models, which will maximise income generation and engagement. In doing this, support colleagues across the organisation to maximise use of our assets as tools of lifelong learning. • Support the development of on-site interpretation and events that will enhance formal and informal education opportunities for all. • Pro-actively promote inclusivity and diversity, championing the need to make services available to all and work towards a well-functioning team, reflective of our community. • Assist the CEO, Fundraising Manager and other colleagues to devise new ways of funding education and engagement activities, building new partnerships and attending networking activities where appropriate. Catering, Events, Retail, Membership and Fundraising: • Drive your team to deliver catering, retail, events and membership targets, using your influence and skills to help create high quality offers for the public, that are also commercially beneficial to BCA. • Lead, source and implement staff training and development, including actively discussing team and individual targets, making individual team members aware of the role they must play, and how you and BCA can support them to achieve the best results against defined KPI’s and targets. • Provide reports to the senior management team on sales and other targets; pro-actively making suggestions about how margins can be increased, and taking action when targets are not being reached or can be exceeded. • Attend and pro-actively participate in trustee, committee and members meetings, including the members AGM. • Work with colleagues to support fundraising initiatives and associated evaluation, championing the importance of these income streams with your team, encouraging their support. Personnel Management: • Lead recruitment, training and development of your staff team in line with best practice and guidance from the Chief Executive, Board of Trustees, and human resources service partners. • Work with fellow managers and supervisors to support the custodian’s and catering team to deliver first-rate customer services, challenging unacceptable standards and maintaining records that will support performance improvement. Similarly, work with BCA to create a culture of recognition and reward, thus ensuring team members who perform well feel appreciated. • Work with fellow managers and supervisors to uphold the BCA Staff Handbook and its policies, ensuring the team meet its requirements. Discuss concerns with both individuals concerned and management colleagues as appropriate, making written notes when needed to support training and performance management. • Take responsibility for delegated budgets and ensure your team are operating with due recognition of financial standards and best practice, including operating tills with efficiency and due diligence, reporting inaccuracies in line with audit principles. • Recognise your part as part of a wider management team, playing a collaborative part in BCA’s leadership team, and supporting other managers to achieve success and BCA’s vision. • Work with the Volunteering Development Manager to identify and develop volunteering opportunities that will enhance BCA’s performance. Premises Management: • Lead on premises management for the visitor centre, car park, SSSI listed caves, and 103 Green Lane offices, ensuring the buildings are managed, cleaned and maintained in line with best practice and legislation. Where needed support such provision in BCA’s woods and the tree nursery. • Be accountable for fire prevention and management, including taking responsibility for staff training and drills, and maintenance of the fire logbook. Similarly, lead on the maintenance of security services. • Lead the authorship of on-site maintenance plans, acting as the primary point of contact for contractors, and organising staff and volunteers to complete tasks in a cost efficient and timely manner, managing delegated budgets with efficiency. • Ensure that all IT infrastructure and EPOS systems are maintained, acting as primary point of contact for contractors. Offer advice regarding suitability of equipment and contracts to help ensure efficient operations, based on experience, research and pro active understanding of the market place and business needs. • Ensure that car park revenue is collected efficiently, to maximise yield. Lead the production of business cases to consider how BCA can best use this space to generate support and income. • Take lead responsibility for BCA’s historic collections and archive, recognising best-practice standards in caring for and recording archaeological objects, photographs and paper documents. Generic: • Take personal responsibility and a pro-active approach for own career, skills and knowledge development. • The role will be required to assist in the event of emergency evacuations and salvage, including visitors, colleagues and our heritage collections. • Any other duties considered appropriate to the grade of pay. For the full recruitment pack and details of how to apply, visit https://bit.ly/3Zfs4on