Job Description : Visitor Experience & Events Manager Location: Open Gate Brewery, Covent Garden, London Full time, permanent Closing Date: March 26, 2025 About Us??? The Open Gate Brewery, London is a new Guinness neighbourhood that will inspire the best in brewing, food, retail and culture. Consisting of 52,000 square feet of buildings and central courtyard in the historic brewing quarter in Covent Garden, GOGBL will become a key growth driver for Guinness, placing the brand in culture, and driving relevancy and brand saliency amongst a new generation of drinkers. GB is the biggest Guinness market globally and Guinness is enjoying a period of exceptional growth and cultural magnetism, with the brand growing by around 50% since 2019 to the biggest it has ever been in value, volume and market share in the brand's 264-year history. Beer will be produced at a 15hl on site brewery, a world-leading brewing facility which will produce innovation and limited-edition liquids to be served across the GOGBL site. The brewery will form part of a grain to glass immersive visitor experience in 1 Mercer Walk, which will also house dedicated space to build Diageo's southern hub for the Learning 4 Life programme, training hundreds of people per year in hospitality skills. We believe that the power of community is now more important than ever. At GOGBL we will create opportunities for local jobseekers, give our brewery waste products a second life in the community, and share GOGBL spaces with local community groups. The site is scheduled to open in Spring 2025. About the Role The Visitor Experience & Events Manager will oversee the experience operations of GOGBL with a strategic viewpoint toward achieving long term guest service, team member excellence, and financial profitability. He/she will establish and evaluate the various experiences pricing and packaging strategies and organize the operation in a way that offers the highest level of service, provides guests with engaging experiences, and facilitates a rewarding environment for the staff to deliver great service to guests. The candidate will be responsible for defining tour operating procedures and delivering improvement projects for all visitor experience functions, including but not limited to: tour operations, tour staff scheduling, inventory and control of operating supplies, opening and closing, experience area maintenance - as well as, develop, assist, and monitor budget expenditures. Working closely with the GOGBL 3rd party events management partner, the candidate will program and coordinate high profile on-site events generated by Diageo Brand and Sponsorship teams. He/she will schedule and manage all Diageo internal and VIP site visits, coordinating all site teams to ensure the visits run smoothly and demonstrate the delivery of the site vision and mission. The VE&E Manager will own and deliver the site Community strategy, working closely with local community groups, and scheduling and delivering community group events on site in line with our S106 commitments to Westminster City Council. The candidate will ensure all guest experiences are run with excellence and that site teams are inspired and have what they need to achieve set goals. As part of the GOGBL Leadership team Management team, he/she will help set the tone for customer engagement, encourage people to discover Guinness draught and the innovation beers brewed on site, and promote responsible drinking. Location Key elements of the site include: - Iconic Guinness Gates as main entrance to the experience, offering huge cultural impact in the heart of London. - Restaurants/Taproom/bars - world class food and beer produced and served on site. - Central all weather historic courtyard with world class bar experience. - Retail spaces, one of which will stock items produced through exciting short-term brand collaborations. - Bespoke 5th floor glass box rooftop eating and drinking experience creating brand new rooftop view of London. - Brewery and beer experience/tasting tours. Cultural events space designed and fitted out with technology to enable world class meeting and conference experiences You will be responsible for: - Own and manage the on-site visitor experiences, from day-to-day operations, through KPI setting and financial reporting, and making changes to/upgrading customer options and content. - Own visitor experience content and scripts, updating as necessary with support from the on-site Marketing and Brewing teams, GB brand team and other Guinness brand home teams. - Work with the GOGBL Brewery Operations team to manage the supply of beers as part of the visitor experiences. - Coordinate tour scheduling and Experience Ambassador shift rota. - Train the Experience Ambassador team to deliver the GOGBL tour experiences. - Ensure the GOGBL tour experience delivers high levels of customer satisfaction. - Ensure that tour offerings are accurately reflected on the GOGBL website. - Own the relationship with the Catering Operating Partner Events team and manage the on-site events program for Diageo-generated events. - Work with the GB Sponsorship and Brand team to co-ordinate and manage on-site events related to Guinness sponsorships. - Manage all Diageo personnel site visits, including those from Diageo Exec members, ensuring these fit in with the external Events program managed by the Catering Operating Partner. - Own the local community strategy and manage a program of community events on site, building strong relationships with local community organisations. - Day to day management of the Visitor Experience and Events team, including working with Agencies and/or the Catering Operating Partner with regards to temporary/agency staff. - With the Brewery Site Operations Manager, devise and run on site Guinness brand training programs for both Diageo and Catering Operating Partner colleagues. Leadership Responsibilities: - Lead change transformation where necessary. - Role model the Diageo values to help create the right culture in the GOGBL management team. - Follow all Diageo Policies and Procedures and ensure you and your team meet all legal and compliance standards in the business. - Encourage GOGBL (Diageo and operating partners) team members to discover Guinness and Diageo's Brands, promote responsible drinking and Diageo's Society 2030 ambitions. Key Stakeholders The role reports into the Managing Director, GOGBL, and is part of the GOGBL Leadership Team. You will lead a mixed team of Diageo and agency employees and will work closely with the Diageo GB Beer brand team and the GOGBL Catering and Events operating partner. The role holder will need to build a relationship and work closely with relevant colleagues responsible for the growth strategy in Guinness and the wider Diageo GB team. Qualifications and Experience Required - 5 years of commercial management experience, preferably gained with Experience Operations or Hospitality brands - Significant experience working with beer brands in a marketing context - Proven experience of successful collaboration with third party operating partners - Significant organisational skills, a proven ability to manage through ambiguity and to reduce complexity to simple processes for others to follow - Track record of achieving operational KPI, revenue, and profit targets - Proven experience managing teams, with great interpersonal skills to lead the team toward achieving set goals - Demonstrable experience of designing and delivering effective training programs - Must be analytical and possess good knowledge of budgeting processes and KPI management - Ability to oversee all operational processes throughout various experience areas, including but not limited to: staffing, budget management and financial forecasting, experience marketing and event management - Ability to build strong relationships with VIP customers - Be guided by a customer first mind-set - Possess a problem-solving attitude - Be a true leader, acting as a role model for the team - Be familiar with sales protocols and customer service procedures - Ability to understand and interpret consumer insights Working with Us Flexibility is key to success in our business and many of our people work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to us about what flexibility means to you and don't let anything stop you from applying. - We offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including: Contemporary work life balance policies and wellbeing activities - Annual merit increases (performance based) - Annual bonus (performance based) - Subsidized gym membership - Contributary pension scheme - Share options Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and listened to, is a crucial part of this. We believe the most diverse and inclusive culture makes for a better business and a better world. We know that for our business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, we depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the countries in which we operate and to reflect our broad consumer base. Around the world we have a number of inclusive Business and Employee Resource Groups known as BRGs and ERGs. These influential groups, made up of our people, represent various?viewpoints, experiences and?communities who generate thought-provoking?work?to enhance our?business and workplace, creating a sense of belonging and opportunities for all.? Join us, and you'll be part of an organisation that embraces diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you'll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You'll be part of - and help build - an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more. And you'll help us champion inclusion and diversity across our entire business: with our employees, our suppliers, across our brands, and within the communities in which we operate. Worker Type : Regular Primary Location: 1HQ Additional Locations : Job Posting Start Date : 2025-03-14 With over 200 brands sold in more than 180 countries, we're the world's leading premium drinks company. Every day, over 30,000 talented people come together at Diageo to create the magic behind our much-loved brands. From iconic names to innovative newcomers - the brands we're building are rooted in culture and local communities. Our ambition is to be one of the best performing, most trusted and most respected consumer products companies in the world. Our founders, such as Arthur Guinness, John Walker, and Charles Tanqueray, were visionary entrepreneurs whose brilliant minds helped shape the alcohol industry. And through our people, their legacy lives on. Join us, and you'll collaborate with talented people from all corners of the world. Together, you'll innovate and push boundaries, shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future that we can all be proud of. With diversity at our core, we celebrate our people's unique passions, commitments and specialist skills. Because when varied voices, mindsets, and personalities come together, great ideas are born. In our supportive culture, your voice will be heard and you'll be empowered to be you. Just bring your ambition, curiosity and ideas, and we'll celebrate your work and help you reach your fullest potential. DRINKiQ What's your DRINKiQ? Take our quiz to understand how alcohol is made and explore the effects of drinking. You can discover everything you need to know at DRINKiQ (https://www.drinkiq.com/en-gb/)