Visitor Experience Manager

Summary: Reporting to the Vice President, the Visitor Experience Manager is accountable for maintaining an exceptional overall experience and ensuring superior customer service for all visitors to FortWhyte Alive.

The Visitor Experience Manager position includes planning, training, coordination and managing the development and delivery of visitor relations at FWA. Areas of responsibility of this position include front line services, retail and the membership program. Monday - Friday; 35 hrs per week; occasional weekends and evenings as required. This role is a 12 month term position.

Direct Reports:

• Retail Supervisor & Buyer
• Office Administrator (memberships)
• Visitor Experience Ambassadors

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

General Duties

• Provides overall leadership to all direct reports including mentoring, onboarding, and coaching for performance
• Develops and implements strategies to support employee, customer and membership retention
• Develops, implements and maintains customer service standards, guidelines and on-going related training for staff and volunteers
• Implements and monitors on-going strategies related to internal and external communications

• Conduct research on industry best practices, quality and continuous improvement and tools to support the visitor experience and provide recommendations and plans to implement and monitor results

• Participates in the annual development and monitoring of departmental operating budget(s) and attends regular financial update meetings

• Attends departmental meetings with the Executive Team to provide updates on departmental activities
• Provides various statistics, reports and feedback to Senior Management as required
• Works effectively to resolve customer service issues and improve customer satisfaction
• Provides regular front desk coverage for the Ambassador Team which includes; opening, break coverage and sick time coverage
• Monitors employee satisfaction and performance and works to improve where necessary
• Participates in FWAs internal Accessibility Committee and acts as external liaison

Membership

• Work with Marketing and Communications, to develop and implement a membership growth strategy
• Research and acquire opportunities to promote membership via partnerships or third party affiliates
• Develop membership retention strategies and targets
• To act as the primary contact for members beyond the day-to-day administration as carried out by the Office Administrator
• Supervise the timely mailouts of renewal packages as well as new membership packages

QUALIFICATIONS

• Relevant post-secondary education, preferably in commerce, administration, tourism and hospitality, or related fields (an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered)
• Extensive experience in the management/supervision of staff members in various roles and levels of responsibility within the organization. Typically acquired through several years of progressively greater levels of responsibility
• Experience in overseeing the daily operation managing retail, commercial activity within a not for profit
• Experience managing a multi functional team in a fast paced, changing environment to achieve results
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple activities at once in order to meet tight deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations and respectfully communicate with coworkers, stakeholders and Visitors
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to handle stressful situations and remain calm under pressure
• Proficiency using Google Workspace in order to prepare documents, spreadsheets and routine correspondence

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Experience in sales and cash handling with knowledge of point-of-sale systems
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse audiences and effectively interface with colleagues, and the public
• A collaborative team player with excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, sound judgment and a keen interest in the mission of FortWhyte Alive
• Knowledge of Indigenous culture, truth and reconciliation
• Knowledge of Manitoba Accessibility Act and requirements
• Experience working at a multi-stakeholder not-for-profit an asset