Property Operations Manager

Summary        

The Bateman’s and Bodiam Castle portfolio consists of two very different properties run by one dedicated team. These two heritage sites attract different audiences, so as Property Operations Manager you’ll be someone who enjoys a varied and dynamic environment.

You'll be responsible for operational leadership and smooth running of the whole operation, specific areas of responsibility include visitor welcome, membership, volunteering and community, business services, and fundraising.  

What it's like to work here        

Bodiam Castle is an impressive 14th century moated castle and one of the most famous castles in Britain.

Ten miles away in Burwash is Bateman’s, the former home of Rudyard Kipling. This 17th century house remains much the same as the world-famous writer left it.

Nestled in a peaceful corner of East Sussex with beautiful surroundings, this is a great place to live and work.

Joining a collaborative team of leaders who support each other and whose combined dedication offers an exciting future for the properties, you’ll influence support from each department to create a memorable experience for our visitors.

Regular weekend and bank holiday working, including school holidays on a rota basis with duty management responsibilities and member of the portfolio leadership team. You will need to regularly travel to both sites as part of this role. Most of your time will be spent leading the visitor operations at Bodiam Castle.

What you'll be doing        

Your duties will include opening the properties to visitors, maximising income generation through admissions and membership recruitment, supporting and leading on-site fundraising. You’ll coordinate and undertake duty management of the sites and oversee the management and planning of the car parking operations which can be especially busy.

You'll manage the presentational standards, ensure high level service for our visitors and maximise the financial success of the operation. You’re the lead for visitor facing health and safety incidents and risk assessment reporting. As well as managing the visitor welcome side of the business you'll collaborate with colleagues across the properties to ensure delivery of high-quality programmes and experiences and efficiently welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

You’ll work with the General Manager and leadership team in thinking long-term and planning for the future development of the properties, including feeding into small and large visitor infrastructure projects, leading regular inductions for all portfolio staff and organising training sessions for staff and volunteers. You’ll lead on access improvements across the site enabling us to welcome more visitors safely and champion diversity and inclusion.

Who we're looking for        

You'll be an individual that can balance the daily operational responsibility of opening the properties to visitors, with the longer-term planning for the future. We’d like to hear from you if you have/are:

• Well organised and collaborative
• Solution focussed
• Able to communicate effectively at all levels
• Someone who enjoys a busy environment and talking to visitors
• Commercially minded yet sympathetic to conservation requirements
• A proven track record in managing, supporting and motivating a team to deliver key objectives and grow performance.
• A background in heritage, arts, museum, tourism, leisure, theatre or other audience/customer facing transferable experience