Full Time

Scottish Canals are the custodians of the nation’s canal network and surrounding estates.  Our vision is to invest in the canal network to generate lasting benefit for people and communities; celebrating their industrial heritage, ensuring they offer quality green and blue spaces for people and communities and contribute to Scotland’s resilience in tackling climate change.

Our success is rooted in valuing the contributions of our entire team – we care, we create, and we collaborate to continue to deliver a whole range of activities from boating, paddling, walking and wheeling to living and playing and improving what the canals have to offer to our visitors and communities.  We also work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders to contribute to a wealthier, fairer, greener and more resilient Scotland.

As an employer we offer a truly unique opportunity to be part of our team, help us realise our vision and contribute to safeguarding our heritage and ensuring our canals flourish now and in the future. 

We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Visitor Experience Manager to join our Destinations team at the Caledonian Canal Centre, Fort Augustus. Scottish Canals are responsible for the stewardship of Scotland’s iconic canal network as well as various tourism destinations throughout the country. As Visitor Experience Manager you will be pivotal in developing our offering across food & beverage, retail, and our B&B accommodation to drive consistently high standards, while achieving financial goals.

The role is offered on a permanent basis, and with a starting salary of circa £44k (including allowances and pending pay award).  Working hours 37 hours per week, on a variable rota.

Scottish Canals offer a generous annual leave entitlement of 28 days, plus 10 public holidays, along with enhanced sick pay, discounted shopping vouchers, and a contributory pension scheme with up to 10% employer contribution.

Primary responsibilities of the role:

Manage daily operations of the Visitor Centre, including staffing, scheduling, and budgeting.
Lead and inspire a team dedicated to delivering exceptional visitor experiences.
Develop business plans, budgets, and quarterly forecasts.
Drive revenue levels to support the wider canal network, while controlling costs.
Ensure compliance across all operations.
Regular reporting of financial performance.
Facility management with the support of our Estates team.
Gather, manage and analyse visitor feedback via multiple platforms to continually improve the visitor experience.
Ownership of Destination ICT systems (scheduling, EPOS and room booking platforms).
Collaborate with marketing to promote the destination across various media platforms, driving increases in visitor numbers.
Streamlining the visitor experience, reducing pain points and increasing revenue.
Organising and overseeing events that enrich the visitor experience and promote the local area.
Ensure the Visitor Centre and its offerings are competitive, appealing, enjoyable and accessible for all.
Work collaboratively with other SC Destinations, ensuring a consistent and competitive offering and experience to all visitors.
Wide stakeholder management: internal SC departments, tourism destination partners (ASVA, STA members), travel trade clients and the local community.​​​​​​​

Skills and experience required:

Proven track record in a similar role, preferably within visitor attractions, hotels, or restaurants.
Highly IT literate with the ability to master new systems quickly.
Experience managing staff across multiple specialisms, excellent leadership and communication skills.
Skilled in creating, forecasting, and managing budgets and interpreting financial reports.
Strong knowledge covering facilities management with F&B operational experience.

Qualities & abilities required:

Passionate about providing outstanding visitor experiences.
Creative thinker with strong problem-solving skills.
A commitment to inclusivity and accessibility

This post requires occasional travel to other Scottish Canals sites. The post holder will be required to participate in an on-call rota and so must live within a reasonable distance from Fort Augustus.

Temporary Post – until 14/04/2025

A leadership role to manage the Travelling Gallery, including the exhibition programme and the overall strategic direction of the organisation, securing core funding and clearly communicating future planning, aims and objectives, and financial budgets with all stakeholders. A key part of the maternity cover will be to travel with Travelling Gallery to locations across Scotland and present exhibition to a wide range of groups, including Primary and Secondary pupils, College students and local clubs.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong knowledge of contemporary art and the Scottish visual arts sector.

• The ability to explain complex issues inherent in contemporary art to a very broad audience.

• Strong and accessible writing skills needed to put together both original exhibition texts and business / fundraising reports.

• Project and budget management skills.

• Strong communication skills needed to work within a small team which is often, due to travel, not all in the one place.

• Ability to build effective relationships and communicate with partners, key stakeholders and funders.

• Ability to work independently and make key decisions relating to the overall strategic and operational direction of Travelling Gallery.

• Confident driver and navigator with a valid driving license and the ability to travel independently.

Curatorial

• Organise and facilitate the exhibition programme for Travelling Gallery which consists of three exhibitions a year.

• Work with technicians to safely install and de-install each exhibition and ensure the physical care and documentation of artwork.

• Write accessible exhibition texts to accompany the touring programme.

• Manage exhibition and loans contracts, adhering to the procedures for insurance, transportation, artist agreements, condition reports, environmental conditions.

• Work closely with exhibiting artists to develop the exhibition programme and ensure clear communication and fair work conditions throughout the exhibition process.

Development

• Effective monitoring and reporting of Travelling Gallery’s performance, finance and overall delivery to key stakeholders.

• Identify and submit grant applications and fundraising / sponsorship opportunities to support Travelling Gallery’s core costs, exhibition and learning programmes.

• Manage the development of Travelling Gallery’s policies and action plans including Equalities and Environment.

Visitor engagement and travel with the gallery

• Give confident and engaging exhibition talks to a wide range of audiences including primary and secondary pupils, college students, and adult learning groups.

• Welcome and engage visitors into the Travelling Gallery providing knowledgeable information about the exhibitions.

• Driving of the hire car safely to locations across Scotland to accompany Travelling Gallery on tour including occasional overnight stays.

• Act as a safe banksman for the Travelling Gallery Driver when arriving and leaving a venue.

Operational and tour planning

• Work with the TG team to manage Travelling Gallery’s touring itinerary and national partnerships.

• Manage Travelling Gallery’s maintenance including annual servicing and unexpected repairs.

Eden Scott is delighted to be working with Dynamic Earth, a charity Launched in 1999.
Dynamic Earth has attracted over five million visitors since opening its doors and engage with circa 250,000 people a year, including many families, school groups, and business professionals.

They exist to provide compelling science engagement — they translate big scientific stuff into experiences that anyone can get their heads around and feel excited about. And as well as the visitor attraction side of what they do, they have up to 400 conferences and events hosted at the centre too, including major businesses and government events.

They are looking for a Science Learning & Engagement Director, this is a key leadership role and will lead strategy and delivery for science engagement across public, schools, community and outreach programmes. Increasingly you will focus on engagement specific to climate crisis and sustainability themes.

Key responsibilities of the role:

Strategic leadership – You will form a key part of the senior leadership team, working closely with the Board on strategy and delivery for all charity matters.
People management – You will model effective leadership across the charity as well as directly managing the Learning & Engagement Directorate.
Lead on scientific policy – You will ensure there is a robust approach to scientific accuracy in all of the Charity’s messaging and engagement activities.
Manage strategy and delivery for learning, outreach and community – You will ensure we maximise the quality and range of earth science engagement they deliver.
Provide science guidance to the Science Centre & Planetarium teams to ensure all galleries, exhibitions and activities are accurate as well as compelling. This will include leading on the science storytelling for future gallery redevelopments.
Stakeholder representation – You will ensure they have strong connections with relevant government agencies and science experts in academia and industry Science Learning & Engagement Director
Other Responsibilities — You will provide effective leadership for new opportunities and issues, including helping to strategically reimage the Edinburgh science centre.

Key skills and experience required:

STEM engagement experience – We are looking for a leader with demonstrable STEM experience. You will know how to deliver science specific engagement.
Science degree – You will have a formal science education background, preferably specific to earth science and related fields.
Leadership experience – You will know how to form part of a shared leadership team, as well as provide effective functional leadership to a directorate team. •
Strategy and policy – You will have extensive experience at developing strategies and building a library of supporting policies to shape delivery.
Formal learning environment – You will understand the structure of formal learning across Scotland and know how to ensure an organisation can align with the existing educational framework •
Excellent communication skills – You will be very experienced at handling speeches, podcasts, media opportunities to further an organisation’s reputation and aims.

Desirable skills:

A professional or personal interest in earth science and environmental issues
An empathy for what Dynamic Earth exists to deliver
Experience in working for an organization that runs one or more visitor attractions as part of its overall proposition

This role offers an excellent competitive salary within a range of £60,000-£65,000 depending on experience and significant company benefits from day one:

34 days annual leave (which includes 9 bank holidays)
Complimentary entry to Dynamic Earth for family and friends
Free staff car-parking
25% Discount in the Gift Shop
Subsidised meals from the Café
Matched company pension contribution of 7%
Life Assurance cover of 4 times annual salary
Up to 3 years Critical Illness cover

Eden Scott is dealing exclusively with Dynamic Earth on this vacancy so to be considered for this exciting opportunity please submit your CV online.

Closing date and time: 5.00pm Tuesday 26 March 2024

The Head of Community Engagement & Participation leads the strategic direction of community engagement and participation work across the Trust’s Heritage Properties portfolio, ensuring all activity is coordinated, meets best practice. We define community engagement as activity that allows us to identify and work with others for mutual benefit in the pursuit of our charitable objectives, and participation as activity that enables a larger and more diverse range of people to experience the benefits of heritage. The role will allow the trust to extract greater value from the ways that we work with local communities delivers tangible benefits for the Trust.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. Strategy. Lead the development of and oversee the implementation of strategies for community engagement and participation, helping the Trust to achieve its strategic objective to diversify audiences and ensure the wellbeing benefits of engagement with heritage are more widely realised.
2. Leadership and advocacy. Provide visible leadership and advocacy for the value of community engagement and participation within the Trust, working collaboratively with colleagues, and represent the function externally with funders and stakeholders.
3. Management and support. Coordinate and maintain oversight of all community engagement and participation activities across the Trust, ensuring projects and activities are delivered in line with strategic priorities and meet best practice for access, inclusion and evaluation of outcomes and impacts.
4. Organisational capacity. Maintain and develop organisational capacity for community engagement through training and development of colleagues, building communities of practice, producing resources, and addressing organisational blockers to the delivery of high-quality activities.
5. Evaluation. Develop and implement processes for the effective evaluation of community engagement and participation activities, ensuring these systems are aligned with KPI reporting on the NTS Corporate Strategy, and provide management information to drive performance improvements.
6. Partnerships. Develop strategic partnerships with peer organisations, governmental agencies, universities and the third sector to access funding opportunities and deliver innovative activity in community engagement and participation.
7. Major projects. Support the development and delivery of major projects by developing plans for community engagement and participation that align with project objectives and realise local opportunities.

Eden Scott is delighted to be working with Gretna Green, a 5* Scottish Visitor Attraction, Shopping and Wedding Venue and the home of Anvil weddings since 1754.

Through four generations of ownership, since 1885, this family-owned and operated business has been at the heart of Gretna Green and Dumfries and Galloway local history for over 130 years.

The Famous Blacksmiths Shop in Gretna Green, has over 260 years of history and heritage, joining couples since 1754 and is now a world-class, award-winning wedding destination and joins shopping opportunities and two hotels. Gretna Green is situated on the Scottish side of the borders of Scotland and England. Located only 10 minutes north of Carlisle, one hour from the Lake District.

Due to a restructure in the business, exciting opportunities have arisen to join the team as Hotel Operation Managers at both Gretna Hall and Smiths Hotel.

Purchased by Gretna Green Ltd at the tail end of 2016, Gretna Hall is a hugely important piece of Gretna Green history. Built in 1710 and run as a coaching inn as early as 1793 Gretna Hall has 86 bedrooms and has recently begun an ambitious refurbishment to bring this glorious building back to its prime and is a 4-star hotel.

Smiths at Gretna Green is also a 4-star hotel with 56 bedrooms. A modern independent hotel built in 2005, Smiths Hotel, is perfect for a relaxing leisure break, business stays, and of course like Gretna Hall, your Gretna Green wedding.

Both roles will be operations centric and be responsible for all aspects of operations at the hotel including day-to-day interaction with colleagues and guests. The post holder will be an ambassador for the brand and their hotel. Provide leadership and planning to all departments in support of their service culture, maximise operations and deliver high levels of guest satisfaction whilst working closely with key stakeholders.

The roles will lead and deliver successful hotel operations, with responsibility for ensuring the highest level of guest satisfaction, team management, and maintaining the overall strong efficiency and profitability of the business unit. The roles demands a keen on first class customer service which exceeds guest expectations. Through considered and crafted planning and organisation of resource, assets and space ensure optimised delivery of a high quality service to both internal and external stakeholders which meets excellent standards of accommodation, food, events, weddings and business performance and consistently delivers in line with their core values and the 4* standards expected from a highly reputable Scottish wedding, hospitality and tourism business.

We are looking for a customer focused individual for each hotel with significant fast paced hotel operational experience and in particular wedding and leisure experience.

You will enjoy a hands-on operational approach and thrive on developing and coaching the team to success and be available to work weekends and evenings, five days out of seven.

This role offers a salary that depends on experience plus various company benefits.

Eden Scott is dealing exclusively with Gretna Green Ltd on this vacancy. Please submit your CV online or to sally.rae@edenscott.com and for an informal chat or to receive the full role information please email or call Sally on 07776 662506.