CONTEXT
We are looking for an experienced and talented individual to join the management team of our fantastic property, Pollok House. This is an exciting opportunity within the heritage industry and the ideal candidate must be passionate about our vision for the future and what we do every day as a business: bringing people together and providing them with the greatest visitor experience. Set within Pollok Country Park, Pollok House is Glasgow’s “country house” and is a fantastic place to soak up the atmosphere of Scotland’s history. With its beautiful gardens, popular park café, famous art collection, busy functions business and events programme, Pollok House is a popular family-friendly visitor attraction in Scotland’s largest city. Pollok House boasts a range of private dining and entertainment space, as well as one of the most impressive interiors that oozes history and character, making it ideal for weddings, corporate events and functions.
KEY PURPOSE
The Visitor Services Supervisor – Weddings & Functions will develop and drive hospitality in its corporate and commercial capacity (weddings, private hire and corporate events) whilst working in conjunction with colleagues a busy programme of public events and activities. The ideal candidate will be comfortable in selling our facilities and securing business to meet out budget targets and equally comfortable in operationalising these bookings.
The Visitor Services Supervisor plays a pivotal role ensuring that the management objectives are translated into pragmatic actions by staff, and, with delegated responsibility for weddings and functions, is the “face” of the Trust to visitors and corporate/private-hire clients. As such, they directly influence public perceptions of the Trust and is crucial to developing and maintaining the property’s local/national reputation.
The successful candidate will be expected to work long and unsociable hours on occasion to achieve tough financial objectives. They will be outgoing, assertive, and approachable with a flair for innovative ideas.
This role will be a key support within a team of duty managers for daily operations, experience of duty management within a visitor attraction or hospitality setting would be beneficial.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Wedding & Function Management:
o Develop and promote – in conjunction with the Visitor Services Manager – weddings, corporate/private-hire business, and any external events that demonstrate a “return on investment” to contribute to the property’s financial sustainability.
o Undertake direct and indirect interaction with couples, corporate/private-hire clients, and external event organisers; ensuring that their needs are anticipated and met as part of the property’s drive for excellence in customer care.
o Ensure that efficient arrangements are made for the property for weddings, functions, and corporate/private hire.
o Coordinate, supervise, and personally participate in the staffing of weddings, corporate/private-hire functions and external events, and with the advice and support of specialist/advisory staff and volunteers.
o To support on occasion other weddings and function across the Glasgow cluster of NTS properties.
o To act as Duty Manager on a shared basis, which will involve weekend and evening work.
• Operational support
o Compliance checklists and walk round procedures/ daily- weekly- monthly
o Identify issues to smooth running of daily operations and co-ordinate with IT/ Facilities Manager as appropriate to resolve any issue (e.g., EPOS, blocked toilet, water leak or power cut)
o Customer complaint handling, both handling informal issues and providing information for escalation/formal complaints
o Group bookings/ event/ function – supporting delivery where needed
o Accept and good receipt deliveries and/or pass over where appropriate to colleagues
o Security of building, retail stock, collections
o Daily banking, incl. weekly Loomis collection
o Fully aware of daily activity noted in Property Calendar- and co-ordinate any specific requirements to the staff teams
o Handover to other managers at the end of the day (via note or email)
o Be available on radio for staff team support
o Escalate any issues as appropriate to Operations Manager
• Planning and operational delivery:
o In conjunction with the Operations Manager and VSM, create and deliver a strategy to achieve specific financial and reputational objectives.
o Expand and develop a three-year business development plan.
o Maintain and record all communications pertaining to all functions and events.
o Co-ordinating with all departments to ensure an efficient delivery of customer services during functions and events
o Execute weddings and functions in conjunction with licensing laws for Public Entertainment Licensing and Alcohol Licensing. This will also include evaluating and creating risk assessments and insurance documents.
o Ensure that access arrangements to the House (in particular) are coordinated with the Visitor Services Manager and wider management team, and are consistent with the Trust’s policies and procedures for collections conservation and management, and buildings repair and maintenance on the advice of its specialists (e.g. Conservators, Curators, Building Surveyors).
• People management:
o Liaise with new and existing stakeholders and initiate partnerships to increase awareness of our heritage.
o Build relationships of trust for all clients from inception to delivery to provide exceptional customer service.
o Supervise services provided by third parties (e.g. suppliers, contractors, franchisees) such that they adhere to Trust policy and standards and ensures the safety of staff, volunteers, visitors and others.
o Deputise as Duty Manager
• Business Management & Administration:
o Create and support others’ financial/commercial initiatives that ensure the property’s drive for sustainability.
o Ensure that the administration activities for Weddings, Corporate/private-hire business and external events at the property are carried out to Trust procedures, including: all relevant reporting relating to staff, visitors, health and safety and finances, including accurate invoicing, and ensuring payment is received for all function activities; and general correspondence/record-keeping etc.
• Health, Safety & Environmental (HS&E) Management:
o Demonstrate responsibility and accountability for H&S relating to Weddings, Corporate/private-hire business and external events, embedding the Trust’s “Safe System of Work” and through active management of procedures (Risk Assessment, CoSHH, HACCP, RIDDOR, reporting), people (staff, volunteers, visitors), tools/equipment, and the site itself.
o Demonstrate responsibility and accountability that Weddings, Corporate/private-hire business and external events are in line with the Trust’s “Environmental Policy” and mindful of the Trust’s obligations to minimise the impact on the environment, through e.g. efficient use of water/heat/light, recycling and the disposal of waste, considered use of transport.
Your role is not one for which the duties/responsibilities/accountabilities of the role require you to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.
SCOPE OF JOB
Financial Management:
The post holder will be required to business case all activities and to deliver the functions and events within the pre-agreed budget.
No budget holding responsibility, however, the post holder will be required to use Trust financial systems for the purposes of expenses and the raising purchase orders.
People Management
The post-holder is not a line manager but will assist in a supervisory and leadership role within the team
Working closely with specialist Trust staff (especially commercial, conservation, marketing, health & safety, human resources) based at local and central support bases to ensure Trust policies and standards are implemented.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
The above outlines the key skills the post-holder will need to possess and exercise. In addition, either knowledge of or experience in the following is required:
Essential
• Event Management experience, ideally including significant wedding experience, demonstrating organisational and coordination skills
• Significant previous experience of working in a busy venue – ideally including supervision of staff and/or responsibility for specific activities
• Demonstrable experience in the hospitality sector
• Significant sales experience with the ability to negotiate effectively
• Strong personal belief in the value of excellent customer care with the ability to translate this into actions
• Excellent team-worker with the ability to work constructively between different teams, and lead/motivate others
• Excellent organisational, administrative and time-management skills with the ability to prioritise and re-prioritise workload to meet changing demands
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills combined with confidence in dealing with a wide range of internal and external customers
• Hard working with a keenness to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends
• The ability to think and act quickly when confronted with emergencies
• Competent user of Microsoft Office products
Desirable
• A formal qualification in Hospitality or Event Management
• Demonstrable experience of delivering high quality service within a performance indicator environment.
• Personal License Holder (or willingness to train)
The Key Responsibilities, Scope of Job, and Required Qualifications, Skills, Experience & Knowledge reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.
