At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead Kents Cavern to achieve visitor and revenue targets while ensuring exceptional operational standards.
- Company: Kents Cavern, Britain's oldest home and a top heritage attraction.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, opportunity to shape visitor experiences, and career growth.
- Other info: Join a dynamic team focused on delivering high standards and memorable experiences.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on a historic site and enhance visitor experiences.
- Qualifications: Senior operational experience in visitor attractions or customer-facing businesses.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
Kents Cavern is Britain's oldest home, a site of international archaeological significance and one of the South West's most iconic visitor attractions. We are looking for an exceptional General Manager who knows how to deliver results and make things happen. You will set standards, drive performance, solve problems and ensure the attraction consistently delivers against visitor, revenue and operational targets.
You will be responsible for ensuring Kents Cavern achieves its commercial objectives while maintaining the highest standards of visitor experience, presentation, health and safety and operational delivery. You will lead the day-to-day operation of the attraction and ensure plans become reality. You will be key to delivering the vision for this iconic site.
Purpose of the Role
To lead the attraction with pace, focus and accountability. The General Manager is responsible for ensuring Kents Cavern delivers its visitor, revenue and profitability targets while maintaining exceptional operational standards. You will take ownership for performance across every area of the business, ensuring plans are executed, projects are delivered, teams are performing and standards are consistently maintained. You will identify issues before they become problems, remove barriers to progress and ensure the attraction moves forward at pace.
What You'll Be Accountable For
- Commercial Performance
- Delivering visitor and revenue budgets.
- Growing sales across all areas including admissions, groups, schools and coach business.
- Maximising secondary spend through retail.
- Driving performance across all revenue streams.
- Ensuring forecasts, plans and reporting are accurate and up to date.
- Operational Excellence
- Running a safe, efficient and highly organised attraction.
- Maintaining exceptional standards every day.
- Ensuring visitor-facing areas are clean, well-presented and operational.
- Managing resources effectively to maximise performance.
- Ensuring compliance across all operational areas.
- Project Delivery
- Delivering seasonal events and exhibitions.
- Implementing self-guided experiences and operational improvements.
- Driving infrastructure and visitor experience enhancements.
- Ensuring projects are delivered on time and to the required standard.
- Team Performance
- Setting clear expectations.
- Holding managers accountable.
- Addressing poor performance quickly.
- Recruiting and retaining strong people.
- Building teams that focus on solutions rather than barriers.
What You'll Do
- Be visible across the attraction.
- Monitor standards continuously.
- Review visitor feedback and take action.
- Track performance against targets.
- Drive visitor growth initiatives.
- Ensure maintenance issues are resolved promptly.
- Manage budgets and staffing costs carefully.
- Lead daily operational decision-making.
- Remove obstacles that prevent progress.
- Deliver business plans and agreed priorities.
- Work closely with central support teams to maximise results.
The Type of Person We're Looking For
This role would suit someone who:
- Gets things done.
- Takes ownership.
- Notices the details.
- Holds high standards.
- Is commercially aware.
- Makes decisions.
- Doesn't wait for problems to solve themselves.
- Can manage multiple priorities.
- Is comfortable holding people accountable.
- Understands that execution matters as much as strategy.
Key Skills & Experience
- Essential
- Senior operational experience.
- Experience managing visitor attractions, hospitality, tourism or customer-facing businesses.
- Proven track record of delivering budgets.
- Strong project delivery experience.
- Experience managing teams and performance.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Strong understanding of operational planning.
- Experience managing health and safety compliance.
- Desirable
- Heritage or visitor attraction experience.
- Experience managing exhibitions or events.
- Experience working with educational, group or tourism markets.
Success Looks Like
- Visitor targets achieved.
- Revenue targets achieved.
- Schools, groups and coaches growing.
- Projects delivered on time.
- High visitor satisfaction scores.
- Strong health and safety compliance.
- Excellent presentation standards.
- Teams performing well.
- Problems dealt with quickly.
- Senior leadership has confidence that plans will be delivered.
The Opportunity
Kents Cavern has significant potential. The successful candidate will play a key role in growing visitor numbers beyond 200,000 annually, enhancing the visitor experience and strengthening Kents Cavern's position as one of the UK's leading heritage attractions. We're looking for someone who combines commercial awareness with operational discipline, someone who can take ownership, maintain momentum and ensure that great ideas become reality. If you are someone who thrives on delivery, accountability and high standards, we'd love to hear from you.
General Manager in Torquay employer: Kents Cavern
Kents Cavern offers an exceptional opportunity for a General Manager to lead one of the South West's most iconic visitor attractions. With a strong focus on operational excellence and commercial performance, employees benefit from a dynamic work culture that values accountability and high standards. The role provides ample opportunities for professional growth while contributing to the preservation and enhancement of Britain's oldest home, making it a rewarding place to work for those passionate about heritage and visitor experience.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land General Manager in Torquay
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join relevant groups, and don’t be shy about reaching out to folks on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Show up prepared! When you land that interview, do your homework on Kents Cavern. Know their history, current projects, and visitor experience goals. This shows you’re genuinely interested and ready to hit the ground running.
✨Tip Number 3
Be ready to demonstrate your problem-solving skills. As a General Manager, you’ll need to tackle issues head-on. Think of examples from your past where you’ve turned challenges into opportunities, and be ready to share them during interviews.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to follow up! After your interview, send a quick thank-you note. It’s a nice touch and keeps you fresh in their minds. Plus, it shows you’re serious about the role and appreciate the opportunity.
We think you need these skills to ace General Manager in Torquay
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion:When you're writing your application, let your enthusiasm for Kents Cavern shine through! We want to see that you’re genuinely excited about the role and the opportunity to lead such an iconic site.
Be Specific About Your Experience:Make sure to highlight your relevant experience in managing visitor attractions or similar environments. We love details, so share specific examples of how you've delivered results and driven performance in past roles.
Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills:In your application, don’t just list your skills; show us how you've tackled challenges in the past. We’re looking for someone who can identify issues before they become problems, so give us a glimpse of your proactive approach!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity at Kents Cavern!
How to prepare for a job interview at Kents Cavern
✨Know Your Numbers
Before the interview, make sure you’re familiar with Kents Cavern's visitor and revenue targets. Be ready to discuss how you’ve successfully managed budgets in the past and how you plan to drive performance across all revenue streams.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
Prepare examples that highlight your experience in managing teams and holding them accountable. Think about specific situations where you’ve addressed poor performance or built strong teams focused on solutions.
✨Demonstrate Operational Excellence
Be ready to talk about your approach to maintaining high operational standards. Share experiences where you’ve ensured compliance and safety while enhancing the visitor experience, as this is crucial for the role.
✨Think Ahead
Anticipate questions about potential challenges Kents Cavern might face and come prepared with solutions. Show that you can identify issues before they become problems and have a proactive mindset towards driving the attraction forward.
