Operations Manager – Visitor Experience Team in Bakewell

Are you a people-first leader with a talent for operational excellence and team development? Do you thrive in a fast-paced, visitor-facing environment and want to be part of something truly special? This is a rare opportunity to join Chatsworth as Operations Manager within the Visitor Experience Team — a role where your leadership and purpose will shape unforgettable experiences for every visitor, every day.

About the Role

As our new Operations Manager, you’ll be at the heart of the day-to-day running of our Visitor Experience team. From managing people and resources to driving continuous improvement, your work will ensure that every aspect of the guest experience is seamless, engaging, and aligned with Chatsworth’s values of heritage, hospitality, and excellence.

What You’ll be Doing:

• Leading and mentoring Team Leaders and front-line staff across visitor areas.
• Shaping the team culture with a strong presence on the ground through coaching, development, and engagement helping to foster a positive, motivated, and knowledgeable team.
• Lead on operational planning — including staffing rotas, managing performance, visitor flow and team coverage.
• Collaborating across departments to support the smooth running of all visitor-facing areas.
• Responding to feedback and ensuring issues are resolved promptly so every visitor leaves with a smile.
• Identifying opportunities to enhance the visitor offer.
• Taking the lead on first aid, health & safety, incident reporting, and more.

This is a full-time role, working 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, and working one in every two weekends on a rota basis along with the occasional evening. The role will be based on-site and will mainly focus on working in the house but will cover outside duties as and when needed.

About You

You will have proven leadership skills with a natural ability to inspire, motivate, and support people. In this people-focused role, you need to be self-motivated with a proactive approach, excellent leadership skills, and a passion for delivering memorable experiences in a historic setting. Strong operational and organisational capability — especially in fast-paced settings. You must work best in a culture and people led environment. A calm, proactive approach to challenges and a love for being hands-on and getting stuck in. Excellent communication and collaboration skills. Confidence with IT systems (Word, Excel, Outlook) and willingness to learn more. A flexible, team-first mind-set and the ability to work regular weekends and some evenings. Experience in cultural or heritage settings is desirable but not essential — what matters most is your leadership, drive, and values.

In return, as part of the wider Devonshire Group, owned by the Duke of Devonshire, which includes Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey, Lismore and the Devonshire Hotels & Restaurants Group, we pride ourselves on our commitment to building friendly and efficient teams who are focused on delivering exceptional customer service. We are committed to ensuring the happiness and wellbeing of our staff and as such offer fantastic benefits including:

• A unique chance to join a supportive team with opportunities for training and long-term development within a valued-led environment.
• The satisfaction of knowing your work truly makes a difference — for visitors, colleagues, and the legacy of Chatsworth.
• Free access to the Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey Estates.
• Free entry to the Chatsworth Country Fair and many of the events.
• Membership of the Life Assurance Scheme.
• Generous holiday entitlement and the ability to buy more.
• Excellent wellbeing calendar of events.
• Employee support through SIXMHA.

Our core values include 'Being Inclusive' and we particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates who are currently under-represented. We also welcome applicants from the LGBTQ+ community. Flexible working will also be considered.