Rye Harbour Discovery Centre Visitor Experience Manager

Hours: 35 hours per week

Closing Date: 8am Monday 7^th April

Interview Date: TBC (at Rye Harbour Discovery Centre)

Sussex Wildlife Trust

Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a conservation charity for everyone who cares about nature in Sussex. We focus on protecting the wonderfully rich natural life that is found across our towns, countryside and coast. By working alongside local people, we create opportunities for us all to connect with nature and for nature to thrive in even the most unlikely places.

We are now in a critical decade for change to protect and restore nature with the help of more people taking action for wildlife. Now is the time for an ambitious action plan to match the scale and urgency of the challenges we are facing. Our new Strategic Plan – Our Wild Sussex – will be launched in April and sets out our vision and commitment to turning the tide for wildlife so that by 2030, nature in Sussex will be in recovery.

To deliver our new strategic aims, we have recently completed a comprehensive restructure of the charity to align to our goals. This restructure has generated a suite of new roles and opportunities which will enable us to achieve our ambitions of restoring and protecting at least 30% of Sussex land and sea for nature, inspiring one in four people in Sussex to take meaningful action for wildlife, building a stronger more inclusive and diverse organisation and becoming a net zero and climate resilient organisation.

In order to encourage diversity and inclusivity within the environment sector, we particularly welcome applications from people who have an ethnically or geographically diverse background, who are non-graduates and/or are living in economically deprived areas

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join the team at the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre. The Visitor Experience Manager role will enable SWT to deliver effective action for wildlife in Sussex by leading the Centre’s education and community engagement, events programme, volunteering and communications, as well as the general visitor experience offer across the SWT estate, balancing financial viability with reaching our charitable and strategic aims.

The Person

You will be an experienced professional with a proven track record of delivering a successful and professional events, education, volunteering, or engagement programme. Your background may be in the heritage and museum sector, education or developing audience engagement or visitor services in other settings.

You will have an up-to-date understanding of how to achieve high-quality audience engagement in an outdoor or heritage context, excellent people leadership skills, initiative and a drive to innovate and improve the visitor experience.

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are vital in this role, as is the ability to work well as part of a team. You will be able to think on your feet, work well under pressure and enjoy a busy working environment. You will be required to work some weekends and evenings as part of the Centre management rota. An understanding of the habitats of the Rye Harbour area and interest in nature conservation is an advantage.

In return, we offer a generous annual leave allowance of 25 days plus Bank Holidays in year one of employment, rising to 28 days after five years, flexible working arrangements and an enhanced Employee Assistance Programme.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays each year (pro-rated for part time staff)
• Pension – company contribution from 6% and employee contribution of 3%
• Life Assurance - Pension Scheme Members 2 x Salary, Non-Pension Scheme Members 1 x Salary
• 2 days paid leave for volunteering each year
• Flexible working policy
• Enhanced Sick Pay
• EAP
• Employee discounts
• Informal car share arrangements

For more detailed information see what we offer page in the Recruitment Pack.

Rye Harbour Discovery Centre

The Rye Harbour Discovery Centre is Sussex Wildlife Trust’s first visitor centre; generously supported by The Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, the local community and a range of funders. The 1,110-acre reserve is one of the most biodiverse places in Britain with 4,200 plant and animal species recorded, and over 200 rare or endangered birds and mammals. As well as engaging the 400,000 annual visitors in this exceptional natural and human heritage area through exciting interpretation, the Centre draws new visitors to the nature reserve through its many and varied engagement opportunities as well as its café and retail operations. Supported by an extensive volunteer development programme, it also boosts the reserve’s conservation capabilities, improving habitats for endangered species and securing a more sustainable future for the reserve.

•   Recruitment Pack ( 1MB)