Visitor Experience Lead

Working Hours: 35 Hours per week

Contract Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Additional Payments: Casual Car Allowance

Closing Date: 30 July 2026

Closing time: 11.59pm

Interview Method: Face to Face

Legal Right to Work: In accordance with Home Office guidance, successful candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK before commencement of employment

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action

2 References - where possible we require 3 years' history.

Casual Car Documentation - The successful candidate will be a designated Casual Car User which means that car journeys may be necessary on an occasional basis, but are not essential to the role. If you do drive, you must always hold a full valid driving licence and provide your own car for use at work, as well as provide all the appropriate documentation. You will receive an allowance per mile of business use.

The Visitor Experience Lead is a senior specialist role responsible for shaping and delivering an outstanding visitor experience at Heaton Park. Combining strategic leadership with operational delivery, the postholder will develop and implement a Visitor Experience Strategy that reflects the park's heritage, identity and "spirit of place," while supporting Manchester City Council's priorities for inclusive, vibrant and sustainable public spaces.

The role brings together events, education, engagement and volunteering into a cohesive, high-quality programme. It will directly manage these teams and services, alongside leading the park's stakeholder and engagement plan to strengthen partnerships, community involvement and audience reach.

Working closely with the Parks Strategy Team and Commercial Development Lead, the postholder will identify new opportunities, build strategic relationships and support income generation to ensure a vibrant, sustainable and future-focused park offer.

Responsible for leading multidisciplinary teams, managing performance and resources, and ensuring the safe and effective delivery of events and public programming, the role plays a key part in delivering the park's business plan.

This position is central to positioning Heaton Park as a leading destination for culture, events and community life, enhancing resident wellbeing and contributing to the city's reputation. The role includes occasional evening and weekend working.

The Visitor Experience Lead is key to delivering a high-quality, safe and engaging offer at Heaton Park, bringing together events, programmes, partnerships and operations into a coordinated visitor experience. By leading strategy, people and performance, the role drives continuous improvement, supports income generation and ensures the park remains a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable destination directly contributing to Manchester City Council's priorities for communities, culture and place.

We would love to hear from you if you have experience of:

Essential requirements for the role:

Essential Experience

• Leadership skills, including leading a multi-strand team of specialists
• Working within a visitor experience team with a knowledge of volunteering, education, marketing, public programme and events
• Management role in a visitor attraction or destination
• Experience of working directly with the public in an operational role
• Management of budgets and/or forecasting a budget
• Event leadership
• A values-based leadership style

Essential Skills

• Communication Skills: Ability to negotiate difficult agreements with wide impact; ability to influence or persuade internal or external stakeholders.

• Planning and Organising: Excellent time management skills, creating own work schedules, prioritising, preparing in advance and setting realistic timescales for own self and others. Has the ability to visualise a sequence of actions needed to achieve a specific goal and how to estimate the resources required.

• Project Management: Proven ability to influence, monitor and control the risk environment, both strategic and operational, through effective allocation of roles and responsibilities.

• Problem Solving and Decision Making: Ability to think laterally and take into account the root cause of a problem and the client / organisation -wide consequence of decisions made.

• Financial Management: Ability to monitor and maintain expenditure, ensuring that financial targets are met, and being accountable for any areas where budget and expenditure exceed their agreed tolerances.

• Commercial Skills: Demonstrates sound business intelligence and ability to identify commercially viable opportunities and secure value for money in service delivery.

• People Management: Ability to lead, manage and motivate staff to high levels of performance in order to achieve change and maximise staff potential and contribution to the achievement of identified aims and objectives. Can also lead and plan the work of the team which deals with more diverse issues.

We're the local council for one of the UK's most vibrant and diverse cities.

Working for Manchester isn't just a job - it's an opportunity to contribute to a city that leads change and transforms lives. Whether it's strengthening communities or driving innovation in public services, you'll play a vital role in creating opportunities and shaping a brighter future for everyone.

Our Manchester is our vision for a fairer, greener, and healthier city - a vision shaped by the people of Manchester. It guides everything we do at the Council and is brought to life through the Our Manchester behaviours.

• We take time to listen and understand
• We work together and trust each other
• We show that we value our differences and treat each other fairly
• We 'own it' and we're not afraid to try new things
• We're proud and passionate about Manchester

Benefits we offer

• Generous holiday allowance- Enjoy up to 26 days annual leave per year plus bank holidays. Increasing to 31 days after five years of local government service. Want more leave? You can purchase up to two additional weeks during our annual leave purchase period.
• A buzzing pension- You'll be enrolled in the UK's largest local government pension scheme, with plenty of options to top up your benefits. Includes life cover of three-times your salary as a lump sum.
• Enhanced parental and carers leave- Take advantage of our enhanced family leave options, designed to provide ample time for you to bond with your new born or support your family during critical life events.
• Brilliant perks- Access a range of discounts, from saving on the weekly shop to holidays and days out with MCR+. Plus discounts on phone contracts, cycle to work scheme, free flu jabs and eye tests, and more.
• Learn and grow- We are dedicated to nurturing talent and providing you with the tools to thrive