Upton Country Park Visitor Services Officer

Job Introduction

Role Purpose

We have a fantastic opportunity for a customer focused individual with acute business acumen to help us continue to develop a thriving business at the award winning Upton Country Park, Poole.

We will look to you to drive the business forward, planning, marketing and managing profitable events and activities to enable us to reach our challenging targets.  Not afraid to get "hands on" at indoor or outdoor events and functions to ensure they are unforgettable experiences, we will also expect you to initiate and develop new income streams and tap into new markets. With the creative ideas and skills to develop social media and effective marketing strategies to draw in the crowds, you will also have strong record keeping and data monitoring capability to evidence the viability of your new ventures.  You will recruit, manage and organise a small team of staff and volunteers, motivating and training them to deliver on all levels.

A uniform will be provided and you will be required to work outdoors in all weathers as part of a seven day rota.  Evening and weekend work may also be required to meet the business needs.

If you would like to be a key player in our team, working daily in beautiful surroundings and have the skills to develop a strong team we would welcome your application. 

Main Responsibilities

• To drive business growth and incomes through the development of new commercial activities and events and improve the visitor experience for all customers and clients.   Ensuring that the booking and invoicing system is maintained and monitored in line with financial regulations and service delivery needs.
• To plan and deliver a commercially driven programme of events, added value activities and hire opportunities (including wedding receptions, ceremonies, room bookings and concessions) with a focus on developing new markets, increasing visitor numbers, maximising income generation and customer satisfaction.
• Be responsible for the quality and delivery of marketing and promotional material, interpretation, print production, signage, web & social media.
• To build positive relationships with stakeholders, partners, service providers and customers, ensuring high levels of satisfaction and customer care.  Following up and developing sales leads and responding swiftly to customer enquiries, reports and complaints.
• To supervise and develop related staff and volunteers across a 7-day rota to meet the needs of the service, liaising with other colleagues as necessary.  Actively manage and participate in rotas, including attendance at wedding ceremonies and receptions as required.
• To develop and maintain an evidence base to support project delivery and funding bids via mechanisms such as feedback forms and visitor surveys.
• Maintain and update H&S documentation relating to all visitor services, including event management document in line with policy.  Being responsible for ensuring that all hire opportunities (including concessions) comply with relevant legislation, polices and procedures.

The Ideal Candidate

Specific Qualifications and Experience

• Evidence of commercial success in developing and delivering hospitality, events and activities.
• Evidence of effective marketing campaigns linked to business generation and sales successes and action planning to penetrate new markets.
• Budget and administration management
• Management and development of customer focused front of house and support staff and volunteers.
• Communicating with the public, customers and partners including written reports, media statements and social media.
• Certificate qualification (or equivalent) in Hospitality, Event Marketing or related discipline.

 Personal Qualities & Attributes

• Ability to be persuasive and expand the customer base using a range of sales techniques
• Ability to design, deliver and monitor successful marketing campaigns across a range of platforms.
• Confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to develop and sustain relationships with a wide variety of internal and external contacts.
• Flexible and adaptable ‘can do’ approach and a willingness to work individually or in a team.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure, forward plan and prioritise.
• Well organised, efficient with attention to detail.
• Ability to motivate and train colleagues & staff and to promote a culture of empowerment and inclusion.
• Must be physically fit and able to work outdoors in all weathers.
• Willingness to undertake training and development as necessary, including First Aid at Work and IOSH Health & Safety certification.

 Job Requirements

• Basic DBS check
• Must be able to travel, using public or other forms of transport where they are viable, or by holding a valid UK driving licence with access to own or pool car.
• Weekends, school holidays and bank holidays are our busiest times, so you will be comfortable working regularly during those periods on a shared rota with other colleagues.

Interviews will take place on Thursday 5 June 2025. 

 For an informal discussion about this role please contact Roger Brewer on 01202 127770.

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people. Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline. We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services. By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package to colleagues. Find out more on our website.

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils. 

We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward.  If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.