Customer Experience Manager

Join Royal & Derngate as our next Customer Experience Manager. If you're passionate about delivering exceptional customer service, leading high-performing teams, and creating memorable visitor experiences, this is your chance to make a real impact in one of the region's leading cultural venues.

About the Role Key Task Areas:

Customer Experience & Customer Journey

• Lead delivery of an exceptional customer experience across both venues.

• Maintain a visible, approachable presence, particularly during busy periods.

• Ensure a consistent, welcoming and inclusive customer journey.

• Identify and implement customer journey improvements.

• Ensure Front of House teams consistently deliver Customer Experience Handbook standards.

• Work across the organisation to resolve issues and improve processes.

• Ensure inclusive support for customers with access requirements.

• Promote a strong culture of hospitality.

Front of House & Venue Operations

• Oversee effective Front of House operations during all activity including keyholder and alarm responsibilities.

• Set staffing and rotas to meet operational, service and safety needs within budget, correcting actual or forecast variances.

• Brief teams clearly on event requirements, risks and customer priorities.

• Liaise effectively with visiting companies, hirers, artists and colleagues.

• Ensure venues are prepared, presented and staffed before opening including VIP Lounge and related services.

• Maintain high standards of cleanliness, presentation and customer facilities.

• Check customer areas regularly and resolve issues promptly.

• Resolve operational issues and escalate appropriately.

Leadership & People Management

• Act as Duty Manager when required and provide visible, supportive leadership to Customer Experience colleagues.

• Line manage designated colleagues, providing supervision, feedback and development.

• Manage performance, attendance, conduct and employee relations with the Head of Customer Experience.

• Identify training needs and support the Customer Experience training programme.

• Ensure colleagues understand and can fulfil their responsibilities.

• Recognise excellent service and team performance.

Volunteers

• Support volunteer recruitment, induction, training and management.

• Ensure volunteers are briefed, supported and valued.

• Develop volunteer engagement, training and progression with the Head of Customer Experience.

• Ensure volunteers understand their role in the customer journey and culture.

Commercial, Budget & Financial Management

• Manage relevant income and expenditure within agreed budgets and targets.

• Monitor actual and forecast performance against budget and identify material variances promptly.

• Correct income shortfalls or overspends and escalate significant risks or variances.

• Support budgets and forecasts with accurate operational information on pressures and opportunities.

• Control staffing and other costs within budget while maintaining service and safety.

• Support commercial objectives through service and secondary-spend opportunities.

• Coach teams to increase appropriate upselling and customer spend without compromising experience.

• Oversee bars, retail and other customer-facing commercial activity.

• Monitor sales and financial performance against budget, understand variances and act on underperformance.

• Ensure effective stock, ordering, cash and EPOS controls to minimise waste, loss and discrepancies.

• Maintain high presentation standards in retail and bar areas.

• Implement commercial initiatives, promotions and new products.

Health, Safety, Safeguarding & Compliance

• Maintain a safe environment for customers, colleagues, volunteers and visiting companies.

• Ensure Health & Safety procedures are followed and communicated.

• Manage…