Location: Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill
Level: Management
Deadline: 04/11/2024 10:00
Hours: 37.5
Benefits: See "Working for Us" on the Home menu
Job Type: Full time
Job title and reference: Head of Commercial
Salary range: £50-55K
Hours of work: Full time 37.5 hour week, Monday-Friday with evening/weekend working as required
The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a unique attraction in south east London where world cultures and the natural world are brought together for everyone to enjoy. The Museum holds internationally important collections of anthropology and musical instruments, as well as a popular natural history gallery and Aquarium. The 16 acres of beautiful Gardens feature a tropical Butterfly House and offer stunning views across London. The Horniman is the holder of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022.
The Horniman’s mission is to connect us all with global cultures and the natural environment, encouraging us to shape a positive future for the world we all share. We are looking for a Head of Commercial to play a key role in maximising our income generation streams in order to support this mission, leading day-to-day operations across retail, catering and ticket sales. You will also have the wider responsibility of proposing and developing new business opportunities, working closely with the Venue Hire and Programming and Visitor Experience teams. A key project for the role is managing the delivery of a new children’s café as part of our ambitious Nature + Love capital project.
You will have a proven track record in commercial management and experience of all aspects of retail and catering operations, ideally gained in a visitor attraction setting. You will have experience of driving income through innovation and the development of partnerships and have solid financial commercial experience in budgeting and forecasting . The role reports to and works closely with the Director of Audiences and Income and leads a busy, dedicated and talented team. You will be an inspiring, collaborative and supportive line manager with experience of management reporting and working effectively with customer relationship management and box office systems.
You will have an empathy for and interest in the Horniman’s mission, collections and programme alongside a passion for the transformational impact arts, culture and nature can have on people’s lives.
The closing date for completed applications is 10am on Monday 04 November 2024. Interviews will be held 20 – 22 November 2024 .
The Horniman is an equal opportunities employer, and we value and celebrate diversity. We want to better represent the communities in which we work but recognise that there is still much work to do in this area. We welcome and encourage all applicants and particularly encourage you to apply if you are from a community that is often disadvantaged by society or an ethnically diverse background.
How to Apply
Click on “Apply Now” at the top or bottom of this page. When you apply you will be asked to upload a covering statement in Microsoft Word format (the document must be in .doc format and the maximum file size is 2 MB). Please also ensure that you have uploaded your CV as a separate document which you can do when you create an account or login.
Please provide an overview of no more than 2 pages describing your experience relevant to the role as outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title Head of Commercial
Reports to Director, Audiences & Income (AI)
Line manages Retail & Admissions Team Leaders; Ticketing and CRM Coordinator; Commercial Coordinator; Merchandise Assistant
Hours of work 37.5 hour week, Monday-Friday with regular evening/weekend working as required
Location Horniman Museum and Gardens, London Road site
Main purpose of job
The post holder is responsible for proposing and implementing the Horniman’s commercial strategy and leading day-to-day operations across the core income streams of admissions, retail, catering with oversight of venue hire. The role also has a wider responsibility across the organisation to propose and develop new commercial streams ensuring they are based on sound financial planning and market understanding, and support the Horniman’s mission, brand and Reset Agenda, through effective liaison with relevant colleagues and the Horniman Enterprises Board (HME). The other main areas of responsibility are the oversight of our customer relationship management (CRM) and box office system and leadership of the Retail & Admissions Team.
The Communications and Income Generation Directorate (CIG) is one of four Directorates at the Horniman and comprises commercial and admissions; digital; event programming; fundraising; marketing, communications and audience insight; membership; and visitor experience activities.
Main responsibilities
Management (40%)
- Working with the Director AI, oversee the strategic management of commercial and admissions activities within the Museum and Gardens, including the development of projects, plans, strategies, pricing models, forecasts and business cases; alongside effectively managing budgets
- Report to the HME Board and senior management team on performance against strategy, plans and targets
- Oversee operational management including the recruitment, training and performance of retail and admissions, CRM and data and commercial staff as required
- Contract manage the KPIs, service level agreements and objectives in place for external suppliers and renegotiate/retender contracts as and when required
- Work with colleagues to interpret and respond effectively to data and implement activity to drive sales, promote customer loyalty and encourage repeat sales alongside enhancing the customer journey across all channels
- Work with colleagues to build a robust approach to intellectual property and rights management in order to protect and maximise our assets
- Act as Duty Manager for both the entire site and specific events on a regular basis
- Be a Personal Licence Holder and main point of contact for the Borough with regards to our premises licence.
CRM, ticketing and data management (20%)
- Lead the Retail and Admissions Team leaders ensuring a customer-focused and target-orientated front-of-house operation seven days a week
- Oversee the delivery of a CRM and Data management strategy including management of the CRM/Box office system and contract management of its supplier
- Develop and embed an income, customer insight and business intelligence reporting framework.
Retail (20%)
- Develop and deliver an innovative, commercially driven retail strategy and high-quality product range ensuring the ranges are on brand, and reflect the Horniman’s collections and audiences.
- Set and manage the annual retail budget, ensuring robust margins on products, constantly monitor ongoing performance and identify any business opportunities or critical issues to ensure income and profit are maximised
- Identify and build relationships with external designers and artists for collaboration
- Oversee effective ordering of stock and ensure appropriate stock levels are maintained, responding to changes in demand as necessary
- Ensure effective upselling of other products and charity messaging where appropriate
Catering and commercial events (20%)
- Contract manage catering suppliers including close monitoring of service level agreements and maximising the potential of all new business opportunities
- Work closely with catering suppliers and any designated consultants to develop their product and service in line with corporate aspirations
- Work with Events Programming Manager to propose competitive business and pricing models for commercial activities including venue hire, events and experiences, as well as advise on other new products/services proposed
- Work with Events Programming Manager to support the delivery of HME venue hire, filming and photography bookings and key events through effective operations and systems, staff management, cross-departmental liaison and external suppliers/managers as required
- Relationship manage any other external suppliers including food and activity concessions ensuring policies and targets are agreed and met
- Ensure all relevant event and operations policies and procedures are in place and adhered to including health and safety, risk assessments, site inspections and licences
- Work with colleagues to ensure that commercial activity is considered and integrated appropriately in all aspects of the Horniman’s operations and business development.
General responsibilities
- Act in a professional manner and uphold the Horniman’s Code of Conduct
- Follow and promote safe systems of work and observe health and safety regulations
- Undertake other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility and expertise as may be required
Job activities may vary and evolve over time to meet business needs.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
- Proven track record in commercial management ideally in a visitor attraction setting (E)
- Proven experience of driving income through innovation and the development of partnerships (E)
- Experience of being an effective line manager (E) ideally of a front of house team (D)
- Solid financial commercial experience working across profit and loss statements, budgeting and forecasting and cost-benefit analyses (E) and experience of developing pricing strategies (D)
Additional Shortlisting Criteria
- Experience of managing contracts, service level agreements and suppliers successfully (E)
- Experience of working with customer relationship management and box office systems (E)
Further Selection Criteria
- Experience of all aspects of retail and catering operations and product development (E)
- Experience of management reporting (E) and liaison with Board members (D)
Education/qualifications
- N/A
Skills and abilities
- Effective written and verbal communication skills (E)
- Good interpersonal skills with the ability to build effective professional relationships with staff and contacts at all levels (E)
- Able to develop strategies and plans and implement them (E)
- Effective line manager and able to work collaboratively as part of a team (E)
- Sound business sense, innovative and entrepreneurial, able to propose new ideas and achievable targets, and inspire others to work towards them (E)
- Strong supplier management and negotiation skills (E)
- Committed to meeting the needs of the visitor (E)
- Strong finance skills with the ability to budget, forecast and set targets effectively (E)
- Strong IT skills with experience of using EPOS systems including for management reporting purposes (D)
Personal attributes
- An empathy with the Horniman mission and an interest in its exhibitions, collections, activities and events
- Commitment to equality and diversity
- Willingness to work flexibly to achieve corporate objectives
- Commitment to own learning and professional development
Circumstances
A basic DBS check is required for this post.