Director of Visitor Experience

Job Title: Director of Visitor Experience
Salary Range: 90,000-110,000
Reports to: Chief Advancement Officer (CAO)

Job Overview
The Director of Visitor Experience leads visitor operations and services, admissions, volunteer services, membership, and the Good Fortune II Eco-cruise program. This position is a member of the Conservancy’s Cross-cutting team and reports to the Chief Advancement Officer. The Director of Visitor Experience provides strategic direction on visitor-related opportunities and establishes service standards that create a welcoming, inclusive, and mission-driven visitor experience. The Director maintains an active presence in the public-facing areas, interacting with visitors to the John and Carol Walter Nature Experience (JCWNE) and serving as an advocate for an exceptional guest experience. This role also serves as a strategic partner to the Education team, ensuring a seamless visitor learning experience. In addition, the Director oversees the recruitment and training of the Visitor Experience team.

Responsibilities 
Visitor Services and Retail Management:
•Ensure a positive visitor experience for a broad audience through exceptional customer service, enhanced accessibility, integrated services, quality resources and amenities, and rigorous site and system oversight.
•Leads the Visitor Experience team to ensure admissions, memberships, and sales goals are met.
•Identifies and presents innovative opportunities to increase revenue to support Conservancy operations.
•Oversees the accurate collection of admissions revenues, visitor demographics and visitor feedback for institutional planning and analysis.
•Provides strategic leadership oversight for membership acquisition and retention.
•Develops and maintains the Visitor Experience expense and admissions revenue budget.
•Evaluates and analyzes visitor data to share with the Leadership Team.
•In conjunction with the Marketing and Communications Team, develop an annual plan for visitor research (formal and informal), to learn more about visitor satisfaction and behaviors, to inform business planning and to improve and sustain a positive visitor experience.
•Partner with frontline fundraisers to develop and maintain balanced and strategic portfolios for major, principal, and planned giving officers.
•Facilitate regular portfolio review meetings, ensuring prospect movement through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship stages.
•Monitor portfolio activity and provide proactive recommendations for portfolio adjustments to meet revenue goals.
•Track and manage solicitations, proposals, and moves management activity in alignment with campaign timelines.
Visitor Experience Operations Management:
•Manages and ensures all daily operations of the JCWNE and Good Fortune II programs, including all sales/admissions goals and day-to-day staff, and volunteer management.
•Develop policies and procedures for customer service and service recovery.
•Manages the budgets for Admissions, Retail, Good Fortune II program, and Membership with input from Conservancy Leadership.
•Works closely with the Finance Department to ensure financial reconciliation through CRM and Financial Edge.
•Manages store buying and retail merchandising. Prepares merchandise internal transfer forms for approval by Supervisors, and sent to the Finance Department.
•Identify market information, benchmarks, and trends to manage revenue growth for admissions and group tours, as well as new earned revenue streams related to visitor operations.
•Manage Conservancy’s online Point of Sale system, and procedures for general admission, group sales, merchandise, membership, Good Fortune II ticketing, and personal photography permits.
•Manages inventory levels, monitors product supply and demand, and continues to merchandise displays pleasing to the eye, with assistance from volunteers.
•Collaborates with Facilities, HR, and IT to sustain the public facing visitor experience, in alignment with established policies and procedures.
•Performs end-of-day register closeout and reconciliation with cash/credit card transactions.
Staff and Training:
•Provides direct oversight to the Membership and Annual Giving Specialist, Volunteer Coordinator and Visitor Experience team.
•Provides strategic leadership oversight for volunteer recruitment, engagement, recognition and retention.
•Prepares staffing schedules of employees and volunteers (in coordination with staff Volunteer Coordinator).
•Model best practices, guide staff training efforts, and conduct performance evaluations to support staff development and goals.
Visitor Experience and Collaboration: 
•Collaborates with Education, Animal Care, and other Program teams to enhance visitor engagement and support a high-quality guest experience.
•Works closely with Public Programs to integrate proper pedagogy, interpretive strategy and inquiry-based learning models into the Team scripts and training. Coordinates training, supervision, and performance reviews.
•Manage and review promotions and sponsorships with the Marketing Department to ensure the Conservancy is accessible to everyone in Southwest Florida.
•Monitors and evaluates the Visitor Experience journey, from arrival/admissions, visitor/traffic flow circulation patterns, and adjusts/improves the visitor experience as needed.
•Collaborates with marketing and development to provide feedback on promotions, events, and guest turnout/attendance.
•Cooperates with marketing and additional departments for branding of collateral, marketing materials, and supplies.
Customer Service and Special Events:
•Integrates community celebrations and holidays into the visitor experience.
•Assists with booking reservations and hospitality needs with guests.
• Participates in organizational special events outside of the department.
•Delivers excellent customer service, internally and externally, and ensures practices are in place for overall hospitality expectations.

Education and Experience
• At least 7 years of experience in a customer-service role (museum, public garden, attraction, hospitality, retail, etc.), including at least 5 years of supervisory experience.
•Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
•Expertise of visitor experience, hospitality management, guest engagement and customer service theories and best practices.
•Demonstrated leadership, teambuilding, communications, project management and financial management skills.
•Commitment to collaboration, customer service, excellence, strategy, and innovation.
•Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Bilingual proficiency in English and Spanish is preferred to support effective communication with a diverse workforce, volunteers, interns, and community stakeholders.
•Exceptional level of proficiency using information systems, and Microsoft Office Suite, including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
•Strong skills in organization, communication, time management, leadership, writing, and training.
•Ability to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
•Strong public speaking skills are a plus.
•A deep commitment to Florida's natural environment conservation.
•Proficient in report and ROI analysis.
•Problem-solving ability in non-standardized situations.
•Interpretation of written, oral, diagram, and schedule instructions.
•Flexibility to work during evenings and weekends.

The above statements describe the general qualifications required to perform the job and the general nature and level of work performed - not a complete list of duties; management may assign additional responsibilities.

Physical Demands and Work Environment
This job description recognizes that reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role. The job entails:
•Regularly required to sit, stand and walk.
•Lift/move objects weighing up to 25 pounds.
• May spend time in the field, and experience exposure to Florida outdoor weather conditions.
•Use of hands for various tasks.
•Visual abilities include close and color vision, along with peripheral and depth perception.
•Noise level in the work environment is typically moderate.

Equal Opportunity Employer
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is an equal-opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. 

Date Posted:07/30/2026