Merlin Entertainments
Events and Experience Lead
Surrey
Posted 3 days ago
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Events and Experience Lead
Events and Experience Lead
Role Summary
The Events and Experience Lead is a critical role dedicated to executing the guest excellence vision with the core principles of:
- "Own your welcome" (unmatched warm reception)
- "Make it memorable" (exceptional experiences)
- "Creating lasting moments" (elite guest engagement)
The role ensures consistent operational excellence and outstanding guest experiences, focusing on:
- On-the-job supervision & coaching of E&E hosts (frontline guest-facing staff);
- Event & experience management, including:
- Animal encounters & VIP experiences;
- Corporate events & hotel seasonal activation packages;
- First point of escalation for operational issues, guest concerns, and team support.
The Events and Experience Lead operates in close collaboration with the Event and Experience Manager, leading team development, process optimisation, and guest satisfaction to uphold industry-leading standards.
Key Responsibilities align with core values:
- Deliver first-class guest engagement across all E&E experiences;
- Oversee stakeholder engagement, including:
- ∈ Park-wide strategies for guest/guest-planner/clientele;
- Internal communication & system optimisation (KPI-driven improvements);
- Enhance team standards via in-the-moment coaching, professional appearance training, and continuous upskilling;
- Align staff knowledge & performance with year-over-year growth targets;
- Optimise operational delivery to boost sales revenue through innovation in existing and new experiences.
Key Responsibilities
1. Operational Leadership
- Manage end-to-end event & experience delivery, including:
- Hookline-branded cultural activations (e.g., VIP days, animal encounters, hotel dining, birthday parties).
- Seasonal hospitality packages (e.g., short breaks).
- Ensure competence & compliance across:
- Animal experiences (honning safety & service excellence);
- Client-facing equity strategies (up-levelled offerings such as VIP glamorous experiences).
- Achieve financial targets for E&E revenue streams vs prior-year performances.
- Maintain compliance on operational SLAs, such as:
- Booking line efficiency;
- Inbox priorisation and response times;
- Third-party sales channels (end-to-end professionalism).
- Leverage guest feedback data (including, but not limited to):
- Voicemail transcripts (story capture & trend action points);
- Email corrective testimonies and sentiment analysis.
- Implement KPI monitoring & analytical adjustments, ensuring efficient resource allocation for:
- Day-to-day operational coverage (both rostered & flexibility-based contingency).
2. Team Engagement & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop the E&E team to:
- Achieve royalty service excellence standards;
- Drive impactful sales performance.
- Collaborate with E&E Coordinators to ensure:
- Seamless client booking experiences;
- Wide adoption of value-addable standard experiences (e.g., hotel add-ons).
- Promote cross-departmental partnerships to enhance and innovate:
- Zoo integration & engagement templates;
- Add-on experiences (e.g., suited character excursions during peak events).
- Provide in-the-mould coaching to ensure:
- Daily performance synergises alignment with guest-centric mission statements;
- Safe delegation of emergency and non-emergency guest queries.
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3. Guest Experience Environment
- Ensure journey and deliverable full alignment with brand identity to deliver:
- Maximised ROI & satisfied standout client experiences.
- Foster a culture of proactive problem-solving by:
- Optimising primary contact touchpoints (e.g., phone/email efficiency).
- Work closely with management to 'avenir experiments and scaling:
- Bi-branded seasonal campaigns (e.g., paired ticket discounted packages).
- Maintain a commercial lens, ensuring rigorous:
- FB (feedback-driven banquet) to refine and upsell specials.
4. Collaboration & Communication
- Encourage E&E team engagement via:
- Daily briefings & proactive communication updates.
- Partner with:
- Zoo & Group Merchandise teams to co-create renovations (e.g., experiential events);
- Review and co-alignment with sales & revenue forecasting targets.
- Orchestrate connections between B2B & operations special committees, ensuring:
- Supplier quality of service standards.
5. Health & Safety
- Align all experiences in adherence to legal and company-compliant protocols.
Qualifications & Experience
Required skills and achievements:
1. Adaptability
- Ability to pivot rapidly to respond to evolving trends, including operational turnover fluctuations and live emergencies.
- Committed to shift flexibility & resilience, meeting peak seasonal demands as needed.
2. Attention to Detail
- Data-driven analytical approach towards KPIs and performance benchmarking:
- Accurately tracking shift variations.
- Monitoring & addressing disparities in guest service trends.
- Precise workflow management through:
- Full-compliance audits & regulatory adherence (e.g., frontline labour laws).
- Paperless records integrity (input zero entry lapse).
3. Collaboration
- Demonstrates team-first mindset, utilising:
- Consensus as opposed to command management.
- Strong teamwork: aligning diverse perspectives to execute enhanced guest-centric ideals.
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- Experience scaling, unified experiences, and vertical team alignment (catering, conservation, gaming operations).
4. Exceptional Communication
- Multichannel clarity & empathy:
- Polished tone across diverse media (levation references, staff brief decks).
- Avoids ambiguity in critical dialogues.
5. Guest-Centric Approach
- Proactive poor service resolution:
- Demonstrated ability to turn friction into education bridges.
- Enthusiasm to exceed standards by:
- Analysing review deficiencies and strategically refining system-wide operationals.
6. Leadership
- Slippery facilitation by ensuring internal and leadership alignment initiates collaborative problem-solving:
- Implementing cross-departmental priorities from global projects.
- Motivating teams via role-modelling top-tier performance, exemplified by:
- Optimisation strategies aligned with respective team departments; hard impact on guest sentiment scores.
7. Operational Awareness
- Agile in high-priority guest/staff escalations, demonstrating:
- Score-driven escalations via holiday troubleshooting across networks (Gruffalo anecdotes).
- Mastery of management tools:
- Guest return tracking tools, e.g., revenue analysis platforms.
- Enhanced KPI-projection pipeline toolsets.
8. Problem Solving
- One-hijack capability:
- Prioritising issues by urgency and clean communication (e.g., communication escalation style).
- Creative resolution mindset:
- Data solution engine (innovating utilisation strategies based on past season insights).
Benefits
Compensation & Rewards
- Competitive hourly rate tied to role-substantiated experience.
Stretch Discounts & Travel Benefits
- Merlin Benefits Portal offers:
- Discounts with 1,000+ collaborating merchants (e.g., apparel, tech, dining).
- Situation-aware retail & dining advantages:
- 25% on in-house retail shops & restaurants.
- Dedicated Lego loyalty: 40% off storewide purchases.
Social & Monetary Perks
- 20 free Merlin Magic Pass media tickets for self & pre-approved guests to enjoy all Merlin locations worldwide.
Stay & Visit Experience
- ‘Stay for Less’ special status in Merlin hotels:
- Affordability promotions exceeding 20% savings versus package lists.
Professional Growth
- Full access to continuous development structures in Merlin’s field:
Pay Range
- Competitive salary benchmarked to industry excellence, reflective of delegate commitments.
Inner contact avenue for review & accommodation of necessary reasonings, please e-mail: recruitment@merlinentertainments.biz for confidentiality-delivering support.
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Skills
Operational Leadership
Team Engagement
Guest Experience
Collaboration
Communication
Problem Solving
Adaptability
Attention to Detail
Record Keeping
Guest Centric-Approach
Leadership
Operational Awareness
Location