Newcastle Castle’s medieval Castle Keep and Black Gate are two of the North East’s most important and historic buildings. We are currently looking for a Welcome Manager to join our team. They are Where the Story of Newcastle Began. Please read the full recruitment pack at https://www.newcastlecastle.co.uk/vacancies before applying.
Apply via email to [email protected] with a cover letter (no longer than one side of A4) and your CV.
The Role:
The Welcome Manager is responsible for managing a Welcome Host team plus volunteers at Newcastle Castle. This is a complex historic site as it is a split site within a heavily used area of public realm space. You will work closely with other colleagues to plan and deliver support and service for all visitors. You will lead your team to ensure everyone feels welcome, creating an exceptional service culture, coaching and supporting your team to deliver a consistently great, tailored and relevant service and experience to your visitors. You will help deliver day to day operations of the visitor experience and offer at the Castle, ensuring that visitors have inspirational experiences with us, and that your team take personal responsibility to resolve problems or concerns. You will be part of a broader team of staff all delivering great service to visitors, promoting good communications across the site and joined up service provision. The role is accountable for the achievement of visitor touchpoint standards measured daily.
What you will deliver:
It’s about leading the welcome experience. Leading and advocating a culture of excellent service, through role modelling an exceptional welcome and goodbye. Supporting visitor engagement across the site and maintaining the highest standards of presentation and visitor welcome. Working closely with other colleagues to ensure a seamless experience. You may have delegated tasks within other visitor experience areas and will understand and help deliver the Newcastle Castle 2026 – 2029 business Plan.
It’s about leading people. Creating a great place for your people (staff and volunteers) to work in. Role modelling the service-led behaviour you wish your team to practice and leading for the delivery of consistently great service. Recruiting talented and enthusiastic people, developing and coaching them, driving strong performance through setting clear objectives and giving regular feedback and reviews. You will also lead rota organisation, deliver briefings and chair associated meetings.
It’s about managing financial performance. Responsibility for achieving stretching targets, maximising income through individual and team goal setting. Coaching and developing your team to have excellent commercial skills and knowledge. Monitoring and managing resources, taking action to keep on target including commercial performance, staff rotas and payroll costs.
It’s about being curious. Having a sincere interest in your visitors, staff and volunteers, their motivations, their mindset, and their personal context when they are at Newcastle Castle. Taking the time to understand all of them ensuring they are getting what they want and need from their time with us, and in the way that works for them, and reviewing and responding to visitor feedback in a timely manner.
It’s about growing the business. You will seek opportunities to grow support harnessing ideas from your team and visitor feedback. You and your team will use the wider network of visitor attraction within and around the city as inspiration for Newcastle Castle. You will encourage creativity and best practice. You will analyse your visitor growth results and act accordingly, and contribute to the Castle business plan.
It’s about managing risk. Ensuring you and your team comply with procedures to minimise the risk to the public, staff, volunteers and contractors. Identifying and managing risks including stock control, handling personal data and cash handling. Ensuring compliance with legislation and all Heart of the City Partnership procedures.
Knowledge, skills and experience needed Knowledge:
- Excellent financial acumen to maximise income and control costs
- Application of data analysis and numeracy
- Empathy with HoTCP charitable mission with a genuine interest and knowledge of the work of the charity
- Demonstrates a thorough understanding of volunteer management practices including being able to support volunteers to perform at their best
- Knowledge of relevant Health & Safety procedures Skills:
- People management skills including setting personal objectives and conducting development reviews
- Results focused and proven self-motivator
- Ability to work with varying and rapidly changing pressures, difficult situations and complaints
- Skilled listener with excellent people skills enabling strong relationships to be built and maintained
- Naturally curious about people, empathetic and understanding and with a passion to and experience of delivering the highest standards of customer service
- Flexible and responsive – able to adapt plans and style to different situations and needs of your team members and/or visitors
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills including presentations to senior stakeholders
- Well organised and able to work with own initiative
- Strong IT skills (Microsoft Word)
Experience:
- Significant practical experience in visitor business, hospitality, and/or sales, ideally in a tourist, heritage or relevant visitor services environment supported by qualifications (or equivalent level of vocational experience)
- Experience of promoting commercial or charitable products/services or to targeted markets and the ability to identify business development opportunities
- Record of setting and delivering performance targets
- Experience of assessing and managing risks
Closing date: 5pm on Friday 26th June 2026. Interviews are expected to be held in the week commencing 6th July.
Pay: £27,500.00 per year
Work Location: In person
