Guest Experience Manager Position Available In Madison, Alabama

Guest Experience Manager

HUNTSVILLE BOTANICAL GARDEN – 3.5

Huntsville, AL Job Details Full-time $47,000 – $60,000 a year 9 hours ago Benefits Opportunities for advancement Qualifications Management Customer service Retail buying Administrative experience Supervising experience Product development Alignment Organizational skills Senior level Associate’s degree Retail management Leadership 2 years Communication skills

Full Job Description Description:

Guest Experience Manager Department:

Guest Experience Supervisor:

Director of Communications & Guest Experience Supervises:

Guest Experience Associates, leads, & specialists for both Retail and Admissions as assigned

FLSA Salary Classification:

Full-time, Exempt Revision Date:

May 2025

Availability:

The schedule may include regular weekends and evening hours and occasional holidays.

Position Summary:

At the Huntsville Botanical Garden, we believe every visit should feel naturally delightful. The Guest Experience Manager plays a pivotal leadership role in shaping that experience by ensuring guests feel welcomed, refreshed, and connected from the moment they arrive. The Guest Experience Manager will oversee our retail and admissions operations, lead these frontline teams with our core values and brand guidance at top of mind, including managing guest touchpoints with attention to detail, storytelling, and joy. Key areas of responsibility will include leadership and collaboration, the customer journey and service excellence, and retail operations.

Essential Functions:

Lead Guest Experience team operations with a focus on hospitality, efficiency, and to provide genuine, knowledgeable service “exemplifying expertise” at every guest interaction. Facilitating regular meetings that foster collaboration, teamwork, open communication, and shared goals. Collaborate cross-departmentally to align admissions, tram tours, and guided programs with Learning & Public Engagement (LPE), Development, Hospitality and Visitor Programs for maximum attendance and admission revenue. Proactive management of the customer journey and experience through aesthetics, throughput/flow, and customer touchpoints that establish first impressions and overall expectations on behalf of the customer. Manage the retail store’s buying to ensure that products are related to the Garden’s mission and identified brand personas. Lead buying strategy for the Garden’s retail store, ensuring products align with brand personas and support plant-based learning and discovery. Work with Retail Lead and Merchandising Coordinator to place orders, maintain inventory levels, and appropriate recordkeeping, reporting of inventory and maintain vendor relationships. Act as the senior point of contact for escalated guest concerns, resolving them with empathy and integrity. Build and manage a retail business plan and budget to contribute meaningfully to the Garden’s financial sustainability. Work with Accounting to provide timely and accurate inventory reporting and analysis. Provide trend analysis of store sales, visitor attendance and identify potential new personas and program opportunities to share with Marketing, Visitor Programs, and other departments. Work with Guest Experience Administrative Coordinator to manage staffing, including scheduling efficiency for staff hours with best ROI. Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

Minimum Qualifications:

Associate’s degree with 3 years of significant retail buying and management experience including 2 years of supervisory experience or an equivalent combination thereof.

Success Factors:

Outstanding customer service skills, problem-solving abilities, and oral and written communication skills are essential. Possessing the ability to naturally connect with people, making them feel seen, heard, and valued. Exemplifies the Garden’s Core Values and embraces the Garden’s mission of plant conservation, education, and research. Must possess an understanding of the importance of relating merchandise to the Garden’s collections, audience personas, and programs, and maintain a retail philosophy compatible with the mission and revenue goals of the Garden. Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Ability to lead and motivate staff in a team-based, positive working environment. Thrive on looking for opportunities for improvement and advancement of the guest experience. Being flexible and able to pivot.

Preferred Qualifications:

Professional experience preferred in the following areas: product development, buying, budgeting, accounting, price setting, and merchandising. Familiarity with brand alignment, audience personas, and/or nonprofit/cultural attractions are also a plus.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Physical Demands:

Requires occasional lifting, moving, positioning merchandise up to 45 lbs, or climbing a step ladder.

Work Environment:

Office and retail environment. Work is performed indoors frequently, with occasional outdoor activity for events and programs in all weather conditions.

Equipment:

General office equipment, point of sale (POS), tablets, 2-way radios

Vehicle:

Golf cart trained with the ability to give a tour. Job descriptions are guidelines that attempt to characterize essential functions and responsibilities of a job, and are subject to change as needs and programs change. At Huntsville Botanical Garden job descriptions are considered neither inclusive nor exclusive. It is expected that up to 20% of your duties may change annually. Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. The Huntsville Botanical Garden supports a culture of inclusion that attracts, inspires, and engages people to achieve success. The Garden is committed to hiring and developing employees based on job-related qualifications irrespective of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or veteran status. To increase diversity in professions related to the public garden realm, we encourage applications from underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans.