Manager Visitor Operations

Job DescriptionManager Visitor OperationsVisitor Engagement | Audience and ExperienceWe're looking for a Manager, Visitor Operations who will lead the coordination, delivery, and continuous improvement of visitor‑facing operations across Te Papa. This role is the operational heartbeat of the Visitor Engagement Management team ensuring all manuhiri to the museum experience seamless, welcoming, culturally grounded and relevant interactions each and every day.Purpose of the positionThe Manager Visitor Operations works closely with the Head of Visitor Engagement and peer managers to align delivery, strengthen coordination, and embed continuous improvement across all audience‑facing activities. The role also leads the Visitor Operations team to ensure consistently high‑quality visitor experiences - improving daily operations, rostering, scheduling, enquiries and bookings.You'll work in a way that reflects manaakitanga (care and respect), builds whanaungatanga (strong relationships), and encourages auahatanga (continuous improvement), ensuring Te Papa's bicultural foundations and Te Tiriti commitments are woven through everyday practice.What success looks likeAfter your first year, people will describe you as someone who:Uses data, insights, and feedback to drive continuous improvement and lift service quality across the function.Is a trusted integrator across Visitor Engagement — aligning delivery, resolving dependencies, and strengthening shared ways of working.Has embedded clear, efficient, and consistent operational processes for rostering, scheduling, enquiries, bookings, and coordination.Creates a positive, inclusive, culturally responsive team environment where kaimahi feel supported, confident, and able to deliver excellent visitor experiences.Demonstrates Te Tiriti‑aligned leadership, creating space for building cultural capability, integrating tikanga and te reo Māori into team practice, and championing Mana Taonga.Is known for calm, responsive, optimistic and future‑focused operational leadershipKey responsibilitiesYou will:work collaboratively with Visitor Engagement managers to align delivery, coordinate planning, and resolve cross‑team dependencies.Lead operational improvement initiatives, ensuring changes are embedded in day‑to‑day practice.Use data, insights, and feedback to identify opportunities to enhance service delivery and visitor outcomes.Establish, document, and continuously improve operational processes to ensure consistency, efficiency, and excellent visitor service.Build and nurture internal and external relationships with an audience‑centric focus.Support and lead risk management, ensuring safety, business continuity, and compliance.Role‑model Te Tiriti‑aligned leadership behaviours, embedding tikanga, te reo Māori, and Mana Taonga into team culture, planning, and decision‑making.You will lead, motivate, and inspire the Visitor Operations team, fostering wellbeing, engagement, and high performance.Manage rostering, scheduling, and workload allocation across a 7‑day operation to meet fluctuating demand.Skills, experience and behavioursWe're looking for someone who brings proven experience leading a complex, customer‑facing operation, ideally in a 7‑day or fast‑paced environment. You will have strong people leadership capability and be able to demonstrate ways that you have inspired, motivated and developed kaimahi. You will have demonstrated experience in rostering, workforce planning or workload allocation and the ability to work collaboratively across an organisation, building relationships and leveraging interdependencies.This is a new team, and we need your experience to implement operational changes and embed more cohesive ways of working. You will have a strong understanding of service delivery models, operational coordination, and business planning as well as a proven ability to identify and mitigate risks.It's a bonus if you have:experience developing others' cultural capability, including supporting kaimahi to use Te Tiriti‑aligned tools, tikanga, te reo Māori, and Māori values in their mahi.experience in museum, cultural, tourism, or visitor‑facing environments.strong stakeholder engagement skills, perhaps having worked with tour operators, education providers or in hospitality settings.What we offerA supportive, values-driven team environmentA workplace committed to Te TiritiComprehensive benefits including onsite Kindergarten, subsidised parking, café and store discounts, and free entry to paid exhibitionsOther InformationThis is a full-time position, 40 hours per week based at Te Papa Tongarewa, 55 Cable Street, Wellington.For more details, please refer to the Position Description attached.If you are viewing this advertisement on a website other than the Te Papa job board, the Position Description may not be accessible. In this case, please visit jobs.tepapa.govt.nz to view the Position Description and apply.Applicants must have the legal right to work in New Zealand. Pre-employment checks will be undertaken.The starting salary will be between $131,156 to $155,746 based on skills, experience and internal relativities.How to applyPlease submit your CV and a cover letter via jobs.tepapa.govt.nzApplications close: Friday 7 August 2026If you have questions, please askFor a confidential discussion, contact Sarah Hopkinson, Head of Visitor Engagement. [email protected] #J-18808-Ljbffr