General Manager – Kents Cavern
Kents Cavern is Britain's oldest home, a site of international archaeological significance and one of the South West's most iconic visitor attractions.
We are looking for an exceptional General Manager who knows how to deliver results and make things happen. You will set standards, drive performance, solve problems and ensuring the attraction consistently delivers against visitor, revenue and operational targets.
You will be responsible for ensuring Kents Cavern achieves its commercial objectives while maintaining the highest standards of visitor experience, presentation, health and safety and operational delivery.
You will lead the day-to-day operation of the attraction and ensure plans become reality. You will be key to delivering the vision for this iconic site.
Purpose of the Role
To lead the attraction with pace, focus and accountability.
The General Manager is responsible for ensuring Kents Cavern delivers its visitor, revenue and profitability targets while maintaining exceptional operational standards.
You will take ownership for performance across every area of the business, ensuring plans are executed, projects are delivered, teams are performing and standards are consistently maintained.
You will identify issues before they become problems, remove barriers to progress and ensure the attraction moves forward at pace.
What You'll Be Accountable For
Commercial Performance
* Delivering visitor and revenue budgets.
* Growing sales across all areas including admissions, groups, schools and coach business.
* Maximising secondary spend through retail.
* Driving performance across all revenue streams.
* Ensuring forecasts, plans and reporting are accurate and up to date.
Operational Excellence
* Running a safe, efficient and highly organised attraction.
* Maintaining exceptional standards every day.
* Ensuring visitor-facing areas are clean, well-presented and operational.
* Managing resources effectively to maximise performance.
* Ensuring compliance across all operational areas.
Project Delivery
* Delivering seasonal events and exhibitions.
* Implementing self-guided experiences and operational improvements.
* Driving infrastructure and visitor experience enhancements.
* Ensuring projects are delivered on time and to the required standard.
Team Performance
* Setting clear expectations.
* Holding managers accountable.
* Addressing poor performance quickly.
* Recruiting and retaining strong people.
* Building teams that focus on solutions rather than barriers.
What You'll Do
* Be visible across the attraction.
* Monitor standards continuously.
* Review visitor feedback and take action.
* Track performance against targets.
* Drive visitor growth initiatives.
* Ensure maintenance issues are resolved promptly.
* Manage budgets and staffing costs carefully.
* Lead daily operational decision-making.
* Remove obstacles that prevent progress.
* Deliver business plans and agreed priorities.
* Work closely with central support teams to maximise results.
The Type of Person We're Looking For
This role would suit someone who:
* Gets things done.
* Takes ownership.
* Notices the details.
* Holds high standards.
* Is commercially aware.
* Makes decisions.
* Doesn't wait for problems to solve themselves.
* Can manage multiple priorities.
* Is comfortable holding people accountable.
* Understands that execution matters as much as strategy.
Key Skills & Experience
Essential
* Senior operational experience.
* Experience managing visitor attractions, hospitality, tourism or customer-facing businesses.
* Proven track record of delivering budgets.
* Strong project delivery experience.
* Experience managing teams and performance.
* Excellent organisational skills.
* Strong understanding of operational planning.
* Experience managing health and safety compliance.
Desirable
* Heritage or visitor attraction experience.
* Experience managing exhibitions or events.
* Experience working with educational, group or tourism markets.
Success Looks Like
* Visitor targets achieved.
* Revenue targets achieved.
* Schools, groups and coaches growing.
* Projects delivered on time.
* High visitor satisfaction scores.
* Strong health and safety compliance.
* Excellent presentation standards.
* Teams performing well.
* Problems dealt with quickly.
* Senior leadership has confidence that plans will be delivered.
The Opportunity
Kents Cavern has significant potential.
The successful candidate will play a key role in growing visitor numbers beyond 200,000 annually, enhancing the visitor experience and strengthening Kents Cavern's position as one of the UK's leading heritage attractions.
We're looking for someone who combines commercial awareness with operational discipline, someone who can take ownership, maintain momentum and ensure that great ideas become reality.
If you are someone who thrives on delivery, accountability and high standards, we'd love to hear from you.