Details
OBG is looking for an experienced and passionate cultural tourism and hospitality leader, potentially with some marketing execution experience, to lead our OBG team, on site, at the Old Beechworth Gaol in beautiful North East Victoria.
Reporting to the board, this role is a key appointment as OBG continues its ambitious journey to create a nationally significant cultural tourism destination, in the heart of Victoria’s high country.
Remuneration, Employment Basis and Location
- Total remuneration package range - $130,000 - 150,000 full time including base salary, superannuation and a annual incentive structure
- Permanent, Full Time on an Individual Employment Agreement (IEA) - open to 0.8 FTE subject to negotiation for an outstanding candidate looking for flexibility
- Location - on site at Old Beechworth Gaol, Beechworth, North East Victoria
Overview of the OBG
OBG is a vibrant cultural tourism pitstop, in the historic town of Beechworth in beautiful North East Victoria.
OBG offers Beechworth's 400,000+ annual tourists and locals a unique experience. We reimagine this site through respectful activations, offering locally roasted coffee, popular day and night tours, and eMTBike rentals to explore the region's trails. The site is also becoming a go-to for corporate events, music video shoots, live performances, and outdoor cinema. While we focus on delivering excellence in tours, hospitality, and functions, we're committed to sustainably growing a nationally significant cultural tourism asset for North East Victoria.
A bit about the role
As a tourism business the successful applicant will need to be highly visible with both staff and customers / visitors alike. This will include during our busiest periods that are on weekends and throughout all school and public holidays. The role is also likely to require some after hours work and this may need to increase after a new visitor & hospitality centre opens, likely to be in the first half of 2025.
The role will work with and through an independent chairperson and the board in developing OBG’s purpose and impact led strategy and accountable for the execution of this strategy in accordance with an approved annual business plan, budget and programs in pursuit of the site’s world-class, cultural tourism visitor experience aspiration.
The role has primary accountability for the following:
- Delivering consistently high quality visitor experiences across the entire business
- Leading all aspects of the business to deliver a consistently high quality experience that delights all customers and visitors
- Leading the planning for the mid 2025 opening of a new visitor & hospitality centre
- Centre will include a new licenced cafe, commercial kitchen for food preparation and catering for functions (and option for restaurant in the future), concierge spaces for tickets (for guided, self guided tours, future exhibitions and other future live and streamed arts and cultural programming), eBike hire and bike shuttles and branded merchandise range
- Operational and staffing planning and execution ahead of the opening
- Lead, in collaboration with the board, the fit out of the centre including equipment based on approved fit out design plans
- Lead operational planning and execution to transition this centre to be the main entrance to the site for visitors
- Managing the business’s overall P&L, balance sheet and cashflow forecast
- Drive sustainable & profitable revenue growth across the core business
- Overall accountability for the business’s profit and loss and cash flow forecasting with the support of a part time finance role
- Grow revenue profitably, with the support of a part time marketing role with a strong focus on the tour products (existing guided oral and planned self-guided to launch by mid 2025), cafe, bar, functions and bike hire
- Continue to support the move for business unit leaders to have P&L accountability at their level to manage and report upwardly by
- Leading the annual planning and budgeting process and board reporting
- Prepare, execute and report monthly to the board progress against an annual business plan and budget developed in consultation with the board
- Maintain and build finance, budgeting and forecasting capability
- Building marketing and finance capability and capacity
- Build fit for purpose digital and offline marketing capability to target and support the business’s execution of the plan in order to drive sustainable and profitable growth
- Build fit for purpose finance capability and capacity to support the operations and business objectives
- Managing business risk & compliance obligations
- Ensuring operational risks are identified, mitigated and communicated with the board
- Maintaining all compliance obligations including e.g. Working with Children, Police checks, Responsible Service of Alcohol, First Aid
- Holding the Liquor Licence Nominee for the site’s red line area
- Managing People & Culture - Engaged, Enabled and Accountable
- Setting individual performance goals, targets and reviews
- Managing all staff recruitment and contracting
- Continue to build a culture of empowerment, accountability, engagement, coaching and mentoring
- Providing young people in our community employment & training opportunities where possible in support of our sister organisation’s objectives - https://acre.org.au/
- Ensuring training and development is appropriate and current
Direct reports & current staffing levels
- Front of House Manager (1.0 FTE) - includes tours, venue hire, functions and bikes
- Cafe and Hospitality Supervisor (1.0 FTE) - cafe and hospitality catering for functions
- Cook (0.4 FTE) - prepares food for sale in the cafe
- Marketing (0.4 FTE / 2 days per week) - New role to be appointed
- Finance (0.4 FTE / 2 days per week) - Currently outsourced but looking at insourced options
Note: There are a number of casual employees reporting to both the Front of House Manager and the Cafe and Hospitality supervisor including cafe staff and tour guides.
IF YOU WERE HERE LAST MONTH YOU MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN...
- Worked on operational plans for the new Visitor Centre including specific kitchen equipment to be installed, the drinks and food menu - noting a principle of sourcing high quality, fresh local produce including craft beer, wines and other drinks - operating hours and staffing requirements
- Supported the Front of House Manager to source new OBG branded winter uniforms and trial merchandise range
- Together with the Cafe & Hospitality Supervisor and part time cook, I looked at opportunities to grow the cafe revenue profitability by reviewing the current cafe menu offering, pricing, gross margins and visitor experience using quality, fresh, local produce where possible
- Worked with the board to develop a position description and recruitment plan for a new part time digital marketing producer as well as options for transitioning the current outsourced, to an insourced, part time finance function and capability
- Liaised with our landlord (Beechworth Gaol Unit Trust) and Visitor Centre interior design partner, Techne, https://techne.com.au to finalise the fit out design including a new commercial kitchen, specific equipment choices for the new cafe, bar, bike and customer service areas
- Worked with our strategic marketing partner Harvey https://www.teamharvey.co/ and Visitor Centre interior design partner Techne https://techne.com.au to plan for signage, using our new brand, at the front of the site and inside the walls of the gaol including figuring out where signs should go, the purpose, what each sign needs to say, measurements around the site, getting quotes from signwriters and working with designers on the content
The successful applicant
The Board is keen to appoint a hospitality and visitor experience executive or executive ready applicant who brings strong customer, commercial and values focused experience, ideally in the hospitality and or cultural tourism sector.
You will demonstrate a track record of delivering consistently high quality customer experiences together with strong, sustainable, commercial outcomes.
The successful applicant will also demonstrate strong people leadership, entrepreneurial flair and an innovative, can-do mindset to lead OBG to become an inspirational visitor experience that while respectfully paying homage to its historical roots and place has a keen eye on the future and what a world class, tourism site, can deliver.
About you
You stay curious and creative.
You’re a proactive self-learner and self starter with an understanding of how high quality visitor experience can bring out the best in a brand. You have a hunger for leading a team that excels in delivering a consistently high customer experience.. You’re committed to continuous improvement, open to experimenting with new tools and skill building. You’re resourceful and an entrepreneurial thinker unafraid to challenge industry standards.
You have grit and drive
You have an entrepreneurial spirit, you embrace the process, even when it’s demanding. Fuelled by courage and love for the bigger purpose to venture into uncharted territories. You are happy to get your hands dirty and fill the gaps where it’s needed to keep building on our dreams. You bounce back from challenges, and try again using what we’ve learned.
You play smart and lean.
You are organised and detail-oriented, and you are comfortable with ambiguity. You manage your time well and can keep multiple plates spinning by prioritising the tasks you have on the go. You know how to use (or open to learning) tools like Xero, Respax booking systems, Square, and our Customer Relationship Management system Hubspot to maximise efficiency, and always stay solution-focused, finding creative - and sometimes scrappy - ways to solve problems.
You want to use your skills for good and you’re passionate about helping us scale our model to rejuvenate regional communities through community owned assets starting in beautiful Beechworth.
Made it this far?
Research indicates that women, gender-diverse and underrepresented people may have already talked themselves out of applying. Even if you don’t tick every box we encourage you to get in touch.
Our team have diverse experiences and perspectives from our varied backgrounds, some self taught, some tertiary educated - we recognise this as a strength, a super power to solve difficult problems in new, smart and impactful ways.
Apply for the Visitor Experience and Hospitality Manager position