Executive Level 2 - Associate Director, Visitor Experience

at  The National Museum of Australia

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Visitor Experience associate division, ensuring alignment with the Museum’s strategic objectives and priorities.
• Foster a culture of audience-led excellence, collaboration and continuous improvement, where tailored and memorable on-site visitor experiences are at the forefront of every initiative.
• Develop an ambitious and creative strategy to grow on-site audiences by creating loyalty and affinity for the Museum onsite and online, delivering cross-generational public programming that resonates with diverse audiences.
• Lead collaboration with internal stakeholders to create integrated, multi-channel programming that aligns with the Museum’s strategic goals and enhances the visitor experience.
• Drive innovation in visitor experiences by exploring and integrating new technologies that enhance engagement and leverage audience market insights. This includes creating impactful experiences that foster strong, lasting connections with visitors.
• Maintain a safe, accessible, culturally diverse and welcoming environment to enhance the overall visitor experience.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Essential:

• Inspire a sense of purpose and direction: Extensive experience in senior leadership roles (10+ years) within the cultural, arts, or similar sector, with a proven track record of delivering operational excellence and innovation in visitor services, education, public programs or similar.
• Build organisational capability and responsiveness: Proven success in evaluating ongoing performance, identifying critical success factors, responding flexibly to changing demands and building teams with complementary skills allocated in a manner that delivers results.
• Focus strategically: Proven ability to think strategically linking the organisation’s objectives to the outcomes of the business unit, considers the ramifications of a wide range of issues, anticipating priorities and developing long-term plans for own business unit.
• Harness information and opportunities: Demonstrated success gathering and analysing information from a variety of sources, such as visitor data and using to develop ambitious programs that enhance the visitor experience across visitor services, adult and children’s programming and education.
• Value individual differences and diversity: Demonstrated experience, knowledge and understanding of diversity, accessibility and inclusivity principles with a commitment to delivering culturally appropriate experiences for First Nations visitors, staff and collaborators and these principles across functions and activities.
• Cultivate productive working relationships: Proven experience in cross-functional collaboration and team leadership and efficient resource allocation in a complex and fast-paced operating environment that motivates, inspires and develops high-performing teams and responds to competing priorities and changing circumstances.

Desirable:

• Degree or equivalent experience in customer experience strategy and design; education; programming or similar.
• Experience in implementing digital technologies and initiatives to enhance visitor experiences and engagement, including the use of innovative tools that enrich the visitor journey.

ROLE PURPOSE

This role is critical in cultivating deeper audience engagement with the Museum at multiple levels, serving as the champion for onsite visitor experience, including advocating for visitors with diverse interests, abilities and needs.
The Museum is seeking a dynamic leader with a proven background in front of house operations, visitor experience, audience engagement, programming and/or education to head the Visitor Experience associate division. The Associate Director of Visitor Experience will focus on delivering a consistent, high-quality and dynamic visitor experience across three key areas: Visitor Services, Education and Programming. Responsibilities include overseeing the Visitor Services team and volunteers’ programs, public programming and the Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre, as well as both on-site and online education initiatives. This role will play a crucial part in advancing the Museum’s success while fostering a more profound connection to Australia’s history and culture.
This role is a member of the Museum’s Executive, which comprises the Director, Deputy Director Collection and Curatorial, Deputy Director First Nations, Deputy Director Corporate, Deputy Director Growth and Engagement, and Associate Director Visitor Experience.