Job Description

Wonderseekers (the Charity behind Winchester Science Centre) is looking for a confident and people-focused

Visitor Operations Supervisor to help deliver outstanding visitor experiences at Winchester Science Centre. In this hands-on role, you'll lead and motivate the Visitor Operations team during public days, school visits, events and evening programmes, ensuring smooth operations, excellent customer service and a welcoming, inclusive environment for every visitor. Working closely with the Visitor Operations Manager and wider teams, you'll take ownership of day-to-day supervision, support duty management for smaller events, handle visitor queries with professionalism and keep standards high across the centre.

At Wonderseekers, you'll be joining a friendly, values-driven charity with a strong sense of purpose and a genuinely supportive culture. We care deeply about our people, offering a wide range of benefits including generous holiday, enhanced pension contribution, wellbeing and mental health support, flexible working options, cafe and shop discount, free tickets, and much more. You'll work alongside passionate, creative colleagues who are committed to inclusion, collaboration and continuous learning - making Wonderseekers not just a great place to work, but a place where you can truly belong and thrive.

If you have any questions about this role after reading the advert, please don't hesitate to get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

Visitor Operations Supervisor

Job Details

Working Hours:

35 hours per week typically worked across 5 in 7 days (see further details below).

Salary:

26,681.20 per annum (35 hours per week, 0.93 FTE). Based on a full-time equivalent of 28,587 per annum. Salary pro-rata'd depending on agreed hours.

Contract: Permanent

Line manager:

Visitor Operations Manager

Holiday:

Pro-rata based on 25 days per annum plus bank holidays FTE. Option to buy/sell some leave and gain additional days for continuous service after four years. Bank holiday working required.

Location:

Winchester Science Centre. Onsite presence is essential for this role.

Benefits:

Cash health scheme, life assurance, buy/sell annual leave, long service holiday bonus, cafe and shop discount, electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, free tickets to WSC and partner attractions, family friendly leave, wellbeing policy, mental health first aiders, cycle to work scheme, financial loans, flexible IT, casual dress, staff events, enhanced pension contribution, inflationary pay rise subject to charity performance and more.

Work Pattern:

As a seven-day-a-week attraction, flexibility is key to our success. While some variation is expected, particularly during busy holiday periods with additional evening events, we aim to provide a level of regularity in your schedule.

Typical Workdays: Thursday to Monday 7 hours a day.
Typical Evening Shifts (where events are operating): Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Friday and Saturday evenings are shared between the Visitor Operations Manager and Visitor Operations Supervisor, with one or both on duty depending on event requirements and shift patterns. Evening shift times vary by event but are typically around 14:00 - 21:00.

Closing Date: Wednesday 28th January 2026

Please note, we'll accept applications until the closing date, but we may start interviewing earlier - so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews:

Our interview process is designed to be relaxed and informative, and will include an in-person interview, tour and a brief task. Depending on the number of applicants, we may also arrange an informal Teams call prior to meeting in person. We look forward to getting to know candidates through a two-way process, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to learn about us and what it's like to work at Wonderseekers.

About our Charity

Wonderseekers (the Charity behind Winchester Science Centre) strives to engage all children with science so they can live happier, healthier and more sustainable lives and contribute to improving life on Earth. The Charity runs Winchester Science Centre - a vibrant, hands-on experience for young children. Promising an exciting day out for families, with curriculum-linked trips for schools and an evening events programme, the Science Centre welcomes over 170,000 visitors every year. Through our magnificent planetarium and live science experiences, science is brought to life in imaginative, fun and accessible ways that means everyone is included.

The Role

As Visitor Operations Supervisor you will lead from the front to deliver exceptional visitor service across everything that happens at Winchester Science Centre, including public days, school visits, evening programmes, private hires and special events.

You will be the day to day lead for the Visitor Operations team, ensuring our staff are motivated, well briefed and supported to deliver an excellent experience for all our visitors.

You will work closely with the Visitor Operations Manager, Retail Manager and Food and Beverage Manager to create a seamless visitor journey across all areas of the site. The duty manager will hold the overall site responsibility while you lead the Visitor Experience team to deliver their plans effectively.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the Visitor Operations team on shift, allocating roles, setting the tone and ensuring delivery of the Duty Manager's daily briefing

Reinforce the Duty Manager's briefing to ensure all Visitor Operations Assistants understand the day's plan, show times, access needs and priorities

Provide visible leadership on the floor, directing the team to take ownership of their areas and tasks rather than stepping in to do everything personally

Maintain a strong presence across the exhibition floor, ensuring staff are positioned effectively, actively engaging visitors and managing queues

Monitor team performance and energy throughout the day, giving clear, constructive feedback and support to maintain high standards

Maintain presentation, cleanliness and signage standards across public spaces, escalating issues promptly to Estates or the Duty Manager

Handle first line visitor queries and complaints with empathy and professionalism, escalating significant issues as needed

Support safe opening, daily checks and secure close down procedures under the Duty Manager's direction

Act as Duty Manager for small-scale events (typically under 250 visitors), including opening and closure of Winchester Science Centre, taking responsibility for the safe and smooth operation of the site, coordinating teams across Visitor Experience, Retail and Food & Beverage, and ensuring excellent guest service throughout.

Carry out safety and accessibility checks in visitor areas, reporting hazards and incidents in line with procedures

Ensure smooth ticketing and entry processes, including event and planetarium set ups, capacity checks and late changes

Support the Duty Manager by providing accurate and timely information for the Daily Report, including visitor feedback, incidents, maintenance issues and team updates

Encourage upselling of memberships, Gift Aid and add ons, sharing daily performance insights with the Visitor Operations Manager

Manage breaks and deployment within the Visitor Operations team to balance service quality and budget efficiency

Provide coaching and support for new starters, building confidence, consistency and a positive team culture

Champion accessibility and inclusion, anticipating visitor needs and removing barriers

Keep accurate records of incidents, near misses, lost property and maintenance issues

Liaise with Retail and Food and Beverage colleagues to coordinate queues, visitor flows and service peaks

Contribute ideas for continuous improvement and support projects that enhance the visitor experience

Person Specification

Essential

Supervisory experience in a busy customer-facing environment such as a visitor attraction, leisure, heritage or hospitality venue.

Confidence leading teams on the floor, staying calm under pressure and making good decisions.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to motivate and support diverse teams.

Strong customer service skills with experience resolving complaints and delivering memorable experiences.

Familiarity with ticketing and/or EPOS systems and the ability to complete simple shift or incident reports.

Understanding of health and safety, safeguarding and accessibility responsibilities. First aid and fire warden training provided if needed.

Reliable and organised, able to manage rotas, breaks and shift priorities effectively.

Positive attitude, approachable style and a genuine enthusiasm for creating great visitor experiences.

Desirable

Experience supervising or supporting events, private hires or evening programmes.

Knowledge of museum, attraction or theatre operations and visitor flow management.

Experience with stock management, cash handling and reconciliation processes.

Awareness of sustainability and environmental good practice in visitor settings.

Basic training or qualifications in customer service, first aid or health and safety.

Additional Information

The post-holder will be subject to a basic DBS check.

Flexibility to support events or operational needs outside of standard hours may be required.

Ready to Apply?

When you're ready, please submit your application through our recruitment portal: https://www.wonderseekers.charity/vacancies

You'll be asked to share your contact details and answer a few short questions so we can get to know you better. Keep your responses clear and concise - this is your chance to really shine! After that, you'll upload your

cover letter

and

CV

.

We're always happy to chat about the role before you apply - just reach out using the details below.

If you need any

reasonable adjustments

at any stage of the application or interview process, please don't hesitate to let us know. We want to make sure the process works for you.

Contact us:

Laura Ollis, Director of People and Culture
Email: hr@wonderseekers.charity

Telephone: 07483 371391

(No recruitment agencies, thank you.)

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 28,587.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Bereavement leave Casual dress Company events Company pension Cycle to work scheme Discounted or free food Employee discount Enhanced maternity leave Enhanced paternity leave Flexitime Free flu jabs Free parking Health & wellbeing programme Life insurance On-site parking Paid volunteer time Sick pay Store discount Transport links
Language:

English (required)
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 28/01/2026