Visitor Experience Manager

National Trust Group; Ripon; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An esteemed heritage organization is seeking a passionate Visitor Experience Manager for Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal. You will lead the visitor experience and marketing teams, engaging diverse audiences and creating unforgettable experiences. This role will drive growth at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, focusing on innovative programming while balancing visitor needs and conservation. A collaborative spirit and creativity are essential, as is the ability to work effectively across teams. This job promises a meaningful impact on both visitors and the local community.

Benefits

Substantial pension scheme

Free entry to National Trust places

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Discounts like gym memberships

Qualifications

• Demonstrable ability to lead, develop, and inspire teams of staff and volunteers.
• Proven ability to work across departments and with external partners.
• Strong experience gained in the heritage & cultural sector.

Responsibilities

• Drive growth at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal.
• Lead the visitor experience, collections & marketing teams.
• Develop strategies to engage supporters and deliver great experiences.

Skills

Team leadership

Understanding of storytelling

Programming design skills

Experience with large scale programming

Creative interpretation skills

Job description

Overview

We’re looking for a passionate and creative Visitor Experience Manager to join our team at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, one of the most iconic places in Yorkshire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a fantastic opportunity to shape unforgettable experiences for visitors at one of the busiest and most loved properties in the National Trust.

This role is an exciting one: understanding our audiences, integrating marketing activity into creative development of the visitor experience, building on Fountain’s cutting edge programming, leading the property interpretation strategy, utilising our collections and prioritising investment across the estate based on visitor insight.

This role involves weekend and evening work as part of the duty manager rota.

What it's like to work here

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is a place of contrasts – from the dramatic abbey ruins to the elegant Georgian water garden, all set within an 800-acre estate & deer park in the Nidderdale National Landscape.

Our team is passionate about caring for this special place and creating welcoming, inclusive experiences for everyone. We work collaboratively with colleagues, volunteers, and partners to deliver programming that reflects both national priorities and local stories.

Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal is not just a workplace – it’s a community. We value creativity, teamwork, and personal development, and we’re proud of the role we play in protecting nature, beauty, and history for future generations.

This is a chance to make a real impact. As Visitor Experience Manager you will be key to driving growth at Fountains. You will lead the visitor experience, collections & marketing teams and work with a network of national and regional specialists. You’ll develop ways to engage our supporters, deliver great experiences, meet our conservation requirements and grow income. You’ll support departments to develop the right priorities, balancing access and conservation while providing the resources and inspirational leadership to ensure their care, confidence, and capability in delivering our strategy.

You will create compelling experiences and an environment which retains existing members and visitors and attracts new audiences through a thorough understanding of your local market and area whilst aligning to the portfolio growth differentiation you lead for.

You’ll need to know when to delegate, and when to take ownership. Everything you do will be in harmony with our Spirit of Place, but it will also make perfect commercial and financial sense.

We are just about to start our £5.7m Studley Revealed project (the last of a series of major infrastructure investments), and this will be a key focus for the whole property team in 2026 & 2027.

You’ll work collaboratively with the Fountains Visitor Operations Manager and the Brimham Property Operations Manager, as well as the wider property leadership team. Understanding our varied visitors and their motivation for visiting will be key. Fountains draws visitors from a wide geography in the North of England as well as domestic and international tourism – in the Trust only Fountains Abbey & Giants Causeway have “see major attraction in the area” as a primary reason for visiting.

Who we're looking for

Applications from redeployees are assessed against the minimum criteria for the role. In your application, please provide details of how you meet the minimum criteria below:

• understanding of how to use data and research to shape inclusive, relevant, and engaging visitor experiences.
• team leadership: demonstrable ability to lead, develop, and inspire teams of staff and volunteers.
• knowledge of storytelling, interpretive planning, and curatorial practices that bring heritage to life.
• understanding of how to design and deliver programming that appeals to broad and diverse audiences.
• experience of working with external partners and stakeholders to deliver or host large scale programming or events.
• ability to develop medium to long-term plans that align with organisational goals and audience needs

Additional criteria for other applicants

• proven ability to work across departments and with external partners to create a brilliant visitor experience for local visitors as well as domestic & international tourists.
• demonstrated experience in developing and implementing creative approaches to interpretation and programming that increase engagement, increase repeatability and deepen visitor connection to places
• strong experience gained in the heritage & cultural sector or from a large visitor attraction.

The package

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.

National Trust place

Fountains Abbey, Fountains, Ripon, HG4 3DY

Documents

Visitor Experience Manager - Grade 6.pdf

Requirements

Compliance. Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date: 22 February 2026

Important notice

In line with our redeployment policy, we’ll prioritise applications from National Trust employees who are under formal notice of redundancy.

To apply for this vacancy simply click the 'apply' button in the top right hand side of the page.

If you need any help with your application, i.e. due to technical difficulties, please call us on 0370 240 0274 or email us at [e-mail]

If you require an adjustment to the application process, for example due to disability or medical condition, please call us on 0370 240 0274 or email us at [e-mail] and we'll support you as best as we can. For examples of how, please see our supporting you page.

EqualOpportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here .

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.

Please note we reserve the right to close this advert early and therefore we encourage you to apply for this position early.