Houston Grand Opera is currently seeking to hire a Guest Experience Manager. In this role, you will oversee the customer experience at Houston Grand Opera performances and miscellaneous events ensuring a memorable visit and the elimination or reduction of hassle factors. The selected candidate will continually seek to improve and innovate for the benefit of our customer by reacting to feedback and collaborating with partners internally and externally.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Lead the front of house team (including supervision of a House Manager, Assistant House Manager, and team of Guest Services Representatives) by establishing policies and procedures to ensure that HGO customers have the best experience possible during events.
- Ensure we have creative and engaging entertainment and guest activities on Fish Plaza, in the lobbies and in the Grand Foyer that result in a memorable, share-worthy visit for all guests. Responsibilities include brainstorming activations, enlisting co-worker and partner support when needed, and scheduling or developing these efforts.
- Maintain relationships and schedule all front of house staff for performances including Guest Services, EMTs, and police officers. Ensure all parties are knowledgeable about their responsibilities and the elements particular to each event.
- Develop a process by which co-workers and partners will schedule activities created for guests that happen before, during or after the performance (such as an activation on the Plaza) to ensure awareness among all parties, prioritization of initiatives and plans for logistical challenges. Maintain a master calendar of these initiatives and ensure clear communication prior to shows, including working closely with Marketing to develop communication to guests.
- Serve as liaison for the guest experience elements of our partnership with Houston First Corporation and Levy Restaurants. Ensure partners are informed of HGO needs and plan for circumstances related to each performance. Establish expert understanding of building policies and procedures. Collaborate with HGO Operations team on all efforts.
- Maintain strong working relationships and open communication with additional businesses and organizations that impact our guest experience including other performing arts groups, nearby parking facilities and restaurants, city and downtown organizations, etc.
- Establish best practices for customer service and the delivery of HGO’s brand vision through the guest experience. Create and execute training for those who interact with customers, including part-time and contract staff, internal colleagues, and external partners.
- Work closely with Business Intelligence, Marketing, and the Customer Care Center to understand the feedback and survey responses we receive from customers. Create action plans to resolve experience and partner related issues.
- Create post-event recaps that track the overall experience, capturing data from the day, best practices, opportunities for improvement and issue that need immediate resolution. Ensure recaps are appropriately distributed and appropriate actions are taken in a timely manner.
- Establish budgets and track expenses for all guest experiences efforts including part-time staff, vendors, activations, etc. Ensure accounts payable procedures are followed. Ensure initiatives stay on budget and are evaluated annually for return on investment and strategic alignment.
- Be the lead innovator of the HGO guest experience by researching and benchmarking other entertainment experiences, dreaming of new initiatives, and championing ideas for improvement.
- Provide activation and event support to entire Audiences team when needed, including efforts to expand to new audiences, sell tickets, or deliver on Subscriber benefits.
- In all areas of responsibility, work to establish best practices, set goals and create processes for us to improve the guest experience show after show.
- Additional responsibilities as assigned by the Chief Marketing and Experience Officer and Director of Patron Experience.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree is preferred.
- 5-8 years of experience in guest services, experimental marketing, event services, hospitality or relevant field.
- Experience managing full-time, part-time, and contract staff is a plus.
- Experience in customer surveys and feedback analysis a plus (specifically Qualtrics).
- Available to work nights and weekends
- Able to thrive in a fast-paced group setting, be highly organized and efficiency-driven
- Self-motivator with analytical problem-solving abilities
- Confident, experienced decision maker
- Detail-oriented individual with attention to process
- Sound judgment abilities
- Successful customer service experience
- Ability to manage up, down and laterally
- High level of personal and professional ethics.