Boating and customer services manager jobs

We’re looking for an ambitious Partnerships Officer (internally Executive) to help drive income by supporting and building profitable, long-term partnerships with individuals and organisations. Working within the Philanthropy and Partnerships team, the role of the Partnerships Executive is to deliver excellent relationship management to maximise income revenues.

To thrive in this position, you’ll need to:

• Manage a portfolio of corporate supporters <£10k ensuring they meet their maximum giving and engagement potential.
• Provide excellent relationship management and customer service support across all key audiences in partnership with the account managers.
• Deliver event support for flagship fundraisers such as our annual Dragon Boat Race, Corporate Sports Day, in-hospital volunteering opportunities and innovative Christmas campaign.
• Create fundraising and marketing materials, in partnership with the marketing and communications team, to drive new supporters and support existing partners. Including leading on a regular external Philanthropy and Partnerships newsletter.
• Provide operational support to the philanthropy and partnerships team, including desk based research and database management and reporting.
• Respond to fundraising queries (email and telephone) promptly and efficiently.
• Manage the philanthropy and partnerships teams’ presence on social media, including creating content which helps to promote impact, the charity and supporters.
• Support the team to deliver remarkable stewardship of all donors, including the management of our banking and thanking process and helping to create bespoke impact reports and materials.
• Ensure accurate and up-to-date records of activities and communications are captured on our CRM database (Salesforce) along with regular reporting.
• Provide general administrative support to the philanthropy and partnerships team as and when required.
• Build and maintain records of recognition milestones for supporters providing monthly reports to wider team for stewardship activity.

What we offer: 

• Flexible and hybrid working to support work-life balance 

• Generous annual leave entitlement with additional leave for long service  

• Enhanced sick pay 

• Enhanced Maternity Pay 

• Employee Assistance Program and Lifestyle Savings

• Free flu jabs 

• Cycle to work scheme 

• Charity events throughout the year 

• Employer enhanced auto-enrolment pension scheme with 8% employer contribution 

• Ongoing commitment to education and professional development 

The Charity is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.  

Successful candidates will have access to vulnerable beneficiaries therefore the role is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance.  

If you think you have the qualities we are looking for and the desire to contribute, please download the Job Vacancy Pack and then send us a CV and covering letter explaining how you meet the criteria for the role and making clear why you would like to be considered for it. 

PLEASE NOTE: Within our organisation, this role is titled Partnerships Executive. This reflects our internal structure and does not change the scope or responsibilities described in this advert.

We will conduct interviews as suitable candidates apply and we're ready to hire if we find the right person before the job ad closes.

Join Our Team: Visitor Services Manager, Canal Museum Stoke Bruerne

We’re excited to welcome a new Visitor Services Manager at our East Midlands location.

Navigate your future and lock in your career as we keep our canals open and alive. 

Working Hours & Location 

This role follows a 37 hours, over a 7 day working pattern. This is a site-based role, requiring occasional travel to meetings with partners, other attractions and to our main hubs for collaborative meetings and team activities.

Role Overview 

The purpose of the post is to manage and lead the day-to-day operations, business development and visitor experience at our Canal Museum Stoke Bruerne. The Visitor Services Manager (VSM) will lead the site team at Stoke Bruerne (colleagues and volunteers) on a day to day basis to focus on the visitor offer, striving for excellence in experience, achieving financial sustainability around income generation and charitable giving and delivering a consistently high-class visitor welcome across the board. This includes managing a range of front of house functions including food and beverage, retail, events and commercial boat trips. The Visitor Services Manager plays a central role in overseeing, coordinating and championing the experience of every visitor from site presentation, to large/small scale events and programming, making the site a must-see attraction, acclaimed internationally, nationally and loved locally.

As a key member of the Destinations and Attractions Management Team the VSM will work strategically with colleagues in other attractions and with other teams within the Trust such as, Operations, Fundraising, Collections, Marketing and Volunteering teams amongst others to promote, drive and deliver excellence in customer service and a visitor centred approach. The VSM will work collaboratively with teams and volunteers to ensure focused visitor activity which will help build our audiences and increase visitor footfall whilst building engagement for the Trust brand.

A key accountability of the role is managing and reporting on financial performance, delivering on KPI’s and leading and motivating teams to deliver income targets whilst effectively managing costs.

The Visitor Services Manager will manage a range of stakeholder relationships including representing the Trust at local partnership groups, representing the site at relevant external meetings as appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver on financial KPI’s working to control costs and maximise income (commercial and charitable giving) including managing diverse budgets relating to the Front of House operations
• Monitoring and delivering other appropriate KPIs set in the Business Plan, reporting back to the management team on progress and actions
• Overseeing the recruitment of permanent and seasonals and volunteers and ensuring they are trained to carry out their duties efficiently and effectively.
• Owning the visitor experience and ensuring colleagues and volunteers work as a team to deliver an unforgettable, quality visit whether in the café/shop or at events
• Lead on volunteer growth, building the volunteering team to deliver key operational functions
• Maintain an overview of the presentation of the site at all time
• Leading on gathering visitor data and analysing customer feedback to ensure that necessary actions are taken to improve performance.
• Playing a key role in all projects that have an impact upon our visitors and the public.
• Deliver on financial KPI’s working to control costs and maximise income (commercial and charitable giving) including managing diverse budgets relating to the Front of House operations
• Monitoring and delivering other appropriate KPIs set in the Business Plan, reporting back to the management team on progress and actions
• Overseeing the recruitment of permanent and seasonals and volunteers and ensuring they are trained to carry out their duties efficiently and effectively.
• Owning the visitor experience and ensuring colleagues and volunteers work as a team to deliver an unforgettable, quality visit whether in the café/shop or at events
• Lead on volunteer growth, building the volunteering team to deliver key operational functions
• Maintain an overview of the presentation of the site at all time
• Leading on gathering visitor data and analysing customer feedback to ensure that necessary actions are taken to improve performance.
• Playing a key role in all projects that have an impact upon our visitors and the public.

About you

You will have extensive experience of working operationally in a customer-focused environment, ideally in a visitor attraction, delivering financial targets and creating dynamic and innovative projects and programming that will engage and inspire audiences. You will have experience of leading teams, including volunteers to deliver successful initiatives and keep them motivated and involved. You will be able to demonstrate the ability to create safe working environments and understand the importance of compliance in day to day operations. If you love working with people and want to make a difference then this role is for you.

Skills & Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent
• Knowledge/experience of customer care and visitor services preferably in a museum context
• Knowledge / experience of managing staff rotas over two sites
• Successful track record in recruiting and developing volunteers
• Knowledge of heritage and interpretation issues
• Experience of managing staff and dealing with customers
• Excellent Communication and interpersonal skills
• Considerable people management and hands-on team leading experience including managing volunteers
• Proven experience of planning operations & staffing in a visitor-based attraction
• Ability to work in partnership with internal and external staff and organisations.
• Experience of managing budgets.
• Good understanding of Health & Safety Policy, Principles, Standards, Procedures & Guidance.
• Able to creatively & innovatively develop solutions to obstacles and challenges
• Ability to Travel between sites
• Demonstrate an interest and competency in effective museum management.
• The successful candidate will require a DBS check

What We Offer 

We offer an annual salary of £33,677. Enjoy a competitive pension scheme, increasing holiday entitlement, and a range of employee benefits.

Location: NSC, London SE1

Contract: Full time, 1-year Fixed Term One Year (initially)

Salary: £35k + PRP (Performance Related Pay)

Closing Date: 1st May 2026

Marine Society have an exciting new role! Help us to grow our rapidly expanding apprenticeships and adult skills programmes to meet growing industry demand. We’re looking for a confident, self-starter individual who can engage key stakeholders and employers in the maritime industry and increase our reach and reputation.

You’ll be expected to have a good understanding of the maritime sector training needs and have a demonstrable track record in sales and recruitment. A working knowledge of government funded training programmes is helpful but not essential.

This role could support a secondment for the right individual. Subject to success in the role, we hope to make this permanent after one year.

The Marine Society & Sea Cadets (MSSC) is the leading maritime charity for youth development and lifelong learning. We are a vibrant and growing charity inspiring young people to achieve their potential through challenge and nautical adventure and also enabling seafarers and maritime professionals to realise their potential through learning and career development. Working with our employees, cadets, and volunteers, we have built a strong vision and five-year Future Ready strategy to meet the growing demand for what we provide, both for young people, seafarers and maritime professionals – and the thousands who aspire to be the sea cadets and marine professionals of the future. It is also about equipping them to achieve their potential and thrive in a rapidly changing world, while growing our charity to benefit even more people – including those from under-represented or marginalised groups.

About the role

This new role is to support the growth of Marine Society apprenticeship and adult skills provision. This is a strategic, outward-facing role requiring a confident astute individual who can engage key stakeholders and employers in the maritime industry to recruit new entrants and existing employees onto Marine Society programmes.

Responsibilities

· To grow the apprenticeship and adult skills provision in line with agreed annual recruitment and financial targets

· To develop and maintain a strong pipeline of prospective employers and learners, proactively identifying new apprenticeship and learning opportunities within the maritime industry. To secure repeat business with apprenticeship employers through cultivating long-term relationships.

· To work with the Director of Maritime Training and Development to devise a sales and marketing strategy to grow the apprenticeship and adult skills provision. To support the tendering process to ASF devolved areas and work with subcontractor partners.

· To collaborate with the Apprenticeship Operations Manager and Maritime Lead Trainer to convert identified leads and share industry intelligence.

· To assist the Digital Marketing Coordinator to write targeted social media posts and marketing campaigns, ensuring market visibility and lead generation. To build a library of promotional literature and good news stories.

· To maintain accurate records of business development leads and pipeline activity within the CRM system and to routinely report on these

· Attend relevant external boards, fora and industry bodies, as directed in order to promote maritime apprenticeships and training including; Maritime Skills Alliance, Workboat Association, MNTB apprenticeship committee and Port Skills and Safety

· To attend industry trade fairs and careers events to represent Marine Society. These include; National Apprenticeship Week, Seawork, International Boat Show

· To research and monitor market trends, employer needs and competitor activity to inform business development strategy

Requirements

• Minimum 2 years’ experience working in a recruitment, sales or commercial role with a proven track record of achieving financial targets
• Knowledge of the maritime sector including roles, ranks and certifications in the near coastal sector
• Excellent customer service skills with the ability to build trust and credibility with clients and stakeholders
• Strong commercial acumen and ability to identify, grow and convert new business opportunities
• Experience using CRM systems to monitor and report on business leads
• Knowledge of CPD training or workforce development

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave per annum increasing with length of service
• Hybrid working for many roles
• Life assurance (4x salary)
• Private medical insurance
• Generous pension (employer contribution up to 10%)
• Cycle to work scheme
• Wellbeing portal and EAP with 121 counselling
• Employee development: We are investing in our employees' development and have an annual calendar of learning and development opportunities, designed to support employees to develop into their roles and stretch them to achieve their full potential.

Additional Information

MSSC positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates from all backgrounds. Equity, diversity, and inclusion really matters to us, so we can best serve our beneficiaries from every community. We work to ensure a fair and consistent recruitment process and aim to be a charity where diversity of experience, identity and skills are valued and welcomed. MSSC is an equal opportunities employer.

We recognise our responsibilities to safeguard and protect the young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We do all we can to promote their health, safety and wellbeing, and we expect our staff to share this commitment and work in line with safeguarding policy, the MSSC’s values and ethos of inclusivity. We adhere to safer recruitment practices and therefore employment is subject to detailed pre-employment checks for successful candidates, including references and criminal disclosure checks and the completion of a disclosure questionnaire. 

All successful applicants are required to attend safeguarding training and undergo pre-employment checks including a criminal record check.