Director of Visitor Services

About the role

The Esplanade Association (EA) seeks a seasoned Director of Visitor Services for the next chapter in our organizational history, stewarding care for and community on the Charles River Esplanade. This Senior Staff position will guide park visitors' first impressions of EA and the Esplanade, overseeing our events, programs, and soon our operations at our new campus and visitor center.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a comprehensive visitor services strategy that ensures a welcoming, safe, and engaging experience for all park users, with all services reflecting EA’s standards for accessibility and inclusion.
• Establish systems for tracking visitor experience metrics, including surveys, usage data, and service outcomes.
• Partner with the Executive Director to continuously refine campus operations based on data and feedback.
• Maintain knowledge of all park programs, and events—by EA or otherwise—to provide accurate information, in coordination with EA Communications staff’s newsletter, IG, and posted signage.
• Monitor visitor numbers, trends, common questions for business data or FAQs
• Collect visitor feedback live and track contents of EA’s suggestion box on community needs/desires/ideas.
• Serve as EA’s point-of-sale marketing on ways to support EA, as a volunteer, friend, advocate, partner or donor.
• In coordination with Finance and Programs teams, enable access to and track EA inventory for short-term activity use (recreational equipment) as well as purchase (EA hats, umbrellas, maps, postcards, etc.)
• Maintain inventory and manage supply needs, including recreational inventory, merchandise, uniforms, and safety kits.
• Prepare the annual Visitor Services budget and generate regular financial reports.
• With the Executive Director, serve as Staff Liaison for the EA Board Campus Operations Committee
• Send daily briefs on Charlesbank activity (attendance from day prior, incident reports, upcoming reservations)
• Lead organizational readiness for the opening and ongoing operations of the Smith Family Pavilion & Charlesbank Campus.
• Collaborate on planning and execution of EA’s 25th Anniversary and Campus Opening celebrations.
• Develop operational workflows for shared spaces, including scheduling, maintenance coordination, and visitor flow.
• Collaborate across teams to integrate campus operations into EA’s broader programming, development, and administrative functions.
• Oversee implementation of systems for reservations, rentals, and space utilization.
• Define and document policies and procedures as they relate to EA Visitor Services in a FAQ handbook.
• Support recruitment and onboarding of new Volunteer Ambassadors and EA Staff in partnership with HR.
• Develop and manage schedules of Volunteers and EA Staff to ensure full weekly coverage of the welcome desk.
• Design and lead onboarding and ongoing training programs for Volunteer Ambassadors & all EA Staff, focusing on visitor engagement and customer service best practices, health, safety, and emergency response protocols and Esplanade policies, amenities and history.
• With the Facilities Manager, draft and continuously refine a Campus and Pavilion emergency response plan and procedures for events, keep current with latest code regulations or best practices; and oversee documentation of facility incidents: utility systems issues, equipment failure, site accidents, necessary repairs, ADA compliance, janitorial, security or snow or trash removal vendor concerns, etc.
• Oversee Café/Catering Partnership Liaison, serving as EA’s primary liaison and negotiator with the Pavilion’s Café/Catering Partner.
• Set standards and processes for collaboration between EA staff, vendors, and catering partner.
• Oversee coordination with internal stakeholders (Programs, Development, Administration) on scheduling and logistics.
• Approve external event rentals and coordinate with internal stakeholders (Programs, Development, Administration) on scheduling and logistics.
• Collaborate with Development & External Relations to ensure events support cultivation, engagement, and revenue goals.
• Remain current on local nonprofit events and keep senior leadership informed of potential external issues or market trends that may impact rental and reservation forecasts or planned events outcomes.

Qualifications

• Outstanding interpersonal skills to interface at all levels with teams & guests of all ages, abilities & backgrounds
• Excellent judgment on prioritization, decision-making, safety & health in a complex fast-paced environment
• Excellent creative, organizational and problem-solving capacity to deliver recommendable experiences
• Demonstrable positive attitude, welcoming demeanor, customer-service focus and joy engaging the public: FUN
• Knowledge of visitor services, event management, and operations
• Experience with budgeting, financial management, and inventory control
• Ability to work flexible hours including weekends, evenings and some holidays to accommodate public, partner and rental clients across desired hours of use

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off