Glowfari Operations Manager

We need to output HTML fragment with sections: About the role? Actually we have Position Summary, Essential Job Duties (list), Who You Are (requirements/qualifications), Work Environment, Physical Considerations, Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities, Benefits, Salary Description (Pay). Also schedule details given. Must not repeat job title. Use

for section headings. Use

• for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Use

  for prose. Do not include boilerplate. Include sections only when posting has real specific content. Avoid filler like "commensurate with experience". Pay range is given, so include Pay section. Schedule is given, so include Schedule section. Benefits given, include Benefits section. Also maybe "About the role" could be Position Summary. Use heading "About the role" for Position Summary. Responsibilities could be Essential Job Duties. Requirements/Qualifications could be Who You Are plus maybe Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities? But we can combine. However we should not create thin sections. Let's decide sections: - About the role (Position Summary) - Responsibilities (Essential Job Duties) as list - Requirements (Who You Are) as list? It's prose with bullet-like sentences. Could be list. - Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities) maybe as list. - Work Environment (including Physical Considerations) maybe combine? But we have separate sections: Work Environment and Physical Considerations. Could combine into one "Work Environment" with both prose. But guidelines: prefer few substantive sections over many thin ones. Could merge Work Environment and Physical Considerations into one section "Work Environment". But we need to preserve all info. We can include both as paragraphs under same heading. - Benefits (list) - Pay (salary range) - Schedule (work schedule details) We should not include headings with no content. Let's extract content. Position Summary paragraph: "The Glowfari Operations Manager supports the safe, guest-ready operation of Glowfari, Oakland Zoo’s signature nighttime program. Serving as onsite manager during event hours, this role monitors event readiness, guest flow, lanterns, lighting, music, signage, rides, restricted areas, weather impacts, and site conditions. The manager coordinates with the Zoo’s Project Manager, Events, internal departments, and vendors on setup, maintenance, issue resolution, and breakdown of event systems. This hands-on, cross-functional role also handles elevated guest service issues, operational troubleshooting, service recovery, and emergency response coordination. This seasonal position begins in early September and runs through post-event closeout in late February." Essential Job Duties: list of bullet points. We'll convert each sentence or clause into

• . Need to preserve all info. Let's parse duties: Vendor Coordination & Management - Work directly with the Project Manager, Events, Zoo departments such as Facilities & Marketing, and vendors to ensure the timely setup, maintenance, and breakdown of lanterns, lighting effects, and sound systems. - Ensure vendors meet safety and operational standards throughout the Glowfari program. - Identify and escalate repair needs early to allow vendors and/or internal teams time to resolve issues before program opening whenever possible. Onsite Management & Leadership - Serve as the manager on duty during Glowfari hours, providing oversight and handling any elevated service issues that may arise. - Use reasonable independent judgment to resolve guest service issues, approve appropriate service recovery, make temporary operational adjustments, and temporarily close or restrict access to specific areas when needed for safety, crowd management, weather, or operational concerns. - Escalate significant incidents, full attraction closures, emergency conditions, or issues with financial, reputational, animal welfare, or cross-departmental impact. - Act as the point of contact for various teams, ensuring smooth operations, cross-department collaboration, and troubleshooting. - Assist in maintaining a positive and welcoming atmosphere throughout the event. - Conduct daily pre-opening and ongoing walkthroughs to assess lantern condition, lighting, music, signage, rope fencing, trash and restroom conditions, restricted areas, Meadow ground conditions, attraction queues, and overall guest readiness. - Provide targeted operational support to high-demand areas, including train, gondola, rides, admissions, parking, and guest-entry points, with particular attention to queue management, line closure communication, signage, and guest expectation-setting. - Document key issues, guest feedback, operational needs, and nightly updates in the appropriate communication channel to support continuity, follow-up, and leadership visibility. Emergency Preparedness & Response - Support development, review, and implementation of Glowfari-specific emergency procedures, including power outage response, fire safety measures, nighttime evacuation response, and other event-specific emergency protocols. - Coordinate with department management to ensure all staff are trained on emergency procedures and are prepared to handle issues as they arise. - Coordinate and participate in Glowfari-specific preparedness activities, including emergency lighting checks, nighttime evacuation drills, fire drill planning, and review of blackout or full-evacuation procedures. Cross-Departmental Coordination - Collaborate with Guest Operations (Attractions, Admissions, Custodial Services, Public Safety), Facilities (Lift Maintenance, Maintenance, and Grounds/Hort), Animal Care, Food & Retail, and event vendors to ensure operational readiness and smooth execution. - Interface with the Membership and Admissions team to ensure proper integration of ticketing systems and seamless guest entry. - Track and monitor weather patterns leading up to and during Glowfari events to anticipate potential disruptions. - Collaborate with the Admissions and Operations teams to adjust ticketing, scheduling, or operational procedures as needed based on weather conditions (e.g., delays, closures, or safety measures). - Assess site conditions related to rain, wind, mud, debris, lighting, and guest comfort, and escalate mitigation needs such as additional trash cans, ground-cover solutions, barricades, signage, or cleaning support. - Coordinate and organize end-of-season Glowfari celebrations, recognitions, and appreciation efforts for staff. - Provide end-of-season report on day-to-day observations, activities, feedback, strengths, and opportunities for improvement within the Glowfari program. - Perform other duties as assigned. Who You Are (minimum qualifications): - Minimum of 5 years of working experience in operations management or related field. - Strong vendor management experience, particularly in outdoor or event settings. - Excellent leadership and problem-solving skills, particularly in high-pressure or emergency situations. - Ability to manage multiple tasks and teams simultaneously. - Strong interpersonal communication skills and the ability to engage with a variety of teams and guests. - Comfortable making sound operational decisions in real time, identifying when escalation is needed, and communicating clearly with frontline staff, supervisors, vendors, and managers. - Must be able to work evenings and weekends (Wednesday-Sunday, 3:00 PM – 10:00 PM); training will take place during normal business hours during the months of September and October and there will be some flexibility in schedule at that time. - Valid driver's license with a clean driving record that meets our insurance carrier requirements Bonus if you have... - Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, business, operations, recreation or a related field - Prior experience working in a zoo, park or other high-volume public-facing entertainment environment - Prior experience as a supervisor or manager of a team of 10 or more staff Work Environment: - Work primarily outdoors, in the zoo’s Glowfari event area, during evening hours in various weather conditions, including inclement outdoor weather conditions such as heat, cold, wind and rain and fluctuating guest attendance levels. Physical Considerations: - Able to bend and twist, lift and carry materials up to 25 lbs, stand, kneel, sit, walk, bend, stoop and speak regularly and for long periods of time (up to 8 hour shifts or more). - Able to walk long distances on uneven terrain in variable environmental conditions (e.g., steep, muddy, etc.). Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities: - Collaboration – builds trusting relationships with both internal and external stakeholders across our organization and community-wide and approaches differences of opinion with curiosity and humility. - Communication – communicates respectfully and effectively with stakeholders across identities, both verbally and in writing - Dependability – demonstrates trustworthiness and reliability, including while working with little or no direct supervision - Enjoyment – finds joy in one’s work, approaches tasks with thoughtfulness & intentionality, and fosters collective well-being by embracing the unique skills and qualities of colleagues. - Flexibility – nimbly adapts to evolving priorities and urgent needs; handles intervals of high pressure while maintaining perspective and humor - Inclusive Culture - fosters a culture of mutual respect, transparency, collaboration and belonging which allows all employees to feel appreciated, included, and valued. - Passion – wholeheartedly believes in, represents, and models Oakland Zoo’s mission and PRIDE values at all times - Self-motivated– effectively navigates multiple, simultaneous tasks with excellent attention to detail and deadlines. Enthusiastically identifies and approaches opportunities without regular supervision - Sustainability – oriented toward the mission and values of Oakland Zoo and able to put those into practice by finding creative and resourceful ways to develop sustainable practices within your role and department - Wildlife Aware - understands mission to support the conservation and welfare of animals at the Zoo, locally and globally. This is demonstrated by a willingness/passion to reflect this mission in all actions and to continue to learn how to take action for wildlife Benefits: - Oakland Zoo offers seasonal employees a valuable benefits package, including an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Paid Sick Time, optional 403b Retirement Plan, and discounted Zoo Membership options. - They also have access to various perks, discounts, and programs to enhance their overall experience. Pay: - $35.84 to $37.89 per hour (starting range). Also note: An offer within this range will be determined by the experience and qualifications of a candidate and will be our best and final compensation offer, in alignment with Oakland Zoo's compensation philosophy. Schedule: - Note: This position will be filled as either one full-time seasonal position or two part-time seasonal positions, starting as soon as possible and anticipated to end on February 19. - The work schedule is structured as follows: - Oct 1 – Oct 31: Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm - Nov 1 – Jan 31: Wed – Sun, 3pm – 10pm - Feb 1 – Feb 19: Mon – Fri, 9am - 5pm - Current benefited employees will retain their benefits for the duration of this interim position, either by working it full-time or by combining it part-time with their current role. - Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting September 26 2026. (This is application instruction; we should drop application instructions per rule: remove application instructions. So we should not include that line.) We need to drop application instructions: "Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting September 26 2026." Also maybe "starting as soon as possible" is schedule info, keep. We should not include "Note:" as heading; just include as paragraph. Now produce HTML with sections. We'll use

  for each section heading. We'll not include any extra markup. Let's craft:

  About the role

  ...position summary...

  Responsibilities

  • ...
  ...

  Requirements

  • Minimum of 5 years of working experience in operations management or related field.
  ...
  Maybe we separate Bonus as part of Requirements? Could be under "Qualifications". But we have "Knowledge, Skills, and Qualities" separate. We'll make:

  Qualifications

  • Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in hospitality, business, operations, recreation or a related field
  • Prior experience working in a zoo, park or other high-volume public-facing entertainment environment
  • Prior experience as a supervisor or manager