Job Description June 2026

Role: Visitor Services Manager

Region: North East

Reports to: Operations Manager - Aberdeenshire

East

Pay Grade: Grade 6 - £38,967 per annum

Location: Drum Castle, Banchory, Aberdeenshire,

AB31 5EY

Type of Contract: Full-Time, 40 Hours Per Week/

Permanent. Working 5 days out of 7 with flexibility to

cover operational needs

JOB PURPOSE

We are looking for an experienced and talented, visitor focused manager to join us at our fantastic property,

Drum Castle, Gardens & Estate.

You will be responsible for the operational delivery of the overall visitor experience within Drum Castle and the

wider Estate, delivering performance stan dards and targets to ensure excellent levels of visitor satisfaction, while

maximising key commercial, financial and development objectives, to ensure the property is fully sustainable.

Your vision and drive will continue to build on our current offer, with fresh ideas to showcase our site to a wider

audience, delivering memorable visitor experiences. You will lead a team committed to ensuring Drum Castle,

Gardens & Estate is recognised as a first-class visitor attraction.

You will be part of a broader management team, responsible for delivering a n o v e r a l l v i s i t o r service

strategy, promoting good communication within the property and across the region as well as with the wider National

Trust for Scotland.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Staff and volunteers - recruitment, induction, development, motivation and performance management to

ensure they are fully equipped and motivated to undertake their duties to the required Trust standards

within the staffing budgets.

• Line management of Visitor Service Supervisors with oversight of Visitor Services Assistants.

• Instil a Health & Safety culture across the property, maintaining compliance record and ensuring the team

works within the property’s Risk Assessments to reduce incidents and accidents to volunteers, employees

and visitors.

• Budgets - setting, phasing, monitoring, reporting, pro -active and re -active adjustments together with the

Operations Manager, Regional Director, Business Manager and Finance Manager.

• Plan and deliver an annual events and functions strategy with the support of the NE regional events team.

• Create a culture of ‘exceptional service, every time’, ensuring high standards of delivery and presentation at

all times and a consistently warm welcome. • Driving the visitor services experience to achieve financial targets, maximising income and profitability within

the Trust’s procedures and instructions. You will strive to be efficient and ensure cost effectiveness in all the

work you do.

• Ensure the cornerstones of the National Trust for Scotland are achieved at all times, namely, conservation, access

and memorable visitor experiences for all guests.

• Take responsibility for opening and closing and security of buildings as well as emergency procedure

implementation, duty management and providing relief cover as required.

• The post holder will be designated as the “responsible person” for the property for t he safeguarding of

children and vulnerable adults. For this element of your role, you will be required to undergo a criminal

record check.

• Manage visitor-related buildings and facilities, including the natural play area and exhibition space.

• Work with the building and wider management teams to e nsure that the longevity of the Trust’s buildings

and fittings are maximised through appropriate maintenance and/or replacement regimes .

• Ensure the property meets statutory and company requirements of Health and Safety, Food Safety ,

Environmental and alcohol sale legislations and procedures including Waste Disposal and Allergens .

• Deliver an attractive and engaging programme of tailored events which drive footfall to the estate.

• Support the Visitor Services Supervisor (F&B) and the central F&B team to ensure catering standards are

maintained and further develop the offer.

Structure

The structure of the NE region includes four clusters: Aberdeenshire East (Haddo, Pitmedden, Drum),

Aberdeenshire Central (Crathes, Fyvie), Aberdeenshire West (Fraser, Craigievar, Leith Hall) and Angus (House of

Dun, Barries Birthplace, Barry Mill). The Visitor Services Manager for Drum Castle reports directly to the

Operations Manager (Aberdeenshire East). Additional support is provided through the NE Regional office team

which comprises of Regional Director, Business Manager, Heritage Services and Garden and Design Landscape

Manager. Further support is provided by the central NTS teams.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• NVQ3/BTEC/City & Guilds/HND/Degree or equivalent experience.

• Management experience within a museum, visitor attraction or hospitality industry.

• Ability to work ‘hands-on’ – including in the retail, events and admissions areas – alongside the team

members, demonstrating the customer service skills required of all staff.

• Proven experience of team building within and between departments.

• Has a solution focused approach and is able to act independently.

• Excellent presentation skills.

• Experience in a fast paced environment, with quick decision making when necessary and the ability to

manage a large, changing workload at all times.

• Experience in a retail and sales environments.

• Experience of managing social media and delivering promotional activities.

• Direct experience of managing multi -strand visitor/commercial services operation - ideally in a heritage

or tourist-attraction context.

▪ Possess excellent communication skills (written and oral).

▪ Computer literacy with excellent ability on MS software.

▪ Excellent leadership and influencing skills.

▪ Excellent understanding of report writing and financial management. ▪ Well-developed time management and organisation skills.

▪ Current driving licence.

Desirable

▪ Current First Aid certification (or willingness to train and use).

▪ Significant sales experience and front-line interaction with customers.

▪ Direct Volunteer management experience;

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB

Scale

- The Visitor Services Manager will be accountable for delivery c.65k visitors, Income generation c.£325k

and expenditure management of c.£525k.

People Management

• The post-holder will directly manage both full time, seasonal staff and volunteers within all disciplines

within the commercial & visitor services disciplines.

• The post will also work alongside the Head Gardener, who will line manage the garden team, the Visitor

Services Manager (Catering), and the Visitor Services Manager (F&E) who will line manage the F&E team.

• The post-holder will support delivery of cluster led Operations Manager initiatives.

• The post-holder will work frequently with the following centralised departments: Buildings; Finance & IT

Support; Human Resources and regionally with the Development Managers for Retail and Catering.

Finance Management

• The Operations Manager is the overall budget-holder, but the post-holder has devolved responsibility

and accountability for the various budget activities.

• Is responsible for managing staffing costs within the property as per delegated budgets.

Key performance indicators and targets

• To monitor the work of the team and carry out appraisals ensuring that information is filed appropriately,

with development plans that are actively used.

The Key Responsibilities, Scope of Job , and Required Qualifications, Skills, Experience & Knowledge reflect the requirements of the job at

the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post -holder to undertake

any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or general abilities.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should forward their Curriculum Vitae (CV) or an Application Form to the People

Department, The National Trust for Scotland, by email via workforus@nts.org.uk, by Wednesday 1st July 2026.

Please ensure your CV includes your full name and contact details, the CV file sent to us should be titled your first

initial and surname. When submitting your CV please state the position and job location of the vacancy you are

applying for in the subject title or body of your email: For example, "VSM – Drum Castle"