Head of Island Operations, St Michael’s Mount
About the company:
St Aubyn Estates has been part of the West Cornwall landscape for more than 600 years. Nowadays, it
is a modern, family owned enterprise spanning 5,000 acres with a diverse portfolio of businesses
which include land and property management, tourism and hospitality, building and farming. James
and Mary St Levan live on St Michael’s Mount, which they run in partnership with the National Trust.
About St Michael’s Mount:
One of the most instantly recognizable landmarks in the country, St Michael's Mount is a National
Trust property, family home, island community and entrancing visitor destination all in one.
In 1954 Francis St Aubyn (the third Lord St Levan) gave most of St Michael's Mount to the National
Trust, along with a large endowment fund for its upkeep. He retained a 999 year lease for the family to
live in the castle and a licence to show the historical rooms to the visiting public.
While the National Trust now ensures the preservation and conservation of the Mount, the St Aubyn
family continue to live on and manage the island, as they have done since the middle of the 17th
century. This unique partnership gives St Michael's Mount a vibrant community life now as well as
preserving its astonishing legacy built up since the island’s earliest known inhabitants during the
Bronze Age.
St Michael's Mount welcomes as many as 300,000 visitors a year to the castle and village. The
beautiful, but fragile gardens are open on a more restricted basis, but can also be seen and enjoyed
from the castle battlements. The village has a restaurant, cafe and two shops as well as a picturesque
harbour.
Twelve families live permanently on the island and all have a role to play in its upkeep such as running
the boats or tending the gardens. From April until October, 90 plus seasonal staff come on board to
offer our visitors a memorable and enjoyable day out. The defining characteristic of the people who
live and work here is a passion for and commitment to St Michael's Mount.
About the role:
You will report directly to the Chief Executive and run all aspects of the business on St Michael’s
Mount as well as managing the team on a day-to-day basis to deliver a memorable visitor experience
and to achieve the financial targets in the commercial areas. The two key focuses of this role are
commercial management of the various businesses and the continuous improvement of the visitor
experience.
You are tasked with providing clear direction for the team against the business plan that you will write
in conjunction with the business owners and Chief Executive. You will provide leadership and
direction for the Visitor Business (Castle and Gardens) including the Car Parks situated on the
mainland, the Commercial Enterprises (Catering x 2, Retail x 2 and Boating) as well as having
oversight of certain National Trust operations (including Conservation and Maintenance through the
Maintenance Manager through the Castle Steward & Island Facilities Manager, as well as membership
recruitment through the National Trust Recruitment Team) and Events. You will have the following
individuals reporting to you – Head Boatman, Head Gardener, Visitor Services Manager, Retail
Manager, Catering Manager, Castle Steward & Island Facilities Manager, as well as a “dotted line” to
the National Trust’s Senior Recruiter.
About you:
Proven experience within a commercial and operational role in a similar business (over 200,000
visitors) is essential. As a leader of a large team of customer facing people you will possess great
leadership skills with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels to motivate and drive results.
You will have excellent organisational skills, enjoy challenging situations and getting into the
operational detail and be able to create a positive and innovative working atmosphere. You will be
able to demonstrate to the interview panel that you have sound commercial and business acumen that
has been proven in your previous roles and you have experience of managing trading enterprises. On
top of your commercial and operational expertise, you must have a contagious passion for delivering
exceptional standards, service and storytelling in a b2c environment.
The package:
A competitive annual salary of approx. £40,000 and 25 days’ holiday per annum plus recognised Bank
Holidays.
Our Vision and Values:
Our Vision is to be a force for growth

to ensure the prosperity of the Estates for future generations

to help maintain the unique character of St Michael’s Mount

to benefit the wider community in West Cornwall
Our Values are:
We each should be

honest

considerate

energetic

responsible

resourceful
Applications:
If you are interested in applying for this role, please send a CV and a covering letter detailing your
suitability for the role to enquiries@staubynestates.com . If we are interested in exploring this
position further with you we will be in touch within 7 days.
Please note that due to the volume of interest received for roles at St. Michael’s Mount we will
unfortunately only be able to get back in touch with you if you have been successful for shortlisting.
www.staubynestates.com
www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk
Job Description
Job title: Head of Island Operations – St Michael’s Mount
Department: Senior Leadership Team
Line management responsibilities: Head Boatman, Head Gardener, Visitor Services
Manager, Retail Manager, Catering Manager, Castle Steward & Island Facilities Manager and
a “dotted line” to the National Trust’s Senior Recruiter
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Pay and benefits: Approx. £40,000 plus pension
Principal purpose
of role
1. To work with CEO and the rest of the SLT to develop the
strategy, business and action plans relating to St
Michael’s Mount and lead on its implementation;
2. Responsibility for the continuous development and
delivery of a world class visitor experience;
3. Responsibility for the commercial operations on St
Michael’s Mount and its mainland car parks;
4. Responsibility for the maintenance, security, Health and
Safety and emergency response on the island and water
around it.
5. As a member of the SLT (jointly) lead on the execution of
our Medium Term Objectives across all St Aubyn Estates
businesses.
Area of Strategic Direction & Policy:
responsibility/tasks
 Work with CEO and the rest of the SLT to develop the
strategy, as well as a resilient, comprehensive, consistent
and coherent business plan, for St Michael’s Mount that
delivers a high quality operation across all departments
that are both customer and business centric.
 Be innovative and forward thinking and take
responsibility for the implementation of the business
strategy and budget, rigorously challenging normal ways
of working and meticulously reviewing contracts and
procurement to deliver efficiencies while creating
consistently high service levels
 Create and implement annual plans to support
continuous improvement, conservation and growth;
 Contribute to formulation of organisation-wide policy
and strategy as a member of the Senior Leadership Team
(SLT).
 Work closely with the Head of Marketing and other SLT
colleagues to ensure we attract at least one quarter of our
visitors from overseas.
Visitor Experience and Commercial Responsibilities
 Run all aspects of the business and the team on a day-today basis to deliver a memorable visitor experience and
achieve financial targets in the commercial areas.
 Champion the highest possible standards across all
operations, ensure that customer service is at the fore at
all times through a well presented, efficient and highly
effective operation, and share the island’s many stories in
an engaging way.
 Be a constant innovator in developing the visitor
experience, challenging the norm and efficiency of
operations and engaging and motivating all teams to go
that extra mile in delivering service excellence.
 Commercial management of all commercial operations
on St Michael’s Mount and the mainland car park with
the objective of achieving annual business growth.
 Develop greater operational overlap across all
departments to ensure complete and joined up solutions
that always put the customer first.
 Demonstrate skills and expertise in balancing culture,
commerce and customers in a heritage environment.
 Be prepared to deal with the micro and day to day detail
as well as the bigger picture.
Line Management
 Provide leadership and direction for all departments
against the company’s vision and business plan.
 Be accountable for your own, and your team’s,
development through the appraisal process, seeking out
opportunities to learn new skills.
 Demonstrate clear leadership and effective management
of all the managers who report to you.
 Manage upwards as well as downwards.
 Develop an on-going performance management plan for
all personnel on St Michael’s Mount that enables
development in line with the wider organisation’s goals.
 Maintain, update and manage all records electronically.
 Take responsibility and lead on recruitment, training and
on-going performance management for all personnel on
St Michael’s Mount that enables development in line with
wider organisational goals.
 Foster a culture of teamwork, cooperation and open
communication.
Customer service





Work closely with colleagues to ensure the continued
positive connection with visitors and their safe access.
Provide a world class service to all our external and
internal customers.
Plan and implement work with visitor access and interest
in mind.
Plan the development of the department to improve the
quality of the visitor experience and engagement
opportunities whilst maintaining high conservation
standards
Be smart, polite and helpful at all times.
Financial
Management


Prepare, monitor and manage the Mount related budgets;
Control and manage expenditure by efficient use of
resources.
Fire, Security and
Health & Safety

Be accountable for all H&S, Environmental, Fire and
First Aid policies and practices and ensure that they are
in line with current National Trust and industry wide best
practice.
Identify key priorities and areas of risk and incorporate
these into a thorough and comprehensive maintenance
planning regime to sustain the highest levels of
equipment availability and optimal operational
effectiveness
Ensure legal compliance of all work that is planned across
site
Keep records as required



Communication



Vision and values


Other





Communicate in a timely and effective manner at all
times using a broad range of media
Involve and empower the team
Engage with the Mount’s social media outlets
Understand, demonstrate and promote the behaviours
that underpin our values.
Be aware of the role of you and your team in achieving
our vision and objectives.
Underpin the community life of SMM as effectively as
possible and work together to ensure the safety and
security of the island in the event of an emergency
To always look for, develop and implement
improvements
Develop a rapport with all employees across the St Aubyn
Estates portfolio of businesses to build team spirit and a
positive company culture in line with the company vision
and values.
Be an advocate for St Aubyn Estates and the National
Trust
Any other tasks which are reasonably requested, for the
better performance of your duties or for the achievement
of our vision.
Person Specification
Role title: Head of Island Operations - St Michael’s Mount
Evidence sources AF = application form | IV = interview | Test = test | Ref = references
Section
Education,
vocational
training and
qualifications
Experience
Criteria
Essential
Desirable
Source
Management qualification at HND
or equivalent level
√
AF, IV
Project Management qualification
√
AF, IV
Health and Safety qualification
√
AF, IV
To hold and maintain a full driving
licence
√
AF, IV
At least 3 years substantial senior
Leadership, General Management
experience in a customer centric
organisation
√
AF, IV
At least 5 years’ operational
experience delivering best-in-class
visitor experiences in a similar
business (over 200,000 visitors)
within a heritage or visitor
attraction management situation
√
AF, IV
Extensive experience of setting and
managing significant budgets and
P&Ls
√
AF, IV
Track record of successfully
managing continuous improvement
initiatives
√
AF, IV
Track record of delivering
performance targets, encompassing
commercial activity in excess of £1m
plus a variety of other income
strands
√
AF, IV
Experience of planning resources to
deliver against a business plan
√
Experience of conservation within a
historic house environment
AF, IV
√
AF, IV
Experience of delivering through
others, both within and outside of a
line management capacity
√
AF, IV
Proven experience with setting and
achieving high standards
√
AF, IV
Section
Technical skills
and abilities
Criteria
Essential
Desirable
Source
Visitor focused approach
√
AF, IV, Ref
Project management skills and
experience
√
AF, IV
Excellent communicator with a
passion to inspire others
√
AF, IV
Robust understanding of our key
(potential) audiences
√
AF, IV
Problem solver and innovator
√
AF, IV
Have a good level of fitness (the
castle is at the end of a steep climb)
√
AF, IV
Ability to use Microsoft Office
applications to an intermediate level
√
IV
Honest
√
IV, Ref
Considerate
√
IV, Ref
Responsible
√
IV, Ref
Resourceful
√
IV, Ref
Energetic
√
IV, Ref
Passionate about historic
properties, interpretation and
engaging current and new audiences
√
AP, IV, Ref
Strong networking and stakeholder
management skills
√
AP, IV
Flexible and able to quickly respond
to business needs
√
AP, IV, Ref
Energetic, self-motivated and able
to lead
√
IV, Ref
Motivated and committed to
become part of our community, on
the Island, as well as in our
organisation and West Cornwall
√
IV, Ref
Ability to successfully balance the
challenges the National Trust motto
“For ever, for everyone” brings
Interpersonal
skills and other
characteristics
Motivation and
commitment