Associate Director of Visitor Experience

Gardens of Golden Gate Park • San Francisco, CA

just now • $101,000 - $106,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Gardens of Golden Gate Park unite three historic gardens—the landmark Conservatory of Flowers (1879), the Japanese Tea Garden (1894), and the 55-acre San Francisco Botanical Garden (1940)—featuring more than 10,000 different kinds of plants from around the world, from rare orchids and cloud forest species to California native plants and serene Japanese landscapes.

Our pioneering public-private partnership between the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department and San Francisco Botanical Garden Society combines the city's expertise in horticulture and facilities with the nonprofit’s strengths in visitor experience, education, philanthropy, membership, marketing, curatorial services, interpretation, and community engagement. Together, we connect people to plants, the planet, and each other, cultivating an internationally renowned destination where conservation, natural beauty, and community flourish.

The Associate Director of Visitor Experience is a critical leadership role within the Experience department, responsible for the admissions program that generates over $9M in annual revenue, leads a 25-person team across three gardens, and serves as a primary operational interface with the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. Working at the intersection of people, technology, and partnership, this leader drives continuous improvement across the visitor journey while maintaining the fundamentals that keep three world-class gardens open and welcoming 1.2 million visitors a year.
As an operational leader for the Gardens, the Associate Director is expected to be present when it matters most, including evenings, weekends, and holidays. Schedules are set in consultation with the Chief Experience Officer and adjusted to meet the needs of the operation.

In this role, the Associate Director supervises the Visitor Experience Manager and oversees a team of approximately 25 Visitor Experience Leads and Associates engaged in visitor services, fostering a culture of service, agility, ownership, and accountability. Reporting to the Chief Experience Officer, this position plays a pivotal role in advancing the commitment to being gardens for all: optimizing the admissions program, enhancing the ticketing ecosystem and public interfaces including the Gardens’ website and all operational signage, and expanding a data-driven ethic to scale our impact to wider audiences.
This role calls for someone who leads with ethics, transparency, and a genuine commitment to the Gardens' mission, and who understands that great visitor experience is both a service imperative and a revenue driver.

Requirements

• Minimum three years in customer experience or operations management for location-based entertainment, experiential retail, family entertainment centers, or similar attractions.
• A proven operator with high drive and low tolerance for ambiguity. You make decisions quickly, follow through completely, and bring others along without losing momentum. You lead with a solutions orientation and hold yourself to the same standard you set for your team.
• Strong financial discipline and business acumen, experience managing multi-year budgets.
• Organized and analytical, with strong attention to detail.
• Identifies the path forward without waiting to be asked. Exercises sound judgment under pressure and keeps the operation moving forward.
• Demonstrates a passion for advancing organizational Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) objectives and influencing others to approach work with an equity lens.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build collaborative relationships, provide training, and support a positive team environment.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team, exercising sound judgment, initiative, and discretion with sensitive information.
• High level of professionalism and a genuine interest in learning about and supporting the Gardens. Upholds an unwavering commitment to great visitor experience.
• Must be able to engage in a range of physical motions including standing or sitting at a desk or computer, walking on uneven surfaces, crouching, bending, squatting, kneeling, digging, climbing stairs and a ladder, working with arms outstretched or overhead.
• Lift and/or move up to 10 pounds regularly and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to use and maintain necessary tools and equipment safely and effectively.
• Ability to manage risk, adhering to the Gardens’ safety and emergency protocols.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with ticketing POS systems; familiarity with PatronManager is a plus.
• Experience with staff planning and workforce management tools such as Paylocity.
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite and Asana.
• Two years or more of supervisory experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, STEM, business, or social sciences.

Responsibilities

• Leading a one-team, three-site operation. Responsible for staffing, scheduling, service standards, and operational continuity across the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden—open 365 days a year.
• Managing the full admissions program. Drive over $9M in admissions revenue, forecast performance, track actuals, and deliver growth opportunities in collaboration with marketing, programs, and events.
• Developing the team. Manage, train, and support the Visitor Experience Manager, Leads, Associates, and volunteers. Recruit new team members. Coordinate with the Volunteer Program to augment the Visitor Experience team with trained volunteers for selected opportunities.
• Building systems that make excellence repeatable. Develop and maintain standardized operating procedures and train-the-trainer playbooks that hold across three distinct gardens and empower the team to do the right thing.
• Leveraging data and technology to improve the visitor journey. Turn visitor feedback into operational practice. Maximize the full potential of ticketing POS and CRM systems to deliver a more consistent, end-to-end visitor experience—from first click to garden gate.
• Setting the standard for visitor-first service. Model and embed a visitor-centric culture across the team, ensuring the experience serves every type of visitor. Develop and refine workflows for handling visitor inquiries by phone, IVR, website, and email.
• Serving as GGGP’s primary operational liaison with the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. The Associate Director represents the Gardens on matters of visitor services, ticket pricing, public amenities, safety, and accessibility, and is accountable for keeping that partnership productive and the gardens operating to standard.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager