Guest Experience Manager

ECHO INC.•North Fort Myers, FL

22d

About The Position

This is a full-time, seasonal position with the potential for long-term employment. The Guest Experience Manager (GEM) leads the vision, strategy, and operations of ECHO’s Welcome and Resource Center (WRC) and tours—creating meaningful, mission-centered experiences that inspire, educate, and engage guests. This role ensures that every guest, whether a visitor, donor, volunteer, or partner, encounters the love of Christ through exceptional hospitality and gains a deeper understanding of ECHO’s global mission to defeat hunger and improve lives. The GEM cultivates a culture of excellence and discipleship, mentoring staff, and volunteers to serve with Christ-centered joy, professionalism, and purpose. Through thoughtful storytelling, operational oversight, and partnership with Advancement and Communications teams, the GEM transforms guest encounters into lasting relationships and leads guests to become supporters of ECHO as donors and volunteers.

Requirements

Must wholeheartedly affirm and live out ECHO’s Statement of Faith or the Apostle’s Creed.
Demonstrates mature Christian faith and a servant-leader approach to work and relationships.
Entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to make data-driven decisions and take appropriate missional risks.
Exhibits humility, integrity, and a passion for Christ-centered hospitality and service.
Excel as a team player and model gracious interactions.
Bachelor’s degree preferred (hospitality management, nonprofit leadership, marketing, business management, or related field). Equivalent professional experience considered.
Minimum of 5 years in guest experience management, hospitality, nonprofit engagement, or ministry leadership desired.
Proficiency in standard office and communication software; experience with POS systems required (LightSpeed preferred).
Proven track record in developing teams, managing budgets, and improving guest or donor engagement metrics.
Competency in using Microsoft Office, spreadsheets, recording and analyzing data, and presenting reports.
Experience with budgets and managing personnel.
Strategic entrepreneurial thinker with a strong sense of mission and purpose.
Excellent interpersonal, communication, and storytelling abilities.
Demonstrated capacity to lead teams through coaching, vision casting, and accountability.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Experience in using data-driven insights for service improvement.
Competency in the utilization of software, applications, and operating audiovisual equipment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in retail or visitor center operations is a plus.
Advancement experience is a bonus.

Responsibilities

Guest Experience Strategy & Leadership
Develop and implement a comprehensive guest experience strategy aligned with ECHO’s mission, vision, and values.
Define guest journey touchpoints—from first contact through follow-up engagement—to ensure consistent excellence and missional connection.
Foster a culture of Christlike and excellent hospitality that reflects ECHO’s core values and discipleship-centered approach to service.
Partner with the Advancement team to design guest experiences that lead to increased supporter engagement, donor conversions, and long-term relationships.
Analyze and utilize guest data and feedback to identify trends, improve operations, increase marketing, multiply engagement, and measure impact through guest satisfaction metrics and engagement reports.
Enhance ECHO’s reputation and expand its brand presence across Southwest Florida and the United States.
Team Development & Operations
Lead the daily operations of the Welcome and Resource Center (WRC) and all tour-related activities.
Supervise, train, and mentor WRC staff, docents, and volunteers to achieve high standards of service, efficiency, alignment with, and communication of ECHO’s mission.
Establish clear performance goals and accountability systems for excellence in hospitality and operational outcomes.
Ensure the effective management of all communications, publicity, marketing, visitor flow, and information systems within the WRC and utilize software and applications to improve efficacy and efficiency.
Maintain strong collaboration with the Finance Department to manage budgets, cash handling, and reporting with integrity and transparency.
Steward ECHO’s financial, human, reputational, and material resources wisely, consistent with ECHO’s core values and donor expectations.
Process payments for housing, training, and other events promptly and accurately.
Experience Design & Storytelling
Partner with ECHO’s Communications and Global teams to create engaging exhibits, displays, publicity materials, and storytelling that connect guests emotionally and financially to ECHO’s mission.
Oversee the inventory and merchandising of mission-related products (books, seeds, resources, memorabilia) ensuring all offerings reflect ECHO’s values and educational focus.
Ensure excellence in tour delivery, guiding content updates, docent training, and guest education experiences utilizing inputs across teams and departments.
Serve as a lead or backup docent when necessary, modeling exceptional communication and hospitality.
Maintain high standards for the visual presentation and digital engagement of the WRC.
Direct and manage marketing materials, audience demand research, online store, and social media presence in conjunction with other teams.
Work with Media Coordinator and Learning and Logistics Coordinator on Marketing Grants for tourism and advertising.
Community Engagement & Partnerships
Build and strengthen relationships with local churches, educational institutions, and community organizations to broaden ECHO’s outreach and impact.
Represent ECHO at local events, conferences, and partner gatherings as a passionate advocate for the organization’s mission.
Collaborate across departments (Advancement, Nursery, Global Farm, MEAL) to support major events such as the Global Food & Farm Festival, Get-Into-Gardening, and the ECHO International Agriculture Conference.
Reporting, Accountability & Evaluation
Develop and manage departmental budgets, ensuring timely financial reporting and compliance with ECHO’s standards.
Coordinate with the MEAL and Advancement teams to collect and submit monthly guest experience metrics, stories, demographics information, contact information, and impact data.
Conduct regular guest satisfaction surveys and analyze feedback to continually improve missional guest experience operations.
Ensure secure handling of guest personal data and transactions in compliance with industry best practices.